The Asian unit of private equity giant L Catterton will buy nearly 10% of Future Lifestyle Fashions (FLFL), as the Kishore Biyani-owned Indian retailer tries to hold its own in a fiercely competitive market with foreign funding.

L Catterton Asia, a partnership between private equity firm Catterton, luxury brand LVMH and investment company Groupe Arnault, will acquire an approximately 10% stake in FLFL through a mix of preferential allotment and secondary purchase of shares, the companies said in a statement on Monday.

The investment in FLFL, India’s biggest departmental store chain, will enable the company’s retail formats, Central and Brand Factory, and own brands to leverage the global fashion and retail expertise of L Catterton to further strengthen and expand the business, the statement added.

Six-year-old FLFL owns and markets about 30 fashion brands through exclusive brand outlets, department stores and multi-brand outlets as well as company operated chains such as Central and Brand Factory.

FLFL, which also owns nearly 20 brands such as Tres Mode, Indigo Nation, Celio and Lee Cooper, collectively operates more than 400 stores spread over 6 million square feet of retail space.

“This investment reinforces FLFL’s position as India’s leading lifestyle fashion company while opening up avenues of global collaboration for us,” said Kishore Biyani, founder and CEO of Future Group.

On May 9, US retailer Walmart Inc acquired 77% stake in Flipkart for about $16 billion in its biggest acquisition till date. The deal values the 11-year old Indian e-commerce firm at $20.8 billion.

Meanwhile, Amazon has pumped in billions of dollars into its Indian operations. One of its India units, Amazon Seller Services, alone has received over Rs 8,000 crore (about $1.28 billion) during financial year 2017-18 from the US parent, as per documents filed with the India's corporate affairs ministry.

First Published:May 21, 2018 1:29 PM IST