Reliance Brands Ltd., the retail brand licensing arm of Reliance Industries, will acquire a 40% stake in Italy-based Plastic Legno's toy manufacturing business in India to strengthen its toy production in the country.
RBL, which already has British toy retailer Hamleys and homegrown brand Rowan under its belt, in a statement said it has entered into a joint venture with Plastic Legno SPA through the acquisition of a 40% stake in its India business for an undisclosed sum.
This investment would help RBL in bringing in vertical integration for its toy business and diversify the supply chain with a long-term strategic interest in building toy manufacturing in India, a joint statement said.
Plastic Legno SPA is owned by the Sunino group that boasts more than 25 years of toy production experience in Europe.
RBL spokesperson said this collaboration with Plastic Legno's deep experience in world-class toy manufacturing coupled with Reliance's strong footing in the global toy retail industry will 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 and to be an accelerator in building a robust toy manufacturing ecosystem in India not only for domestic consumption but also for global markets,' he added.
Sunino Group co-owner Paolo Sunino said: '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 success.
'We have important development plans to implement, always in the spirit of creating a cultural background in this specific sector in India.' Plastic Legno SPA had started its India business in 2009 out of a need to develop a strong production hub that would cater to global markets, but more importantly to the fast-evolving and growing Indian market.
Sunino is a over 100 million Euros privately held group of companies.
Founded in Castellamonte, near Turin, Italy, it gained the tradition of processing wood during the 1950s and in 1968 entered the polystyrene foam market, in 1988 the thermoplastic moulding sector and in 1992 the toy sector.
RBL, a subsidiary of Reliance Retail Ventures Ltd, has a strong play in the toy industry with its portfolio of British toy retailer Hamleys and homegrown toy brand Rowan.
It began operations in 2007 and today operates 1,937 doors split into 732 stores and 1,205 shop-in-shops in India.
Hamleys, currently, has a global footprint across 15 countries with 213 doors and is India's largest chain of toy stores.
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