Comments on: In India, Luxury Brands Need Localised Strategies

By: Yashodhar Raju

Yashodhar Raju — Sat, 13 Aug 2011 07:44:52 +0000

Hi it is an interesting article,where in focus is Indian Luxury Consumer.The most important challenge for a Global ( European Luxury Brand ) is the Local Govt (INDIA) tariffs and other trade Barriers which are making the Retail Cost more than Duty Free Shops or Stores abroad.
As most of us agree the Indian HNI GLOBE TROT quite frequently minimum 3 times year to maximum every month.Then they would like to shop their as the intangible are more appealing.

Yashodhar Raju.

By: Noel

Noel — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 06:27:52 +0000

International brands do have to rethink their strategies, as the mindsets are quiet different! They need to reach audiences in different ways, from Ad spreads in Magazines, to parties and events promotions as well as e-magazines & websites like Luxe Lore and Justdial- Lifestyle. It’s all about networking!

By: shyam satish

shyam satish — Sat, 02 Jul 2011 17:30:16 +0000

The montl blanc strategy of leveraging the most recognisable Indian face worldwide to market its pen to a global audience ,at the same time to commemorate the greatness of Gandhi and further associating with a noble cause by proceeds of sales going to the Mahatma gandhi foundation was a commendable idea, and kudos to a brilliant strategy, however in a country as diverse as ours luxury manufacturers should also keep in mind the political landscape, the cultural sensitivities , the legal frameworks within which they have to operate to successfully execute their strategies.

By: Tiffany

Tiffany — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 09:22:30 +0000

I’m not sure what Chanel News’ future strategy is, but from what’s there at the moment I really don’t think it’s impressive at all, one blog posting per month is hardly embracing the web. I’m sure there is a lot of interesting things that happen at Chanel that could be made public to help reinforce the brand.

Swide.com (D&G site) seem to have done a rather good job of creating their own content site (and keeping it very fresh with new content almost every day), although a little heavy on the branding for my liking but, to me, it seems like they are c

By: Nishant

Nishant — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 19:07:24 +0000

People in india do not understand luxury and the way they understand luxury is something totally different for us indian its more of a status symbol then an investment… The only few brands they understand are LV GUCCI DIOR , More then half the people Think ZARA is a designer……non the less the luxury market should be targeted towards new money because people in india are getting brand conscious well definitely the old money is more of people who are traveling and do understand is used outside coz they have an idea of the 56 % tax that luxury brands bare to come into this country…….Montblanc has approached people in a very different way they have their add in papers placed correctly by this i mean they are in places where people visit a lot more like the brand is in your face…..but like i said its again bought because of the status symbol and people recognize the brand from before this is the old money again and now its easily available everywhere tho they have nothing customized i do get an invitation from them every time they have offers or some sale going on…………bottom line is they know these brands by their names but don’t understand where it comes from . What i feel is luxury brands are like wines you need to know how old they are where they originate from what grapes are used and what food should be consumed with it. its more of a mix and match . Women in india would buy LV’s worth thousands of euros or lakhs of rupees and then match it with a dress or a gown or clothes that are not even worth 200 euros…….

By: Sandeep

Sandeep — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 03:19:58 +0000

Excellent article Agatha. Very impressive. As someone from India who works in the fashion industry in the US, I agree that localization is critical to succeed in the Indian market. Most western brands fail to understand the Indian consumer and establish a connection in their minds. Flashy marketing campaigns are not enough for the Indian consumer who will spend money only if he/she relates to the brand very well regardless of the product. Collaborating with local designers and marketing campaigns that relate to the local cultures will help to show value and drive sales tremendously if executed well. Moreover, It is hard for western companies to change their design strategies because of the diversity in the Indian market and their willingness to adapt to Indian design needs will determine their success to a large extent.

By: Aanchal

Aanchal — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 06:09:33 +0000

We need to see more collaborations across vreative sector – whether it is fashion or communications, there is a need to organise adn acknowledge the contribution of creative economies to the overall scene. Its not only foreign brands, even Indian designers struggle to market and brand themselves and improve their presence. We need more entrepreneurial thinking that works.

British Council has an interesting initiative on this where they help UK and Indian creative entrepreneurs collaborate through an awards program. http://www.britishcouncil.org.in/yce/

We need to see more of this and initiatives to promote teh idea of a creative economy.

By: roughluxegirl.blogspot.com

roughluxegirl.blogspot.com — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 06:48:49 +0000

A localized strategy may garner short-term interest, but for a brand to maintain its integrity, it must be true to its design aesthetic.

Further, even in the short term, a blanket localization strategy can’t be applied to everyone. The ‘logo’ consumer who buys products which scream designer will probably take to this strategy. But the real design-conscious consumers will run a mile from it, hop on a plane to London or Paris where buying a Chanel 2.55 means being part of the Chanel ethos.

Contrary to other emerging markets, India has a large and successful domestic design industry – it doesn’t need international luxury brands to offer the same thing at three times the price. In short, no one wants to walk into a Bottega Veneta boutique and feel like they’re on the sets of a Bollywood film.

Hermès, however, has managed to walk the fine line between staying true to brand heritage and adding local elements with their Indian Fantasies campaign. That’s the sort of intelligent marketing that brands should think about vis-a-vis India.

By: jattinn kochhar

jattinn kochhar — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 07:12:56 +0000

very well analyised ,thus it makes perfect sense.i hope the luxury brands take their cue and do the need full at the earliest.

By: Jisha Alam

Jisha Alam — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 00:28:31 +0000

Its very interesting to me that a luxury brands such dior, louis vuitton are working towards localizing their marketing approaches. As far as i can imagine, the people who are able to afford thier products are amongst the top earners who i would assume are very familiar with western lifestyle and culture through frequent travelling as the article mentions. Therefore, i would think that their target markets wouldn’t need these brands to indianize themselves (hiring sales rep who speak the local language and so on are obvious) to appeal to their taste. Montblanc’s example kind of surprised me as i thought these luxury brands would prefer to maintain a degree of consistency in the way they promote themselves to keep up an “elite” brand image. for example if chanel prints invitation cards that are all the colors of the rainbow, sparkly, and plain out loud just as how the punjabi culture is, it would totally take away from the essence of what the house of chanel is seen as around the world.

Very interesting article.