Fashion brand Zara has closed its iconic five-storey flagship store at Hutatma Chowk in South Mumbai's Fort area, after nearly eight years of operation. A closure notice placed at the store's entrance announced the closure, without mentioning any specific reason for the same.
"Please be informed that this Zara store will cease operations after the end of business on 23rd February," the notice read.
The Spanish fashion brand paid a monthly rent of Rs 2.25 crore for the outlet with a deposit of Rs 13.5 crore, as per data cited by Business Standard. This amounts to nearly Rs 7.5 lakh rent per day. Citing people familiar with the matter, the report added that the store's sales were not able to match the exorbitant rentals.
The Spanish fashion brand Zara had entered the Indian market after its parent company Inditex SA entered into a join venture with Tata Group's Trent. According to reports, Inditex Trent had acquired the over 100-year-old Ismail building store on lease in 2017 at Rs 30 crore rent yearly with a five-year lock-in period.
The Hutatma Chowk Square outlet, which was opened in 2017, was the largest Zara outlet in the country and its only standalone store in Mumbai.
Notably, luxury fashion brand Purple Style Labs has now leased the retail space in the same iconic building for an annual rent of ₹36 crore on a five-year lease, Hindustan Times reported citing registration documents obtained by Propstack. Purple Style Labs retails high-end designer brands under Pernia's Pop-Up Shop brand, which it had acquired in 2018.
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