Galeries Lafayette announced Thursday the signing of a partnership with the Indian group Aditya Birla to develop their presence in India, where the French group plans to open two stores in 2024 and 2025.

In order to "pursue (its) international deployment strategy", Galeries Lafayette has entered into an "exclusive partnership" with Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Limited, the first Indian fashion group to have reached a billion dollars in revenues, operating a network of 3,500 stores.

This partnership includes "the launch of a dedicated e-commerce platform" but also "the opening of two stores in Bombay and New Delhi, the two main capitals of the country", said the group whose history dates back to 1894, in a statement.

The first store of 8,000 square meters, located in the "commercial and cultural heart of Bombay", will open its doors in 2024 to "a young clientele very sensitive to new luxury trends".

"This will be closely followed by the opening of a 5,500-square-meter department store located in the heart of DLF Emporio, New Delhi's most renowned premium shopping center," said the group, which employs 11,000 people. It is planned for 2025, said a spokeswoman for Galeries Lafayette to AFP.

"We are proud to expand our international footprint in the heart of a market as prestigious and refined as India, where we believe Galeries Lafayette can benefit from strong growth potential," said Galeries Lafayette's CEO Nicolas Houzé, in a statement.

The managing director of Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail, Ashish Dixit, hailed "a symbolic moment in the transition to maturity of the luxury market in India", "a country that is now home to a generation of young consumers with strong purchasing power and open to the world."

According to Houzé, this partnership illustrates Galeries Lafayette's desire to "accelerate its international deployment to include some 20 stores by 2025, particularly in Asia and the Middle East".

The group, which has 57 stores in France, including 38 franchises, is already present in Berlin, Beijing, Jakarta, Dubai, Doha, Shanghai and Luxembourg. It is expected to open three more stores in China in 2023, bringing the total number of stores abroad to ten, while waiting for the Indian openings.