Fabindia acquires majority stake in East
Fabindia, the Indian handcrafted fabric and jewellery brand, has acquired a majority stake in UK womenswear retailer East with the option to buy the remaining stake within a year.
Fabindia bought a 25% stake in the company for an undisclosed sum back in 2009. This further acquisition extends Fabindia’s ownership of East to 62.5%.
Sunil Chianani, the Fabindia representative on the East board, commented: “With the acquisition, we have the option of getting East products into India and also improving our apparel line using their design capabilities and technology.”
Originally known as Anokhi, East was founded by Clive Pettigrew, Penny Oliver, and Jonathan Keating in 1986. The stores were rebranded as East in 1994 and now have a turnover of £40 million.
Fabindia founded in 1960 by John Bissell to market the diverse craft traditions of India. The Bissell family now holds a 50% stake in the business and 42% is owned by the employees. The remaining 8% of the business is owned by nvestement advisers Wolfensohn.
