UK's Laura Ashley to set foot on India via Future Retail deal

New Delhi: UK's home furnishing brand Laura Ashley will enter India through a licensing deal with the Kishore Biyani-led Future Retail.

"Future Retail Ltd, part of the Future Group, and Laura Ashley have signed an exclusive right and licence to establish, own and operate stores and websites in India," the Future Group said in a statement.

"Under this agreement, Future Retail will also have the right to purchase merchandise for sale in India as well as the right to manufacture or order the manufacturing of the licensed products from Laura Ashley."

Future Retail will also carry out wholesale distribution, it added.

Laura Ashley -- headquartered in London -- specialises in retailing furniture, home accessories, decorating and fashion products.

Kishore Biyani, Group CEO, Future Group, said: "This partnership is another step towards bringing aspirational products in the market. Customers will now have an even wider range of home furnishings to choose from."

"Continuing to grow and develop our international presence and explore new partnership opportunities is an important part of our strategy and we have made good progress. We signed a new licence partner for the Indian market which strongly positions the brand for advancing in the territory in future," a Laura Ashley spokesperson said.

The Laura Ashley group trades in 446 stores worldwide, 194 of which are located in the UK, Ireland and France, with the remaining 252 being franchise stores situated in 29 territories across the world.