Luxury lapping it up in India

The affluent and savvy Indian with a taste for luxury can’t seem to have enough. Perhaps that

is why a host of international luxury labels such as Louis Vuitton, Giorgio Armani, Christian Dior, Diesel, Gucci and Versace among others are increasing their footprint in India.  The latest expansion came from the ultimate haute couture brand Christian Dior, which opened a store in the upscale Taj Mahal Hotel in Mumbai.

According to Sanjay Kapoor, Chairman, CII Luxury Goods Forum and MD of Genesis Luxury Fashion, the Indian luxury market has grown 13 per cent over the past three years and is currently estimated to be $4.76 billion. It’s set to grow three times more by 2015. And apparel brands form a significant part of this growth especially in the category of menswear. Jewelry, watches and accessories are the largest categories at present. A new trend in apparels is the emergence of the menswear luxury brands. Men are becoming appearance and brand conscious and classic menswear brands such as Canali are finding favor with Indian men in the 35 to 44 age bracket, while younger men in the age bracket of 21 to35 are dressing up in Paul Smith, Kenzo and Etro.

Blues Clothing Company, a licensee of several luxury brands like, Versace Collection, Corniliani, Damat and Tweens, is increasing retail outlets by opening new ones at Hotel Grand Hyatt and Taj Mahal Hotel in Mumbai. Abhay Gupta, Executive Director, Blues Clothing Company elaborated on the various factors driving this market trend. He says the economy is clearly on a recovery mode and men are beginning to spend on themselves too. They are well-traveled and while earlier they shopped for their favorite brands overseas, now they can find the same brands in India. Hence, it is far more convenient to buy here, the prices being almost the same, along with which, brands have their latest season collections in the boutiques here.