Suit and spirit makers join hands to woo rich Indians

Couturier Ashish N Soni and Pernod Ricard's Sumeet Lamba have joined hands to

woo high-heeled male customers. At an event held over cocktails and dinner at the French Embassy recently, Soni and Pernod Ricard, which owns Chivas, held an auction of their products for the attendees.

By the end of the evening, a bottle of 18-year-old Chivas was auctioned for Rs 75,000, which would go to charity. The embassy decided to provide a platform to high-end suit makers and spirit brands to jointly market their products to the rich Indian buyer. In India, unlike in the West, only a rich few wear high-end suits and drink fine scotch. Many other men’s wear brands such as Canali, Salvatore Ferragamo and Brooks Brothers are working with spirit companies such as Diageo, Beam Global and United Spirits to initiate joint marketing drives in the country.

Soni’s custom-made suits cost anywhere between Rs 60,000 and Rs 3 lakh. He began working on the marketing initiative with 18-year-old Chivas about a year ago. Now the designer aims to cater to at least 1,000 rich and aspiring clients based in cities such as Mumbai, Indore, Ludhiana, Chennai, Hyderabad, Bangalore and Kolkata through such joint events.

International brands such as Brooks Brothers, which is looking to expand its footprint in the country, sees such marketing events with top spirits makers a sure way to attract attention. Sandeep Arora, who curates such initiatives has even organised in-store tasting sessions at Canali, Brooks Brothers and Salvatore Ferragamo stores.