Luxury brands going places

It took a while in coming to India’s commercial capital. But when it finally came, Dior did it in style. Mumbai’s first Dior boutique spread over 1,300 square feet opened at the Taj Mahal Hotel last week.

Kalyani Chawla, Christian Dior’s representative in India, says, “After our boutique in Emporio Mall in New Delhi, it was only logical for us to step into Mumbai too. While we are focusing on women fashion in the Mumbai store, we are on the lookout for more boutiques in other metros.”

Dior is in good company. Abhay Gupta, executive director, Blues Clothing Company that retails several luxury brands, says, “We are spreading our wings in Mumbai by enlarging our supply base with three new stores at the Grand Hyatt and two at the Taj Mahal hotel. These stores will cover brand names like Versace Collection, Corniliani, Damat, Tweens and our multi-brand concept ‘Blues Galleria’.”

Blues Clothing says it clocked a turnover of Rs 106 crore last year and will double the business this year. Gupta adds, “We have recently launched Blues Home, spread over 60,000 sq ft of retail space, which includes products from Versace Home.”

It’s easy to see why international brands are making a beeline to set shop in India or expand their existing retail network. According to a CII & AT Kearney report, the luxury products segment itself, which includes apparel, accessories, personal care, is a Rs 7,000 crore market in India and is growing at over 20 per cent. Estimates are that the luxury market will become almost three times its current size in another five years.

No wonder, a host of brands such as Christian Dior, Versace, Giorgio Armani, Gucci, Diesel, Ed Hardy and Louis Vuitton etc are scaling up their retail presence.

And these brands are looking beyond Mumbai and New Delhi. Sanjay Kapoor, chairman, CII Luxury Goods Forum, & MD of Genesis Luxury Fashion, says the new aspiring middle class in tier II and III cities will lead the growth story forward.

Brand Marketing India (BMI), the holding company for the Calvin Klein and French Connection businesses in India, has expanded its presence in over 100 points of sales across 13 Indian cities.

Chawla of Dior agrees that expansion will take place in areas where doing business makes sense. “We shut down our outlet in a five star hotel in New Delhi since the combination of footfalls, conversions and rental costs simply did not work out in our favour. So, we are looking at places where it’s worth doing business in.”