Indian luxury kids’ segment looks up

Les Petits, a super luxury store exclusively catering

to young consumers, recently opened at DLF Emporio in New Delhi. It sells luxury merchandise for babies costing almost a lakh for a pram or Rs 68,000 for a nappy bag. Despite the price-tag, the store is doing good business and is looking at spreading wings in other parts of the country. Les Petits plans to sell brands such as Baby Dior, Fendi Kids, Miss Blumarine, Simonetta, I Pinco Pallino, Theophile & Patachou and Concord, and cater to the zero to eight age bracket. The product range starts from Rs 5,500 and goes up to Rs 2 lakh.

With many global luxury giants stepping into the country and with the recent CII-AT Kearney report showing optimistic growth figures for the luxury market in India, proves Indian consumers’ interest in high-end luxury goods segment. According to a Technopak report, the overall children’s market in India can be broadly divided into five segments — super premium (above Rs 2,500), premium (Rs 1,000-2,500), mid (Rs 500-1,000), economy (Rs 250-500) and lower (up to Rs 250). The research firm said that by far the mid-segment, with a market share of 31 per cent, is expected to reach 58 per cent by 2020.

And according to a Kotak Wealth Management-Crisil report, despite the economic slowdown, the number of Indian ultra HNHs is estimated to have grown by 30 per cent to around 81,000 in 2011-12, and is expected to triple to around 286,000 over the next five years. Consequently, the net worth of ultra HNHs is estimated to surge five-fold from an estimated 65 trillion in 2011-12, to 318 trillion by 2016-17. The report says the slowdown in the economy has not affected the spending patterns of ultra HNIs.