Dutch apparel brand Scotch & Soda, which was being sold exclusively on Myntra.com, has struck a long-term partnership with Reliance Brands to open its stores in India. The e-commerce rights for the brand will also move to Reliance at a time when fashion retailers are looking to deploy a multi-channel strategy of having physical stores as well as a notable online presence.

Reliance Brands, which runs stores of 19 international brands in India, including Muji, Kenneth Cole, Steve Madden, Diesel and Brooks Brothers, will start off by opening two stores next year for the 600 million-euro brand.

Scotch & Soda was set up in 1985 and currently runs 160 mono-brand stores globally. In 2011, US-based apparel group Kellwood Company acquired the Dutch fashion brand.

Darshan Mehta, president & CEO, Reliance Brands, said, “Myntra will be one of the channels for us and we will continue to sell through them. But we are now the exclusive master franchise partner of Scotch & Soda across all channels in India.”

Myntra had struck an exclusive partnership with the Amsterdam-based brand in 2014. Over the past two years, a bunch of international fashion brands like Topshop, Dorothy Perkins and Miss Selfridge inked exclusive partnerships with the likes of Jabong and Myntra to test the India market.

Over the past year, conglomerates like Aditya Birla group, Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries which owns Reliance Brands, and the Tatas have all spruced up their online commerce offerings, particularly in the fashion and lifestyle category. Snagging online rights has become significant for retail groups which bring in foreign retailers to India. Scotch & Soda CEO Dirk Jan Stoppelenburg said Reliance recognizes the brand’s breakthrough style and creativity. “We are looking forward to growing our brand in collaboration with Reliance’s expertise in this very important region,” Mehta said.

-Apparel Talk, Indian Apparel