The House of Rare aims to evolve beyond apparel into a broader lifestyle-led retail powerhouse as it expands into categories such as fragrances, luggage and women’s footwear, while also betting on faster delivery timelines and quick-commerce-led fashion discovery.
Founded over a decade ago, Bengaluru-based The House of Rare owns a portfolio of premium fashion brands, including men’s label Rare Rabbit, women’s line Rareism, kidswear brand Rare Ones, and footwear venture Rare’Z.
“The idea is to expand into different categories which fit the brand ecosystem and target the lifestyle of the urban consumer,” Akshika Poddar, founder of Rareism from The House of Rare, said in an interview with Mint.
The expansion comes at a time when premium fashion retailers in India are increasingly looking beyond core apparel to build wider lifestyle ecosystems around consumers, while also adapting to shopping habits shaped by quick commerce and faster delivery expectations. As competition intensifies in the premium westernwear segment, brands are also pushing deeper into tier-2 and tier-3 markets to tap rising aspirational demand.
The company is set to launch women’s sneakers in June, and plans to introduce girlswear under its kidswear brand Rare Ones by January next year, while also scaling categories such as luggage and fragrances. At the same time, it is exploring faster delivery timelines and quick-commerce-led fashion discovery as changing consumer behaviour reshapes fashion retail in India.
“We thought it would start more with basics and need-based items, but because of brand awareness, it is also moving towards impulse fashion purchases,” Poddar said, referring to the brand's partnerships with quick-commerce platforms.
The shift towards faster fashion delivery is accelerating across India’s apparel market, with brands such as Libas, Slikk Club, Newme and FWD by Myntra experimenting with rapid delivery models, dark stores and hyperlocal fulfilment networks as fashion increasingly becomes an “instant gratification” category for younger consumers.
The House of Rare is now evaluating city-level fulfilment hubs in markets where it has a larger store presence to enable same-day or 2-3-hour deliveries without diluting the in-store customer experience.
The company plans to add around 75 stores by FY27 as it sharpens focus on experiential retail and premium consumers across metros as well as smaller cities.
The company currently operates about 250 exclusive stores across formats, of which nearly 175 are Rare Rabbit, 50 Rareism, 20 Rare Ones, and 5 exclusive footwear-focused stores under Rare'Z. Apart from exclusive outlets, the brands are also present across multi-brand chains such as Shoppers Stop and Lifestyle. The company also operates their own website and is present across leading online marketplaces in India such as Myntra, Amazon, Flipkart, Ajio, Tata Cliq, and Nykaa.
Rareism currently clocks nearly 40% repeat customers, while the company’s online business sees a 60:40 split between marketplaces and its own website, according to Poddar.
Rare Rabbit entered the market at a time when premium westernwear options for men were relatively limited in India. Poddar said the company identified a clear gap in the market for premium men’s fashion when it launched the brand 11 years ago.
“There were not many fashion brands for men at that point. That was the key market gap that we found,” she said.
The company later expanded into women’s westernwear, kidswear, shoes and luggage.
The retailer is also increasingly seeing traction from smaller cities, reflecting the broader premiumisation trend in India’s fashion market. Poddar said stores in cities such as Patiala have performed well, while the company continues to identify opportunities in newer micro markets.
While the company initially focused on rapid expansion to build brand awareness, it is now prioritising profitability and store productivity.
“Now it is about very well-chosen locations, store sizes, market capture and productivity,” Poddar said. Around 80% of the company’s stores are operating profitably, she said.
Radhamani Textiles Private Ltd, the parent company of The House of Rare, reported a revenue of ₹808.4 crore in FY25, a jump of 37.5% over FY24, according to its financial filings with the ministry of corporate affairs. The company’s net profit surged around 34% to ₹100.3 crore in FY25.
Poddar said the retailer sees adjacent categories such as footwear, luggage and fragrances as complementary growth drivers that help deepen customer engagement with the brand.
“When a customer has been with your brand for several years, they want to come back to you for more categories,” she said.
The company had earlier experimented with an athleisure-focused category during the pandemic, when comfort wear and lounge-inspired fashion gained popularity. However, Poddar said the retailer eventually folded the category back into its core business as consumer demand shifted.
“We were never really into technical athleisure,” she said. “It was more comfort and lounge wear, which was the trend during Covid. We continue to do that, but it is now a much smaller category.”
The House of Rare raised its first institutional funding round from A91 Partners in 2024, with participation from the family office of Manyavar founder Ravi Modi and Zerodha co-founder Nikhil Kamath. The company reportedly raised around ₹500 crore at a valuation of over ₹2,200 crore.
Poddar said the company chose A91 Partners because of its long-term approach towards scaling the business rather than chasing aggressive short-term growth.
“When you take investments, it is important to find the right investing partner,” she said. “We wanted somebody who focuses on healthy growth with a strong bottom line.”
The company continues to receive investor interest, but is not actively looking to raise fresh capital at present. The company has no immediate plans for an initial public offering either.
