ASOS believed to be in talks with Reliance over India move

​​British fashion e-tail giant ASOS is reportedly in talks with India’s Reliance Retail to take its brand to India, according to sources familiar with the negotiations.

The news comes in the same week that it emerged Reliance may also be exploring talks to take value brand Primark to India, which could mean it opening large scale stores on Indian high streets. 

As for ASOS, one source told Indiaretailing.com that talks have been happening for a while but an agreement hasn’t yet been reached. 

Reliance is the largest retailer in India both by sales value and store numbers and is a major partner for many global brands entering the country. They include Armani, Burberry, Balenciaga, Diesel, Jimmy Choo, M&S and Gap. The company hasn’t commented on the ASOS report, neither has ASOS itself.

But the report said that any deal would start with ASOS products being sold through Reliance’s Ajio.com operation and offline through its Centro department store chain. There was also a suggestion of ASOS branded standalone stores in India, although it was unclear whether there would be a dedicated ASOS webstore in the country.

One source said that ASOS has has been sourcing in India for years and a Reliance partnership would boost this.

As mentioned, the news comes almost at the same time as reports that Primark could link up with Reliance for an India debut as well. That could also be boosted by Primark’s existing sourcing operations in India.

Its top sourcing destination is China but India is currently the second-largest and there could be big logistics advantages if it opened stores there and also sourced products locally. But as with ASOS, the company hasn’t commented on the speculation.