Luxury goods companies, like many in other sectors, have struggled to find the secret mantra which will get the Indian consumer to buy from them in large numbers. Unfortunately, they are using a formula that may have worked well in the West to try and entice Indians. This is unlikely to work. There were a few markers at the recently concluded IHT s sustainable luxury conference that is making it clear to me that these European brands need someone to explain certain cultural nuances which hold the key to the Indian heart and thereby the purse strings.
As part of the conference there was a party that was held one evening. So far, so good. Gossip has it that almost Rs 6,000 was spent per head, clearly indicating that the hosts weren’t loath to spend money on their esteemed guests. But whoever devised the menu forgot to include a proper dinner (there were heavy and very fancy snacks), much to the dismay of the Indian guests. In this country, even when a poor person invites you over, he bends over backwards to serve an exceptional meal. What does this say about India and what does the party say about the West? More importantly, what possible bearing does this have on the way people spend on expensive products?
In India, we still live in and as communities; individualism isn’t the order of the day even for the more Westernised amongst us. That is why we save and spend on weddings, which is an inclusive function. Everyone and their uncle is normally invited for a wedding in the family. In the West, splitting the check, potluck dinners and cash bars for invitees are a common part of the social process. Nobody takes it amiss. In India, all of this, even now, would cause social consternation among the guests as well as the host.
Which means that Indians will spend not just on themselves for pure personal pleasure but on something that has significance for the community at large. That’s why ostentatious weddings by those not suitably wealthy are considered to be just fine. No one questions Louis Vuitton trunks being bought to house the bride’s trousseau. But buying an outrageously priced It bag for an evening out with the girls, hmmm... Buying expensive products for a wedding has social sanction; buying on a whim isn’t entirely part of our consciousness.
The other marker that indicated, during the conference, that the organisers don’t get modern India was a passing remark during the Q&A session that the host and IHT’s fashion editor Suzy Menkes made. While inviting Indian fashion designers to ask questions of Nicolas Ghesquiere, the creative director, Balenciaga, she termed it as “a once in a lifetime opportunity”. The well-travelled, well-heeled Indian (and the Indian fashion designer is both) wants to be treated as an equal by the West. The wealthy Indian now knows that it’s his spending prowess that is worthy of respect. He wants that at every stage of his interaction with a brand. Asking questions of Ghesquiere, even allowing for his immense talent, is therefore not the opportunity of a lifetime.
What, then, is the learning for luxury companies if they have to be successful in India? Turn the old adage on its head. Forget Rome: while in India, do as Indians do. And then we will accept your brands as graciously as this country has done with countless other brands, cultures and garments. Simple, really — just how real luxury should be.
