mumbai indias bigger retailer reliance said on thursday that had signed a longterm franchise deal with french fashion house balenciaga the latest in a flurry of deals the conglomerate has signed with highend brandsreliance brands ltd rbl a unit of the conglomerate that also runs indias biggest retail chain said in a statement it would be balenciagas sole partner in indiaits the most opportune time to introduce the brand to the country as the indian luxury customer has matured and using fashion as a form of creative expression of their individuality darshan mehta managing director of rbl said in the statementreliance run by one of indias richest men mukesh ambani has been on a dealmaking spree signing franchise agreements with brands like valentino gap and british coffee and sandwich chain pret a managertargeting growth in luxury reliance is building a mall with dozens of outlets for powerhouse brands from louis vuitton to gucci documents reviewed by reuters showed in april