DLF Brands, Kiko to sign JV next month

Kiko will own 51 per cent stake in the business, while the rest will be with DLF Brands. Along with French fashion house LVMH's beauty products retailer, Sephora, with which DLF Brands signed an agreement recently, the Delhi-based company is looking at a strong presence in the cosmetic and beauty space, said Managing Director Timmy Sarna.

Sephora was earlier with Genesis Colors, which retails Jimmy Choo and Bottega Veneta.

The company is looking at annual revenue of Rs 500-600 crore from both the brands, said DLF Brands' chief executive, Deepak Agarwal. The prices would start from Rs 200 and go till Rs 2,000, he said.

Both parties had been talking for a couple of years but Kiko's focus on markets such as the UK and US pushed the JV to 2014, he said. Owned by the Percassi group of Italy, Kiko sells in about 35 countries. The company plans to open six or seven stores of 700-1,000 1000 sq ft every year and have a total of 50 stores in the next five years, putting in Rs 60-70 crore in the business.

Retail consultant Prashant Agarwal, deputy managing director at Wazir Advisors, believes it is a logical extension for DLF Brands to get into beauty and cosmetics, as they have experience in running apparel and lifestyle stores.

"Since the company is connected to realty developer DLF, they can leverage on the retail space the company has," he said.