It was considered a marketing coup of sorts when Madame Chirac, accompanying her husband French president Jacques Chirac, on his India tour, agreed to inaugurate Dior's first store in India, at The Oberoi in New Delhi, in February.
For luxury brands trying to make their presence felt in a new market such as India, marketing spells a curious mix of socialite parties, fashion shows or simply choosing an 'appropriate' socially-active brand ambassador. While Chanel has just one brand ambassador globally in Nicole Kidman, Louis Vuitton and Christian Dior from the euro 14 billion LVMH stable have Tikka Shatrujit Singh, the scion of the Kapurthala royal family, as an advisor, the Indian face of LVMH brand, and Kalyani Chawla as the brand ambassador for Dior in India. While Singh and Chawla 'walk the talk' of Louis Vuitton and Dior respectively, brand ambassadors Shahrukh Khan, Sushmita Sen for Tag Heuer and Aishwarya Rai for Longines just grace brand events.
For Singh and Chawla, being a brand ambassador means not just wearing the label, but also deciding the brand's media calendar in India, travelling to Paris to buy products for Indian stores and most importantly networking with customers.In a category where marketing is restricted to advertising in glossies, word-of-mouth and holding parties to pamper the existing customer base is an essential.
While Chanel, Bvlgari, Dior and Louis Vuitton inform their customers about the launch of new lines, Hugo Boss invites the loyalists to an exclusive preview where guests can sip champagne while browsing through a new collection.Another important aspect in a luxury brand is pricing because of the well-heeled globe-trotting customers that they attract.
For a customer to feel comfortable at home at a retail outlet in India, the product must be priced keeping a city of reference (Dubai, New York and London for Indians) and the city of origin of the brand (Paris for LVMH and Chanel, Rome for Bvlgari) in mind.At present, only a million Indians are buying luxury brands whereas 8-9 million is the audience that can be tapped because of their purchasing power. “A proper luxury retail environment makes marketing easier,” says Saloni Nangia, associate director at Technopak.
Currently, all luxury brands are housed in five star hotels which restrict the signature of a brand so easily experienced in the high streets of a Rodeo Drive or Bond Street. Of course all the shop windows, world over for each luxury brand looks the same - Bvlgari has a Valentine window on display which was created in Rome while Chanel has an architect that creates the same window in Tokyo, Paris, New York and India.
While all brands insist that there is a simultaneous introduction of products worldwide, there is a little bit of customisation that happens - Chanel plays up its range of delicate handbags for the Indian woman in a sari while Bvlgari does the same with its gold and diamond line instead of its coloured gemstones.
ECONOMIC TIMES, Copyright © 2006, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Limited. All Rights Reserved
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