Japanese Fashion Giant Uniqlo in JV Talks With Aditya Birla, DLF

Mumbai: Japanese fashion giant Uniqlo has held discussions with Aditya Birla Group and DLF Retail to enter the Indian market through a joint venture, said sources briefed on the matter. The ongoing talks with Madura Fashion & Lifestyle, a division of Aditya Birla Nuvo, was fairly advanced as Uniqlo wants to tap India's relatively robust consumer market to offset setbacks at home, they added. The $9 billion Tokyo-headquartered Uniqlo's parent Fast Retailing Co Ltd - famous for its basics, t-shirts, socks and jeans - competes with global peers H&M and Gap Inc with fast forward merchandise and sharp pricing. Uniqlo's aggressive pricing makes it a scalable business model in the Indian market and has attracted the interest of potential Indian partners, including Madura.