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9, December 2006 Pragati Maidan, New Delhi.
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This year will see international luxury brands like Gucci, Armani, Versace, Dolce & Gabbana etc set shop in India, inside malls that will be exclusively catering to upscale, premium lifestyle brands. With 4-5 luxury malls coming up in India, a deluge of international lifestyle brands is set to descend upon the country this year. According to a recent survey, high net worth individual households in India stand at 1.6 million, growing at around 14-15% annually. And with the luxury market pegged at Rs 64,000 crore, the going is only getting better. There are at least 5-7 urban micro markets in India for luxury retail, namely, South Mumbai, North Mumbai, South Delhi, Central/South Western Delhi, Chennai and Bangalore, and possibly one in Punjab (Ludhiana or Chandigarh). Cities like Mumbai and Delhi can absorb multiple centres for luxury retail, in order for the brands to be conveniently accessible to the large expanse of the populace. In another 4-6 years, Bangalore and Chennai are expected to follow the trend. Says Pranay Sinha, president & CEO, Select Infrastructure Pvt Ltd, which is developing the Select Citywalk mall in Delhi, that will have luxury brands, “Mumbai’s decay is far more visible in buildings built after independence, than before it. In these conditions, much as wealth may have grown, luxury high streets are unable to emerge there. Hence, a need has emerged for enclosed or private luxury or premium shopping precincts, such as Santushti in Delhi, the Courtyard in Mumbai etc in the past, and projects like the New Delhi Dome (part of Select Citywalk), two malls from DLF, one in Delhi (Emporio in Vasant Kunj) and one in Mumbai and UB City, Bangalore which are being developed now. With more such projects, India will well be able to take a position in the global luxury retail market.” Uptill now, all the international luxury brands like Louis Vuitton, Bvlgari and Chanel etc were located inside five-star hotels. “However, the texture is bound to change as there is a saturation point as far as space in hotels is concerned. Hotels are not meant for retail and once such malls develop, luxury brands are bound to come out of the confines of hotels,” says luxury brand advisor Ruchita Sharma Bharadwaj.
Date: 15-Mar-2007
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