Darshan Mehta, former managing director of Reliance Brands, passes away

Darshan Mehta, former managing director of Reliance Brands Limited (RBL), a subsidiary of Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), passed away on Wednesday, according to people aware of the development. He was 64. 

Mehta was until recently the managing director of Reliance Brands Limited (RBL) before becoming a non-executive director on RBL’s board last November. A chartered accountant, he was president of homegrown apparel retail company Arvind Brands Ltd before joining Reliance Industries.

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Reliance Brands Limited was established in 2007 under Mehta’s leadership. He led the creation of a portfolio of premium lifestyle brands for RIL, bringing iconic labels to the Indian market.

RBL’s portfolio comprises more than 50 brands, largely foreign ones such as Brooks Brothers, Burberry, Hamleys, Hugo Boss, Hunkemoller, Jimmy Choo, Kate Spade New York, Michael Kors, Steve Madden, Superdry, Scotch & Soda, Tiffany & Co. and Tory Burch. 

It is also invested in Indian menswear designer Raghavendra Rathore’s eponymous label, apart from fashion designers Manish Malhotra, Rahul Mishra, Anamika Khanna, Abraham & Thakore, Abu Jani & Sandeep Khosla, and Ritu Kumar.

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Last August, Mint reported that RBL had a tough financial year 2024 (FY24), with a majority of its businesses reporting weak performance, according to the company’s annual report.

Despite a 13% increase in total revenue to ₹2,303 crore in FY24, RBL’s losses widened by 55% to ₹288.4 crore from ₹185.16 crore in FY23. The increase in sales did not translate into profitability for brands such as Diesel Fashion India and Paul & Shark, which RBL controls.

National rollout for Reliance's consumer business 

In March, Mint reported that Reliance Consumer Products Ltd (RCPL), the packaged goods arm of RIL, would take three to four years to distribute its products nationally following a select rollout of products such as Campa and Independence, according to people in the know.

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The company will also roll out more products over the next 12-18 months. Reliance's consumer goods venture has acquired various brands and launched several private labels to compete with established players such as ITC and Hindustan Unilever Ltd in domestic and international markets.