Reliance Retail to expand biz in the affordable toy segment through the Rowan brand
New Delhi:
Reliance Retail is expanding into the fast-growing toy sector through the Rowan brand to operate in the low-end segment with a smaller store size.
The company is running its toy distribution business through Rowan. It has now brought this homegrown brand to the forefront by opening its first EBO (brand exclusive store) at Gurugram in NCR last quarter with a store size of 1,400 square metres.
Under this new format, Reliance Retail, the retail arm of Reliance Industries led by Mukesh Ambani, will feature a wide range of affordable toys not only from the Rowan brand but also from other brands, a source in the industry said. industry said.
Reliance Retail also has the iconic British toy retail brand Hamleys. Hamleys is the world’s oldest toy retailer and was acquired by Reliance in 2019, marking the company’s first global retail brand.
The source said Hamleys will continue to operate in the high-end space, while the Rowan brand will help Reliance Retail tap into the mid- and mass-market segments with affordable offerings.
The unit value of the toy will be much lower at Rowan stores and the discount will be higher. As a result, the products will be more affordable, he added.
Furthermore, unlike Hamleys, the store size of Rowan stores will be much smaller, ideally around 500-1,000 sq ft, he noted.
“We also launched Rowan, a new format from Reliance as a toy store, which is a small format, typically around 500-1,000 sq ft, selling more affordable toys. So that format is also launching this quarter, and we’ll see it grow even more as we continue to grow,” said Reliance Retail’s head of strategy and business development, Gaurav Jain. know.
Hamleys is present globally across 15 countries with over 200 stores and is India’s largest toy store chain.
With both brands in its portfolio, Reliance Retail Ventures Ltd (RRVL) is one of the leading toy distributors.
In early June this year, Reliance Brands Ltd (RBL), a unit of RRVL, announced a joint venture with Italian company Plastic Legno SPA and acquired a 40% stake in the company’s toy manufacturing sector. in India.
According to a joint report by industry body FICCI and KPMG, the Indian toy market is estimated to reach around $1 billion in 2019-20 and is expected to double to $2 billion by 2024- 25.
