Reliance Brands in joint venture pact with toy maker Plastic Legno
03 Jun 2022
1
Reliance Brands Ltd (RBL) and Plastic Legno SPA have signed a joint venture arrangement through which RBL will acquire a 40 per cent stake in Plastic Legno SPA’s toy manufacturing business in India. This investment will bring in vertical integration for RBL’s toy business and help diversify the supply chain, says a company release.
Plastic Legno SPA is owned by the Sunino group that boasts of more than 25 years of toy production experience in Europe. The group started it’s India business in 2009 with a view to develop a strong production hub that would cater to global markets, besides catering to a growing Indian market.
With its strong footing in the global toy retail industry, RBL expects the new venture to open new doors and unparalleled opportunities for toys manufactured in India. It is imperative for RBL to build design to shelf capability for a strategic advantage over the competition,” said a spokesperson of Reliance Brands Limited.
RBL has a strong base in the toy industry with its portfolio of Hamleys, the British toy retailer and homegrown toy brand, Rowan, making RBL one of the leading toy distributors. Hamleys currently has a global footprint across 15 countries with 213 doors and is India's largest chain of toy stores.
“We are very privileged to have RBL as a partner in this Joint Venture. We are confident that Plastic Legno’s experience in toys production and Hamley’s commercial outreach, will complement one another to enable the JV company to achieve greater heights and successes. We have important development plans to implement, always in the spirit of creating a cultural background in this specific sector in India. We are ready for the challenges of the future, but when there is a group like RBL alongside, we are sure that together we can do a great development.” said Paolo Sunino, co-owner, Sunino Group.
RBL, a subsidiary of Reliance Retail Ventures Ltd, began operations in 2007 with a mandate to launch and build global brands in luxury to premium segments across fashion and lifestyle. In the past five years, RBL has also invested in building and operating homegrown Indian designer brands.
Its current portfolio of brand partnerships comprises Armani Exchange, Bally, Bottega Veneta, Brooks Brothers, Burberry, Canali, Coach, Diesel, Dune, EA7, Emporio Armani, Ermenegildo Zegna, G-Star Raw, Gas, Giorgio Armani, Hamleys, Hugo Boss, Hunkemoller, Iconix, Jimmy Choo, Kate Spade New York, Manish Malhotra, Michael Kors, Mothercare, Muji, Paul and Shark, Paul Smith, Pottery Barn, Pottery Barn Kids, Raghavendra Rathore, Replay, Salvatore Ferragamo, Satya Paul, Steve Madden, Superdry, Scotch & Soda, Tiffany & Co, Tory Burch, Tumi, Versace, Villeroy & Boch and West Elm. RBL today operates 1,937 doors split into 732 stores and 1,205 shop-in-shops in India.
In 2019, RBL marked its international foray by acquiring the British toy retailer, Hamleys. Globally Hamleys has 213 doors across 15 countries.
Sunino Group is a privately held group of companies. Founded in Castellamonte (near Turin, Italy), the founder Carlo Sunino gained the tradition of processing wood during 1950s and in 1968 entered the polystyrene foam market, in 1988 the thermoplastic moulding sector and in 1992 the toys sector. Today, it is led by the next generation of entrepreneurs Laura Sunino Paolo Sunino. Together they have taken the Group to over 100 million Euros company.
