Arvind Lifestyle Brands, one of India’s largest players in the apparel space, has acquired the Indian operations of British fashion retailers Debenhams and Next and American lifestyle brand Nautica from Planet Retail.

The deal is worth Rs 55 crore (around US$12 million).

“This acquisition is a significant milestone as it signals our entry into the department store segment and also the globally fast growing apparel specialty retail segment,” said Sanjay Lalbhai, chairman and MD of Arvind Limited, which owns Arvind Lifestyle Brands.

“American sportswear lifestyle brand Nautica makes us the dominant player in the sportswear segment. With this move, we have taken a big step towards strengthening our position in the Indian fashion industry,” he added.

The acquisitions are expected to accelerate Arvind’s growth and to contribute sales of Rs 5000 crores (approximately US$1 billion) over the next five years.

“We have a strong menswear portfolio, which will get further strengthened with Nautica, while Debenhams and Next will substantially strengthen our position in womenswear and kidswear segment,” said J. Suresh, MD and CEO of Arvind Lifestyle Brands.

The acquisition of the Debenhams business signals Arvind’s first foray into department stores. It plans to expand the Debenhams network in India from two to eight stores over the next three years.

There are just three Next stores in India currently and Arvind plans to add a further nine during the next three years.

The company plans to open an additional 30 Nautica stores taking the tally to 41 free standing Nautica stores and 71 shop-in-shops in the next three years.

“As we continue to grow our brand footprint internationally with our licensed operators around the globe, we look to Arvind with their significant expertise in brand building in India, to grow Nautica’s presence in this important emerging market,” said Maria Vicari, president of global licensing, Nautica.

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