Reliance Brands wins exclusive partnership to launch SKIMS in India
SKIMS will enter India through an exclusive Reliance Brands partnership, opening first stores in Delhi and Mumbai before a phased physical and digital rollout nationwide.
What happened
Reliance Brands Limited · Reliance Brands has secured an exclusive partnership to launch SKIMS in India. The shapewear and loungewear brand will debut with
Key facts
- 2019
Why this matters
SKIMS choosing Reliance Brands underscores the strategic value of exclusive India partnerships, signaling that global apparel brands may favor established local platforms over standalone market entry.
What to watch
- Launch pricing versus domestic shapewear brands and international premium intimates labels.
- Store productivity, repeat purchase rates and online conversion after the first two quarters.
- Depth of localized sizing, shade ranges and India-specific product edits.
- Whether the rollout extends quickly to Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Pune and high-end Reliance retail formats.
- Competitor responses from Zivame, Clovia, Marks & Spencer, Victoria's Secret, UNIQLO and premium designer-innerwear players.
- Evidence of domestic sourcing, local manufacturing or duty-mitigation measures.
- The scale of celebrity/influencer participation and social-media demand for specific SKIMS hero products.
- Open high-visibility flagship stores in Delhi and Mumbai with experiential fitting, styling and body-inclusive merchandising.
- Prioritize hero categories such as everyday shapewear, seamless underwear, bodysuits and lounge basics before expanding assortment breadth.
- Deploy Indian celebrity, wedding-season and occasionwear campaigns to explain shapewear use cases rather than relying only on global brand recognition.
- Localize size curves, nude-tone ranges, climate-relevant fabric weights and price architecture based on early sell-through data.
- Use Reliance's online and offline network to test controlled expansion through premium shop-in-shops before a wider national rollout.
- Prepare exclusivity-led defenses against marketplace discounting and gray-market imports that could dilute premium positioning.