The Man Behind Building Reliance Brands, Darshan Mehta, Passes Away at 63

Darshan Mehta, the man behind Reliance Brands, the company that houses Reliance Industries' luxury brands in the country, died on Wednesday morning at the age of 63 due to a sudden heart attack.

Mehta, a seasoned mid-distance runner and Himalayan trekker, is credited with introducing some of the world's most well-known brands to the Indian market, including Valentino, Balenciaga, Tiffany & Co., Ermenegildo Zegna, Giorgio Armani, Bottega Veneta, Jimmy Choo, Burberry, and Pottery Barn, among others.

In addition to introducing several well-known international brands to the Indian market, the company invested in many Indian designers, including Abu Jani-Sandeep Khosla (Abu Sandeep), Manish Malhotra, Rahul Mishra, Anamika Khanna, and Abraham & Thakore, among others.

He joined the company in 2007, when Reliance Brands was formed, and over the course of 17 years, he not only helped to establish the company but also built it into India's largest player in the premium to luxury fashion and lifestyle space. He also inaugurated Reliance Group's two retail centers in Mumbai, Jio World Drive and Jio World Plaza, both located in Bandra Kurla Complex.

In 2019, Mehta led the acquisition of Hamleys Global Holdings, a toy chain based in London, for over ₹600 crore.

"Darshan was a visionary leader who helped shape India's luxury and lifestyle retail sector. "With a career spanning three decades, including impactful leadership roles at Arvind Brands, Trikaya Grey, and Reliance, he introduced global brands to Indian consumers and helped elevate the industry to new heights," said Kumar Rajagopalan, CEO of the Retailers Association of India.

In November of last year, he resigned as managing director of Reliance Brands and became a non-executive director on the board. He also took on a mentoring role within the Reliance Group.

Mehta, a chartered accountant, began his career with PwC India. He later spent more than two decades with the Lalbhai group, where he held leadership positions at Grey Advertising (then part of the Lalbhai group before being acquired by WPP), Anagram Stockbroking, and eventually served as CEO of Arvind Brands, where he built a portfolio of international fashion partnerships based on mainstream licensed brands.