Percept, an entertainment, media and communications company, has signed a 50:50 joint venture with Future Group to launch Bollywood Retail.

Bollywood Retail will focus on providing the Bollywood experience and Bollywood merchandising within the Future Group’s retail network. The joint venture will independently source Bollywood intellectual property rights (IPR) and software from Percept’s Bollywood Corporation and use retail infrastructure from Future Group.

In the first phase, with an investment of Rs 50 crore, the Bollywood Retail concept will be operational at about ten destinations including Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Indore, Jaipur, Pune, Delhi and Mumbai.

In an issued statement, Future Group CEO Kishore Biyani said: “Bollywood is one of the biggest entertainment phenomena that rules India. Through this partnership with Percept, we hope to bring a unique touch and feel of the Bollywood experience to the consumer.”

Percept joint managing director Shailendra Singh said: “Bollywood merchandise is just the first of many things to result from this partnership. The international market has been exposed to the concept, but the domestic market is nascent. However, I am sure that in due course, the concept of merchandising will be lapped up by the consumers in a big way.”