Luxury has made India its home. From Armani to Chanel and Ermenegildo Zegna to Versace, each has created establishments in the country. Additionally, the already existing brands such as Gucci, Armani, Hugo Boss, Louis Vuitton, Hermes, Jimmy Choo etc., are eyeing the Indian market with renewed, country-specific, localised strategies.
Retail Brands Redefining Luxury
Increasingly, in the recent years, India’s growing luxury potential has attracted several brands to the country. This impetus has been driven by an ever-increasing base of ultra high-net worth households, which are likely to grow at 27 per cent till 2017-18.
Indian consumers are exhibiting a distinctively higher preference towards luxury fashion brands. There seems to be an ever increasing and growing appetite for all things luxury. India has hence become a growing aspirational market for international luxury and fashion brands. We are continuously seeing the more far-sighted and committed brands consolidating their position in the market by continuing to look at expansion strategies.
Despite this, the Indian market has a lot of untapped potential. As the integration of the Indian consumer with global trends continues, international fashion brands can expect to find the country an increasingly fruitful ground for growth.
DIOR
Dior which entered India in 2006 has made its mark on Indian consumers with exquisite French fashion styles. The leading fashion apparel brand has been appreciated by fashion consumers of the country for its exotic variety of products like classy designer handbags, perfumes, sunglasses, apparels and many more.
The ‘New Look’ line of Christian Dior has made incredible contribution in earning name and fame for the brand. Over the years, the brand has embossed several benchmarks in men’s wear and other ready to wear fashion apparels and accessories. Its boutiques are at DLF Emporio in New Delhi and Mumbai. The bright boutiques live up to the luxury and style that is the essence of the brand.
VERSACE
Versace is known as one of the leading fashion brands worldwide, epitomizing sensual glamour and has been a symbol of Italian Luxury. Versace maintains a 230 square meter flagship store space with a minimalistic boutique style and Italian floor tiles at the DLF Emporio mall in New Delhi. The brand is planning to revamp their product, pricing and distribution strategies to suit the Indian market conditions and set realistic goals to strengthen its customer base.
Venturing into real estate the brand Versace has tied up with renowned real estate builders and developers, ABIL Group, to develop an exclusive residential project in South Mumbai. The partnership will come up with residential spaces designed by Versace that will offer customers unique apartments combined with ultra-modern facilities endemic to luxurious lifestyle.
LOUIS VUITTON
Louis Vuitton’s relationship with the Indian consumer and market goes back to the glorious era of the Maharajas. The brand has constantly been dynamic in understanding and addressing the Indian luxury consumer’s need through its effective strategies and collaborations.
Louis Vuitton targets the Indian luxury market potential by recognizing and addressing the challenges faced. Its strategy decisions are store locations , targeting the nouveauriche, market and sponsorships, adapting to the Indian culture and efficiently utilizing local resources and targeting new dwellers and young millionaires.
Louis Vuitton have also localized their approaches, identifying important events and celebration among potential clients and arriving with personalized gifts and services for the occasion. Louis Vuitton’s strategy to return to high single digit to double-digit growth includes an ongoing change in leadership, restricted outlet expansion and a focus on high-end luxury.
DKNY
DKNY has introduced both classic and comfortable clothes to the Indian market. Donna Karan International (DKI) defines the metropolitan fl air that bridges the difference between stylishly casual and conventional. The firm designs and sells men’s and women’s clothes, including suits, sportswear, accessories, and shoes, under the Donna Karan New York, DKNY, DKNY Jeans, and DKNY Active labels.
DKI sells to upscale department and specialty stores and through its own retail stores in New Delhi and Mumbai. The brand also has collaborations for online presence in the country.
COACH, INC
Coach, Inc., the leading New York design house of modern luxury accessories and lifestyle brands is to debut its first store in India to coincide with their 75th anniversary this year, with exclusive partners Genesis Luxury Fashion Pvt. Ltd.
The company is confident of growth with their modern luxury store that showcases Coach’s rich heritage and commitment to craftsmanship, to woo Indian consumers who are constantly looking for new brands and style.
MICHAEL KORS
The Michael Kors stores in New Delhi, Bangalore ,Mumbai and Kolkata give the Indian consumers an access to a wide range of luxury fashion products under the signature Michael Kors Collection and Michael Kors labels. The collection includes accessories, footwear, watches, jewelry, men’s and women’s ready-to-wear, eye wear and a full line of fragrance products.
The brand also has a strong online presence in the country through collaborations and is efficiently catering to the increasing consumer base in India constantly looking for styles that are at par with global standards.
CANALI
CANALI, the leading name in men’s luxury fashion is synonymous with fine tailoring, elegance and style all around the world. Superlative tailoring, the finest raw materials, a highly-skilled workforce and the quintessential Italian touch keeps the brand miles ahead in the luxury market.
Currently, the brand is catering the Indian luxury consumer base from its opulent DLF Emporio store in New Delhi as well as other stores across the country in cities like Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Chennai.
EMPORIO ARMANI
Emporio Armani is the fashion forward line from Armani that features trendy, ready-to-wear and runway collections. Armani designs, manufactures, distributes and retails fashion and lifestyle products including apparel, accessories, eyewear, watches, jewelry, home furnishings, fragrances and cosmetics under a range of brand names — Giorgio Armani Privé, Giorgio Armani, Emporio Armani, Armani Collezioni, AJ | Armani Jeans, A/X Armani Exchange, Armani Junior, Armani Baby and Armani Casa.
The brand believes in the creative spirit of youth conveying a fun, lively and effervescent spirit that manifest this glamour and vitality. Operating through five stores in India in New Delhi, Hyderabad and Mumbai, the brand is catering the Indian consumer with a cosmopolitan, fashion and lifestyle collection. The stores have an atmosphere of youthful modernity, but they also possess an underlying elegance, which embodies the quality that defines this great brand
SALVATORE FERRAGAMO
Salvatore Ferragamo, operating through seven stores in India in Delhi NCR. Mumbai, Bangalore and other airport shopping destinations, is a popular accessories brand offering products across a wide variety of categories including jewelry, watches, hats, gloves and scarves, fragrances, shoes, eyeglasses, handbags, ties, belts, etc.
The brand strategy aims to enhance its competitive position among the leaders in the global luxury market by leveraging on its creativity, glamour, Italian craftsmanship, consolidation of its position, enhancing its classical elegance and glamour with a contemporary style that keeps pace with the times.
In India, it aims to maintain its position in the high-end luxury segment by emphasizing the specific and central role played in its product range by the excellent quality of Italian products.
PAUL & SHARK
Paul & Shark redefined Indian consumers’ tastes in luxury sportswear with its stores in New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Hyderabad. The Italian brand collection includes a bright and colourful selection of casual and elegant polos, shirts, knits and jackets that can be stylishly teamed with denims and trousers.
Paul & Shark also offers an extremely rich collection of accessories like wallets, shoes, belts, scarves and gloves to complete the look.
PAUL SMITH
Paul Smith is an English fashion designer, whose business and reputation is founded around his menswear line. Paul Smith entered India with its signature style that can be identified as ‘classic with a twist’ which has been created by fusing traditional sharp cut English tailoring with odd idiosyncrasies. His collections of clothing and accessories for both men and women are usually identified by the presence of Smith’s trademark multicolored stripe pattern somewhere on each item.
The brand caters to Indian consumers through its stores in New Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Kolkata.
HUGO BOSS
Hugo Boss announced its new partnership in India with Genesis Luxury in February 2016. Currently, the brand has two Boss Stores – at DLF Emporio in New Delhi and at the Palladium in Mumbai. A German luxury style house named after his founder, BOSS personifies sophisticated fashionable essentials for both men and women. Its core brand encompasses bonafide, understated luxury fashion trends.
The men’s collection extends modish, elegant boardroom and evening wear along with advanced effortless looks and premium after work active wear. The women’s collection abides feminine trends with a firm focus on exquisite materials and sophisticated specifications.
BURBERRY
Burberry, on the other hand, is an iconic British luxury brand, recognized globally for its innovative menswear, women’s wear, children’s wear, accessories, beauty and fragrance collections.
Burberry stores showcases men’s and women’s ready-to-wear as well as a full range of accessories and children wear. Burberry currently has four stores in India – Emporio mall in New Delhi, UB City mall in Bangalore, Taj Krishna hotel in Hyderabad and a 400 square metre flagship store at the Palladium mall in Mumbai. Burberry has been actively engaged in personalised tactics in mobile and digital platforms as well.
FENDI
The Fendi Boutique in New Delhi, at DLF Emporio is a mirror of Fendi’s history. The world famous and acclaimed Peter Marino, the architectural designer of the Fendi boutiques concept, adopted a mix of typical Roman ancient and traditional materials reworked into contemporary designs to have the consumers experience the environment of Fendi’s country of origin.
Through Fendi, Indian consumer could experience a harmonious cross pollination between design and contemporary fashion, highlighting mutual love for creativity and functionality.
ERMENEGILDO ZEGNA GROUP
The Ermenegildo Zegna Group is the world’s leader in luxury men’s clothing. Zenga is the first luxury retailer to enter India with a 51 percent stake after the government allowed single brand retailers to do so . Zenga is an Italian luxury fashion house that makes men’s clothing and accessories.
The company ventured into the ready-to-wear market with a line of men’s clothing aimed at the top end of the market, followed gradually by knitwear, accessories and sportswear. Zenga has three stores in India — in the Taj Krishna in Hyderabad, the Palladium Annexe in Mumbai, and the Dlf Emporio in New Delhi.
HERMES
Hermes would be the first international luxury brand to introduce the concept of high street outlets in India. The 170-year old French luxury brand is best known for its scarves, neckties and Birkin handbags. Hermes is a company based on creativity in craftsmanship.
India has such a magnificent history of craftsmanship and textiles that as a tribute, Hermes looked for a way to match that. Hermes introduced a sari collection for India that used prints of scarves inspired by Indian designs. This limited edition was the brands way of showing appreciation for the Indian culture. Hermes has its store at Horniman Circle, Mumbai and at the Oberoi’s, New Delhi.
TOM FORD
Tom Ford brings his style and vision to India with a standalone store at DLF Emporio. “The sophisticated man in India wants the very best in suiting, the finest accessories and clothing for all aspects of his life” said Tom Ford, which is exactly what the New Delhi store provides along with top notch personal service. Tom Ford offers made-to-measure suiting, handcrafted shoes, luggage and sportswear.
