Spanish fashion giant Zara has shut down its flagship store in South Mumbai’s iconic Ismail Building, making way for luxury retail chain Purple Style Labs to take over the massive 60,000-square-foot space near Flora Fountain. The Edwardian-era property will now house one of India’s largest multi-designer fashion destinations under the Pernia’s Pop-Up Shop brand.
According to property records accessed by Propstack, Purple Style Labs has signed a five-year lease with an annual rent starting at ₹36 crore in the first year and rising to ₹45.6 crore by the fifth. This translates to an eye-watering ₹10 lakh per day—making it one of the most expensive retail leases in the country. In total, the company is set to pay ₹206 crore over five years, with an additional ₹18 crore as a security deposit.
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Zara, which had occupied the 51,300-square-foot space since 2016, originally signed a 21-year lease but decided to exit early. While the brand has not publicly disclosed the reason for the closure, industry insiders point to a combination of factors, including rising rental costs, evolving shopping trends, and a consumer shift towards central Mumbai’s high-end retail hubs like Palladium Mall in Lower Parel.
“Nine years is a solid run for a premium fashion store in South Mumbai,” a retail consultant told HT.com. “But the target customers for brands like Zara have largely moved to areas like Worli and Lower Parel, where Palladium Mall has become the go-to luxury shopping destination.”
Despite shutting down this location, Zara continues to maintain a strong presence in Mumbai, with stores in Palladium Mall, Phoenix Market City (Kurla), Oberoi Mall (Goregaon), and Infinity 2 Mall (Malad).
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For Purple Style Labs, this move marks a major expansion. Founded by Abhishek Agarwal in 2015, the company has built Pernia’s Pop-Up Shop into a powerhouse of luxury fashion, housing top Indian designers like Tarun Tahiliani, Falguni Shane Peacock, Amit Aggarwal, and Gaurav Gupta. With this high-profile real estate acquisition, Purple Style Labs is making a bold statement in India’s evolving premium retail landscape.
