Reliance Retail showcases over 40,000 artisan-crafted products during festive season, expands Vocal for Local mission

Aiming to boost the income of local artisans under 'Vocal for Local' mission, Reliance Retail Ltd showcased more than 40,000 artisan-crafted products from over 50 GI clusters to its customers this festive season.

The firm said under its three-year old flagship initiatives - “Indie by AJIO” and “Swadesh”, it now engages with more than 30,000 craftsmen, representing over 600 art forms across a wide spectrum of clothing, textiles, handicrafts, and handmade natural goods.

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"We are delighted that our development efforts over the last few years are now bearing strong results both in our ability to engage with an increasing number of craftsmen as well as our ability to co-create and co-curate products that are being increasingly accepted by today’s consumers," Reliance Fashion & Lifestyle President Akhilesh Prasad said.

Reliance Retail also said its success in bringing such a huge repertoire of traditional handcrafted products to its modern retail formats is also an indication of the existence of demand for such products, as long as consumers’ expectations of quality, style, and convenience of modern retail buying can be met.

The fashion and lifestyle arm of Reliance said its 'Indie range' (Indie by AJIO) is sourced from over 50 GI crafts clusters from across Indian states - including Gujarat, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Odisha, Bihar, Jharkhand, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal.

With this geographical indication tag, natural produce, handicrafts, or manufactured goods are identified native to a territory, region, or locality for their unique characteristics.

"The diversity of sourcing from across the length and breadth of India has resulted not only in the creation of a stunning portfolio that is every handcraft connoisseur’s dream, but also in the direct employment for over 30,000 skilled artisans across the country. We will continue to grow this segment with time," Akhilesh Prasad said.

Reliance Retail's other brand 'Swadesh' has an MoU with the Ministry of Textiles which enables the sourcing of 100 percent authentically crafted products, directly from artisan communities. This brand is available across multiple formats including AJIO and Trends, while it also offers over 400 types of handmade textiles, handicrafts, and agricultural products that are listed with GI tags.

Reliance Retail Ltd is a subsidiary of Reliance Retail Ventures Ltd (RRVL), which is a subsidiary of Reliance Industries Ltd and is the holding company of all the retail companies under the RIL Group.

RRVL reported a consolidated turnover of Rs 1,62,936 crore ($21.7 billion) and net profit of Rs 5,448 crore ($ 726.4 million) for the year ended March 31, 2020.