American fashion label ‘Banana Republic’ will open its first store in India by early next year to catch up with the latest wave of expansion by global retailers in the one of the world’s fastest growing markets. The brand, owned by GAP, will partner with Arvind Retail for its India entry and is already scouting for locations to open doors by February next year, according to reliable sources.

Arvind Retail managing director J Suresh said, “We already have a strong partnership with GAP and now we are exploring other brands from its portfolio.” GAP Inc has six brands such as GAP, Banana Republic, Old Navy and more under its wing.

Banana Republic will have a wide appeal since there is a dearth of ‘bridge-to-luxury’ brands in the country. Moreover, the rising population of fashion-forward Indian youth with high spending power will create a lucrative market for this label, experts said. Affordable luxury brands which are within the range of Rs4,000 to Rs12,000 is an attraction among youngsters and luxury brand aspirants.

Banana Republic will be competing with brands such as Tommy Hilfiger, Calvin Klein in terms of price points, but since there are not many international players in this segment, the market potential is high,” Bijou Kurien, a retail sector veteran said. Arvind Retail runs more than 800 stores in India across a portfolio of more than 30 brands including US Polo and Arrow. The Ahmedabad-based company has opened nearly eight GAP stores in less than a year of its partnership with the world’s third largest apparel brand.