 "Sanjay Kapoor")
The Delhi-based Genesis Luxury, which retails Armani, Canali, Jimmy Choo, Bottega Veneta and its parent Genesis Colors that retails Satya Paul, Tie Rack and Bwitchothers, are growing at 35 per cent annually despite the slowdown in the economy. Sanjay Kapoor, managing director of Genesis Luxury, tells Raghavendra Kamath that L Capital Asia, the fund management arm of French luxury giant LVMH, is not looking to exit his company, as reported. Edited excerpts:-
There were reports about your investor L Capital being unhappy with the way Genesis Luxury was being run.
We are unaware of any such issues between L Capital and us, as we are in a constructive, amicable and long-term relationship. The reports are unfounded.
Are you looking to raise any new funds through PE, debt or IPO?
We may run an IPO in the next two to three years if the need arises.
What is the kind of same store sales you are seeing of your luxe and super-premium brands?
We have witnessed a 10-15 per cent increase in same store sales over the last fiscal.
Is Genesis Colors or Genesis Luxury looking to diversify into casual wear or sportswear with tie-ups with international brands?
We are in conversation with some high-street casual wear brands and may look to introduce these in the next year or two.
Are you looking at launching any e-commerce channel to retail your brands ?
At the moment we are not looking at e-commerce formats for any of our international brands.
However, we are doing some great stuff with Satya Paul on the Internet and some interesting social media activities.
Are you looking at any multi-brand retailing venture to sell your different brands?
We already have a multi-brand store in Chennai called Luxxe Box at the Express Avenue Mall where we retail a few of our brands.
Are you looking to tie up with any international brands this year? If yes, can you name them?
In July this year, we introduced two new brands - Michael Kors at DLF Emporio, New Delhi and Villeroy & Boch at the Palladium, Mumbai. Michael Kors is the most-sought after American label today and Villeroy & Boch is the German leader in luxury tableware.
Hence, at the moment we have our hands full and will not be launching any more brands in this year.
How has the current economic slowdown impacted the business of Genesis Colors?
The market sentiment is a little low. Hence, business has slowed down a bit. But overall luxury is an inelastic segment so we do not expect to experience too much of a slowdown.
Last time you had said that you were planning to review the impact of rupee volatility on your brands. Are you planning to raise prices?
Now that the rupee has more or less stabilised, we will raise prices to reflect the current value of the rupee in the next couple of months.
In the past you had said that there was a shortage of premium properties for luxury brands. How do you tackle this issue?
We are in conversation with all major real estate developers in the country today to book spaces wherever the opportunity arises to aid our brand expansion plans.
What are the three biggest challenges in retailing of luxury brands?
The current lack of availability of retail spaces for luxury brands is the biggest impediment to expansion. A relatively high duty structure and lack of trained manpower are two lesser challenges.
