The best way to know something is to learn from an experienced person

VISIT TO INDIAN LUXURY CONFERENCE

As students of Luxury Connect Business School, we got the opportunity to attend the 4th Indian luxury conference “CII-ET Dialogue on Luxury” organized on9^th December,2016at the Hotel Leela Palace, New Delhi

The theme of the conference being “Marketing Indian Luxury for the Global Elite”, we learned the views of Luxury experts on the performance of luxury sector in India.

The conference was started with welcome remarks by Amita Sarkar, Deputy Director General, CII. The members of the panel shared their thoughts about the position of Luxury in the Indian Market.

The Indian heritage story is well known across the globe. The world looks towards India for its spiritual, historic and traditional treasure of regal palaces, exquisite jewellery, rich weddings etc. Luxury in reality is not driven by need, but desire. The Luxury customer still thinks that: - I am not splurging money, rather investing in something. Luxury has a emotional connect with the consumers. The good news is that as population grows & their income level grows, their standard of living increases, it would definitely boost the luxury sector.

Although Luxury brands are also affected by the current demonetization, it is believed by the Luxury Experts that impact of this on Luxury is very short term. In Just couple of months, there would be recovery from this situation. This is because Luxury is not something just restricted to the aspiration class; it is the necessity for those who are already fit in the stage of Luxury consumption.

Mr. Nakul Anand(Executive Director of ITC Limited) stated that despite the demonetization situation, last month was the best time for them in terms of sales.

According to Mr. Sanjay Kapoor, Executive Chairman of Genesis Luxury; Luxury in India is increasing at 25% P.A. and expected to reach 18.3 billion from the current 14.7 billion. This is due to many reasons like rise in disposable income of consumers, increase of Luxury consumption in Tier 2 and Tier3 cities etc. In fact, India is not new to luxury. World looks at our country for inspiration. India is the next China for the Luxury Brands. And also, now we have a new Global phenomenon: A deeper, responsible Luxury. A new Luxury consumer is emerging; who is thinking about Social and Environmental Issues”. These consumers only use the brands which are fulfilling their social responsibilities towards a better world.

As Ritu Beri (International Fashion Designer) said that where we fail is to market ourselves- how we package ourselves and to present to the luxury customers. The luxury customer is fast evolving.

“The main challenge which we are facing is Digitalization, which is no more an option for us. We have to involve this criterion in our working.” The luxury sector must cope with the inescapable shift toward digitalization, the challenges of sustainable development. At the same time, the luxury market is different from other markets, with highly specific management.

Due to these reasons, Luxury brands face problem in catering the needs of the consumer. There is another problem which is rising in Luxury market: the luxury customer is fast evolving. The buying habits and aspirations of these new consumers are different from those of their predecessors. In addition to changes in buying practices, demand for luxury products is also evolving. Consumers still want extremely rare, expensive, and luxurious products which can be transferred to the generations. So, brands need to take care of this aspect too.

Italy is known as the luxury capital and known as the world leader in cut, style and selling the luxury. On the other side,India has an unbelievably rich heritage of luxury and stupendous craftsmanship. What we need is much more investments into our local artisan and a vision to translate our art into profitable international business. Keeping all this in mind, Mr. Lorenzo Angeloni, Italian Ambassador was also invited in the conference to share his views. He spoke about the rich Indian culture and heritage and said that Italy and Indian together can help in making Luxury grow in coming years. He also said that India just needs to present and market itself in a better way to achieve the goal of its position in the global luxury world.

Over the next year growth in India will remain strong, although the country still has challenges to overcome before it becomes a major market for luxury brands.

The conference was concluded with the last session that had a talk with the style icons and their thoughts on Indian luxury. In conversation with The CII-ET Style Icons: Gautam Kalra(Fashion Stylist), Rohit Bal (Fashion Designer) and Pernia Qureshi (Indian fashion entrepreneur).

During the sessions, we got the chance to meet and interact with various Luxury Professionals and Experts who have real experience and crystal clear knowledge about the current environment of Luxury Industry. Mr. Sanjay Kapoor, (Executive Chairman of Genesis Group) addressed theLCBS students as “The Future of Luxury”. Also, Mr. Rajesh Pratap Singh (Fashion Designer) mentioned that ‘being a part of LCBS is being in safe hands and having wonderful opportunity of mentorship of Mr. Abhay Gupta’.

Mr. Amit Dutta, MD, Quintessential congratulated us for having chosen this career which has a great demand for talent like us. Mr. Rohit Bal, well known fashion Designer was happy to pose for a picture with us- a dream come true!

 I am very thankful to Luxury Connect Business School for giving this chance to connect with all the eminent personalities of Luxury Industry and to get an exposure of this area.

(By: Sonali Khanna)