India’s luxury lifestyle market has remained largely unaffected by the economic slowdown in 2013 and touched around $8.5 billion with growth rate of 25-30 percent in 2013 as against $6.5 bn in 2012, according to a recent paper by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) on “Luxury Industry in 2013-14.” The paper also reveals that the luxury market in India is estimated to cross $14 bn during the course of next three years.
Commenting on the findings, D S Rawat, Secretary General, ASSOCHAM, said: “A young demographic profile, growing number of millionaires and billionaires and aspirational integration with the globe are all among the driving factors for the luxury markets which see a big potential in India. Since the high-end products and lifestyles are not price elastic, they don’t get much affected by the slowdown.”
According to the paper, sectors such as fine-dining, electronic gadgets, luxury personal care, and jewellery performed well in 2013 and are expected to grow by 30-35 percent over the next three years.While releasing the paper Rawat said that the luxury market is poised to expand three-fold in the next three years with the number of millionaires expected to multiply in another four years.
The chamber’s paper segregated luxury sector into products including apparel and accessories, pens, home decor, watches, wines and spirits and jewellery; services such as spas, fine dining and hotels among others.
Consumption of branded wine is likely to register over 30 percent increase in the metro cities as per the paper. It also mentioned that the combined effects of economic growth, globalisation, and internet/social media diffusion have created boom in the luxury industry. However, as the dominant luxury consumers have changed, their consumption habits are also expected to evolve over time, says Rawat.
GUCCI, Christian Dior, Louis Vuitton, Canali India, L’Oreal Luxe India, LVMH India, The SPA Group, Geetanjali Group, Da Milano Leathers, Reliance Brands, and Hidesign were some of the players in the luxury space who performed well in 2013
