Reliance Retail Acquires Home Appliances Brand Kelvinator
This takeover strengthens Reliance Retail's presence in the consumer electronics market, wherein it already operates the well-known chain of electronics stores, Reliance Digital.
The Electrolux Group brand has a long legacy in India. It entered the market in the 1960s and achieved iconic status in the 1970s and 80s with its memorable tagline, 'The Coolest One'.
However, in 1995, Whirlpool of India Ltd acquired Kelvinator India Ltd to enter the refrigerator market. In 2019, Kelvinator made a comeback in India after Reliance Retail signed an exclusive and long-term brand licensing, manufacturing, marketing, and distribution deal with Electrolux.
The brand already sells refrigerators, washing machines, air conditioners, etc., via the Retail Digital store network and other retailers and e-commerce platforms. Reliance Digital operates over 400 stores in the country.
'Our mission has always been to serve the diverse needs of every Indian by making technology accessible, meaningful, and future-ready. The Kelvinator acquisition marks a pivotal moment, enabling us to significantly broaden our offering of trusted global innovations to Indian consumers,' said Isha M. Ambani, executive director, Reliance Retail Ventures Ltd (RRVL).
"With Kelvinator now firmly integrated into its formidable ecosystem, Reliance Retail is strategically positioned to accelerate category growth, deepen consumer engagement, and unlock substantial long-term opportunities within India's dynamic consumer durables market,' she added.
India's consumer durables industry accounts for approximately 0.6% of the nation's gross domestic product, and is projected to expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11%, reaching a market size of ₹ 3 trillion by 2029, according to EY's 2024 estimates.
The move reinforces Reliance Retail's ambition to not only anticipate but meet the evolving demands of the Indian consumer, solidifying its position as the undisputed leader in the retail landscape, said a company statement.
India's electronics markets include large companies such as LG, Samsung, Sony, Whirlpool, and Panasonic.
RRVL, through its subsidiaries and affiliates, operates an integrated omnichannel network of 19,340 stores and digital commerce platforms in the grocery, consumer electronics, fashion and lifestyle, and pharma categories.
Reliance Retail Ltd, a subsidiary of RRVL, reported a consolidated turnover of ₹ 3,30,870 crore and Ebitda of ₹ 25,053 crore for the year ended 31 March 2025.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
India.com
an hour ago
- India.com
No Entry For GM Crops, Says New Delhi; India-US Trade Talks Hit A Sacred Wall
New Delhi: Genetically modified (GM) crops will not be crossing India's borders anytime soon, no matter how urgently the United States knocks. As trade negotiations between New Delhi and Washington enter a crucial phase, insiders say one red line is not up for discussion. 'There are things that are not about negotiation. Some things are a matter of principle,' said a senior official close to the development. That principle, sources say, is GM corn and soy. While American negotiators have made agricultural access a central demand, pressing India for a wider entry gate for U.S. farm goods, New Delhi is not blinking, especially on GM imports. Over the years, the issue has mutated from a mere trade disagreement into a symbolic fight over sovereignty, food safety and grassroots politics. The United States Trade Representative (USTR) has repeatedly flagged India's restrictions on GM products, calling them 'non-tariff barriers'. But Indian authorities remain unmoved, largely because of the hardline stance taken by domestic groups closely aligned with the ruling establishment. Last month, the message from Sangh affiliates was if America insists on forcing GM crops into the Indian market, there may be no trade deal at all. Carried in Business Standard, that warning echoed the sentiments of influential groups such as the Bharatiya Kisan Sangh (BKS) and the Swadeshi Jagran Manch (SJM), which have long opposed agricultural concessions to Washington, particularly in sectors like dairy and GM crops. Their argument? Food security. The BKS has often warned that allowing U.S. crops into India, especially without clear labelling or transparency, could sabotage domestic farming ecosystems and compromise health safety standards. On the other hand, the SJM sees this as a direct attack on economic self-reliance. Meanwhile, the clock is ticking. U.S. officials have privately hinted at the urgency of the moment, pointing to a deadline set by President Donald Trump, who is seeking a revival of his trade agenda. Trump has marked August 1 as a red-letter day. If no interim deal is inked by then, India could be hit with reciprocal tariffs, potentially as high as 26 percent. Indian trade negotiators are not indifferent to that pressure. But according to officials involved in the process, the sixth round of talks will only happen in the second half of August after Trump's deadline expires. Any hope for a short-term resolution seems, at best, unrealistic. As one official put it, 'We are not looking at compromise in areas that touch the lives of millions.' In other words, GM corn is off the table. And perhaps, so is the deal, at least for now.
Economic Times
an hour ago
- Economic Times
U.S EU Trade deal: Who wins after tariff agreement - Donald Trump or Europe?
Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads FAQs U.S EU Trade deal agreement has finally been chalked. In the end, Europe found it lacked the leverage to pull Donald Trump 's America into a trade pact on its terms and so has signed up to a deal it can just about stomach - albeit one that is clearly skewed in the U.S.'s favour. As such, Sunday's agreement on a blanket 15 per cent tariff after a months-long stand-off is a reality check on the aspirations of the 27-country European Union to become an economic power able to stand up to the likes of the United States or has long portrayed itself as an export superpower and champion of rules-based commerce for the benefit both of its own soft power and the global economy as a whole. For sure, the new tariff that will now be applied is a lot more digestible than the 30% "reciprocal" tariff which Trump threatened to invoke in a few it should ensure Europe avoids recession, it will likely keep its economy in the doldrums: it sits somewhere between two tariff scenarios the European Central Bank last month forecast would mean 0.5-0.9 per cent economic growth this year compared to just over 1% in a trade tension-free this is nonetheless a landing point that would have been scarcely imaginable only months ago in the pre-Trump 2.0 era, when the EU along with much of the world could count on U.S. tariffs averaging out at around 1.5%.Even when Britain agreed a baseline tariff of 10% with the United States back in May, EU officials were adamant they could do better and - convinced the bloc had the economic heft to square up to Trump - pushed for a "zero-for-zero" tariff took a few weeks of fruitless talks with their U.S. counterparts for the Europeans to accept that 10% was the best they could get and a few weeks more to take the same 15% baseline which the United States agreed with Japan last week."The EU does not have more leverage than the U.S., and the Trump administration is not rushing things," said one senior official in a European capital who was being briefed on last week's negotiations as they closed in around the 15% official and others pointed to the pressure from Europe's export-oriented businesses to clinch a deal and so ease the levels of uncertainty starting to hit businesses from Finland's Nokia to Swedish steelmaker SSAB ."We were dealt a bad hand. This deal is the best possible play under the circumstances," said one EU diplomat. "Recent months have clearly shown how damaging uncertainty in global trade is for European businesses."That imbalance - or what the trade negotiators have been calling "asymmetry" - is manifest in the final only is it expected that the EU will now call off any retaliation and remain open to U.S. goods on existing terms, but it has also pledged $600 billion of investment in the United States. The time-frame for that remains undefined, as do other details of the accord for talks unfolded, it became clear that the EU came to the conclusion it had more to lose from all-out retaliatory measures it threatened totalled some 93 billion euros - less than half its U.S. goods trade surplus of nearly 200 billion a growing number of EU capitals were also ready to envisage wide-ranging anti-coercion measures that would have allowed the bloc to target the services trade in which the United States had a surplus of some $75 billion last even then, there was no clear majority for targeting the U.S. digital services which European citizens enjoy and for which there are scant homegrown alternatives - from Netflix to Uber to Microsoft cloud remains to be seen whether this will encourage European leaders to accelerate the economic reforms and diversification of trading allies to which they have long paid lip service but which have been held back by national the deal as a painful compromise that was an "existential threat" for many of its members, Germany's BGA wholesale and export association said it was time for Europe to reduce its reliance on its biggest trading partner."Let's look on the past months as a wake-up call," said BGA President Dirk Jandura. "Europe must now prepare itself strategically for the future - we need new trade deals with the biggest industrial powers of the world."A1. President of USA is Donald Trump.A2. US is levying 15 per cent tariffs on Europe.
Mint
2 hours ago
- Mint
Lenskart receives shareholder nod to raise ₹2,150 crore via IPO: Report
Lenskart IPO: Peyush Bansal-led Indian eyewear company Lenskart has received the approval of its shareholder to raise ₹ 2,150 crore through a fresh issue of shares, reported MoneyControl, citing people aware of the development. According to news report, the company filed its corporate action development with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs' (MCA) Registrar of Companies (RoC), as per the data accessed by TheKredible. The proposal to raise money via an IPO was reportedly given the green light at the company's annual general meeting on 26 July 2025, said the report, adding, the eyewear company is expected to file its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) with the capital markets regulator, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), in the upcoming days. The overall IPO size is expected to be around $1 billion or ₹ 8,500 crore, which includes a secondary offer-for-sale (OFS) component by the existing investors, the report added. Earlier this month, Mint reported that the eyewear company's founder, Peyush Bansal, is looking to buy a 1.5-2% stake in the eyewear retailer worth about $150 million from existing investors ahead of its planned IPO. Peyush is buying small stakes from a bunch of investors. This is being negotiated at around $7-8 billion valuation. Existing investors like TR Capital, Chiratae, Softbank and Kedaara Capital are expected to sell their stake as part of the deal. Over the years, the company has raised $1.08 billion in funding across 19 rounds, including its latest Series I round for $18.2 million on 21 July 2023. It has received investments from various firms, including SoftBank Vision Fund, TPG, and Chiratae Ventures. Kotak Mahindra Capital, Axis Capital, Citi, Morgan Stanley, and Avendus Capital are the company-appointed book-runners for the IPO, which is soon expected to hit Dalal Street. The company was founded in 2010, and since then, it has emerged as one of the biggest players in the Indian eyewear industry. It has 2500 retail outlets across the nation and a presence globally, such as in Singapore and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
