Reliance Retail to focus on craft products

India’s largest retail chain, Reliance Retail on Monday said it has showcased more than 40,000 artisan crafted products from over 50 geographical indication (GI) clusters during the festive season.

In a press release, Reliance said this is a direct result of its three-year old flagship initiatives - “Indie by AJIO” and “Swadesh” which aims to provide avenues for sales and employment to local craftsmen. These programmes now engage with more than 30,000 craftsmen, representing over 600 art forms across clothing, textiles, handicrafts and handmade natural goods.

Akhilesh Prasad, president – Reliance Fashion & Lifestyle, said the company’s development efforts over the last few years are now bearing strong results both in its ability to engage with an increasing number of craftsmen and co-create and co-curate products that are being accepted by today’s consumers.

The company 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.

Indie by AJIO is an online marketplace for local artisans and handcrafted products and celebrates the textile and handloom traditions of India in categories like apparel, home furnishing and accessories such as jewellery and footwear.

The craft repertoire includes Ikat, Shibori, Banarasi, Bagh, Ajrakh to Jamdani, Tangail and Chanderi amongst others. The Indie range is sourced from over 50 GI crafts clusters from across India including Gujarat, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Odisha, Bihar, Jharkhand, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal. Prasad said Reliance Retail will continue to grow this segment with time.