Trent forms a strategic partnership with Benetton India Limited for SISLEY brand expansion in India

Trent Ltd has announced that the Benetton Group and Trent Ltd., a Tata Group Company, have joined forces in a strategic partnership for the Sisley brand's commercial expansion in India. The agreement was signed on September 18, 2007 by Alessandro Benetton, deputy chairman of Benetton Group, and Noel Tata, Managing Director of Trent Ltd.

Under this agreement, the Company will open and manage a number of Sisley stores in India's major cities. The first shops will open over the next few months, starting with the top shopping streets in two of India’s most dynamic cities: Hyderabad and Bangalore.

The new partnership will enable the Group to boost its presence in India, a key market for the entire continent, where it has been operating for over 15 years and already counts more than 141 United Colors of Benetton shops.

The Company has over a decade of experience in the Indian retail industry with an existing portfolio of 39 stores across 3 formats targeting the value / mid - market segment. The Company today operates the Westside departmental stores; Landmark, the largest books & music retail chain in India and Star Bazaar, its chain of hypermarkets.

Adds Noel Tata, "Our existing operations, across three diverse retail formats, have given us key insights into the business and the Indian consumer. The partnership with the Benetton Group gives us the opportunity to tap the burgeoning premium segment of consumers. We believe that Sisley has a high potential for growth and we will leverage our experience to optimise the tremendous opportunity."

The agreement comes only a few months after the launch of Sisley's first three pilot stores in Delhi which were an immediate and significant success with Indian customers and these 3 shops will be directly managed by Trent.

Sisley has more than 850 stores around the world. Its collections, distinguished by their strong fashion content, reflect the latest trends of the season. Slsley offers a wide choice of clothes for men and women, and this winter launches a new range that is even richer and more sophisticated: Sisley Limited Edition.

The stock was trading at Rs.637.90, up by Rs.23.85 or 3.88%. The stock hit an intraday high of Rs.649.95 and low of Rs.614. The total traded quantity was 26352 compared to 2 week average of 7140.

Source : Equity Bulls

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