Gucci enters into agreement with Luxury Goods Retail

After parting ways with its Indian franchisee Vijay Murjani, Luxury brand Gucci now has a franchise agreement with investment banker Ashok Wadhwa’s Luxury Goods Retail and is in the process of converting it into joint venture. Luxury Goods Retail, set up by I-Bank Ambit Corp’s Ashok Wadhwa’s wife Reena Wadhwa, has now bought over Gucci’s franchises rights as well as three operational stores in Delhi and Mumbai from the Murjani Group. The fashion brand entered into a franchise agreement with Ms Wadhwa’s firm in August and the two are now setting up a joint venture. Gucci will control the majority stake in the JV and it will drive the day-to-day business in India. In forming a joint venture (JV) with an Indian partner, Gucci will follow many other international brands such as Marks & Spencer and Mothercare to move from the franchise model to ownership model that usually offers brands better control over operations and the flexibility to chart an independent course in the market.