 "Founder and creative director Sabyasachi Mukherjee said the brand will also eventually offer bags and perfumes online, but its clothing line will remain offline. | File Image")
Sabyasachi Calcutta, the premier luxury brand, will launch its first digital jewellery boutique on Tata CLiQ Luxury on August 21, marking its debut in online fine jewellery retail.
Founder and Creative Director Sabyasachi Mukherjee said the brand will also eventually offer bags and perfumes online, but its clothing line will remain offline.
“A very simple reason why I don’t want to do that is because we want to uphold the highest form of craftsmanship with clothing. My job, as both an entrepreneur and as someone who has a vision for a larger India, is to make sure that I uphold craft at its highest forms so that I can improve the craft economy in this country. We have to stop looking at them as service providers and start looking at them as design providers. I’m going to use craft to create a halo for the brand, and I’m going to use clothing to create that halo for the brand,” Sabyasachi Mukherjee, founder and creative director at luxury fashion house Sabyasachi, told Business Standard.
He did not give a timeline for when bags and perfumes will be launched online.
The jewellery boutique will feature the largest selection of Sabyasachi’s jewellery online, all crafted in 18-carat gold. He also explained that the only things that can truly be luxury in India are jewellery and real estate.
While talking about the impact of the tariff hike on Indian goods by the US, he said that the impact on the business is going to be negligible.
“Indians who want to shop in India will find us. The Indians who want to shop and can’t come to India will buy us. It’s because of two things — when you build incredible value in your price points, even if tariffs rise, you’re still not going to be out of competition,” he said. He explained that irreplaceability comes when a brand has uniqueness.
He further added: “If you learn to export Indian heritage, and if you don’t export Indian labour, then you’ll realise that any part of the world can raise tariffs but there will always be demand, because you’re giving them something unique that cannot be replaced anywhere.”
For Tata CLiQ Luxury, getting Sabyasachi to exclusively launch its fine jewellery on the platform is of significance.
“With the debut of their fine jewellery on our platform, we are not only elevating our luxury jewellery portfolio but also making one of India’s most iconic brands accessible to discerning consumers across the country, including those in Tier-II and Tier-III cities. As India’s leading luxury platform joins hands with the country’s most celebrated designer, this exclusive partnership is set to redefine the fine jewellery experience for the digital era,” said Gopal Asthana, chief executive officer, Tata CLiQ Luxury.
Asthana added that the tieup will extend the Sabyasachi experience digitally to over 20,000 zip codes without compromising storytelling or service.
“We want to give the same service and a similar kind of personal experience for the customer as if they are going to an actual Sabyasachi store. We are creating extremely good discovery, navigation, and high-end content. We have a very strong delivery process. We are trying to upgrade the user experience for this collection. It will be more about premiumisation,” he told Business Standard.
When asked if Indian users are ready to buy luxury online, Asthana explained: “Almost 55 per cent of India’s population is on the internet, and around 65 per cent of the population is in the less-than-35-years age group. These people are everywhere — cities, metros, Tier-II and -III cities. Because of this exposure to social media platforms, these users have now entered the world of brands and luxury. For this group of people, the price point of luxury starts at ~60,000–70,000 and goes up to ~2–5 lakh.”
