Voted as 'India's Most Trusted Apparel Retail Brand,' (Brand Equity Survey 2014/2015), Pantaloons, a division of ABFRL has always been one of the most loved large format fashion retailers in India. Post-acquisition by Aditya Birla Nuvo Limited in 2013, Pantaloons is today the fastest growing large format retailer in the country. The rate of new store openings has increased from one every two months to one every two weeks. The company offers a wide range of brand offerings across apparel and non-apparel categories and across varied price points. It operates across categories of casual wear, ethnic wear, formal wear, party wear and active wear for men, women and kids. Womenswear is the lead category contributing to half of total apparel sales. Non-apparel products include footwear, handbags, cosmetics, perfumes, fashion jewellery and watches. Post-acquisition by the Aditya Birla Group, significant investments were made focused on store upgradation, expansion, deeper pan-India penetration, portfolio enrichment, brand building and organisation processes to lay the foundation for its future growth. The brand is now present in 78 Indian cities / towns. Pantaloons began in 1997 as a Future Group company in the quest to equip the emerging Indian middle-class with an indigenous fashion retail format. Consistent with the times, the model was of a discount fashion retailer.