French luxury leather brand Longchamp forays in India

French luxury leather goods brand Longchamp will be foraying in India with its first store opening in New Delhi. Longchamp will be franchised in India through DOIT Retail Brands, which has bagged the master franchise.

Longchamp already has a loyal following in India and that’s the reason it was looking around for an Indian partner. Radha Kapoor, Founder and Director of DOIT Retail Brands points out that the brand has maintained its luxury values of craftsmanship, creativity and quality. In fact, its products are simple, universal and sophisticated, and cater to a wide audience. In Delhi, the store will open at The Emporio Mall in New Delhi. The 1,000 square feet store will retail Longchamp’s bestselling products like Le Pliage Heritage, Penelope, Roaseau and Le Pliage Cuir bags along with other accessories. For its second store, DOIT Retail Brands is scouting a location in Mumbai and has zeroed in on Palladium.

After Mumbai, the brand is likely to open in Chennai and Bangalore. It is being positioned in in the affordable luxury space, somewhere between Louis Vuitton and Michael Kors. Longchamp was founded in Paris in 1948 by Jean Cassegrain and is still owned and run by the Cassegrain family. The brand has more than 300 exclusive stores globally and retails from another 1,500 points of sales. It is famous for its leather handbags, luggage, shoes and other fashion accessories sold at retail stores like Selfridges and Bloomingdale’s apart from its own stores.