Q&A
‘LUXURY BRANDS SHOULD CUSTOMIZE AS PER INDIAN NEEDS’ Abhay Gupta,
Founder and CEO of Luxury Connect LLP & Luxury Connect Business School believes that luxury brands should adapt to the local Indian tastes and also localise its media plans for the country
Q:
What are the main challenges facing the luxury industry in India? If one were to look from 2000 to date, nothing has changed, in fact challenges have been added. The challenges that the industry faces are regulatory with respect to duty structure, FDI Norms, sourcing norms. The other big challenges are the lack of luxury retail real estate, talent and counterfeit. Also, the mentality of the Indian consumer who prefers to shop for luxury goods abroad. As per a report by Fondazione Altagamma, if Indians shopping luxury abroad started shopping in India, the scenario would change drastically. However, that will not happen as the restrictions by the government, such as the pan card number (if you purchase a product above Rs 2 lakh), act as a deterrent. The multi-brand concept is also still to pick up in a big way in India.
Q:
What verticals/ segment are doing well in India?
If you look at soft luxury goods, then accessories are doing well such as footwear, ladies bags, perfumes, eye wear. In terms of hard luxury, automobiles, real estate, home interior, jewellery
68 | PITCH | NOV-DEC 2018
are doing well. Watches had seen a slow down because of the Rs 2 lakh rule, but it is making a comeback through re-useable luxury. Second hand luxury is also picking up. On the other hand, the newer segment like the yacht industry has been badly affected, primarily because of security reasons.
learning. Looking back to the 1990’s when fashion brands first entered India, there was an apprehension as to what will happen to the Indian brands? What happened was that the overall quality and performance of the Indian brands improved across sectors.
Q:
Q:
Indian luxury brands are doing extremely well and they are still
Zoya by Tanishq (from the house of Titan), Jaguar Land
How are the homegrown Indian luxury brands performing?
If you were to name the top Indian luxury brands, what would you say?