Enter Armani -Targeting The Luxury Sector

The fashion powerhouse Giorgio Armani has finally entered India. Incidentally it did so in the very same way many of it’s competitors have: by partnering with real estate giants DLF.It’s a convenient platform for Armani as a partnership with DLF empowers it to set up stores in the hundreds of malls being built by DLF across the country and partnering with a real estate giant also ensures land to set up exclusive individual stores as well .The headache for Armani as for every other designer label will be to tap into the Indian market and market their brand through the retail chain.

This is a very basic problem that the company faces but it’s a complicated one. Armani does not have and has not had a strong infrastructural base in India. It has always been associated with a very high end luxury class sector. Consequently Armani‘s products are comparatively highly priced .It will take time to change the often correct perception that Armani is for rich people.

That does not however imply that they are focusing on the middle class Indian. The upper creamy layer of the economy continues to remain their focus. The challenge will be to attract a significant majority from this class of western influenced Indians to buy their products. In a sense their age old mantra of ‘Customized Luxury’ will be the key.

Luxury products made from expensive materials and tailored with specific designations for both men and women are on display in their first store which opened at the Emporio Mall in Delhi.

What has however become clear with the launch of Armani in India is that the West and Europe is now targeting India in a big way to become the next big marketplace. Armani were a little late on the buzzer when it came to realizing this fact. It was only after their competitors like Christian Dior, Tommy Hilfiger and Louis Vuitton started to spread their roots in India that Armani finally picked up a scent of what was happening and decided to develop their India strategy at a fast pace.

Better late than never because the fashion and luxury product market in India is still developing. Surprisingly, Armani’s foreign competitors will not be the ones that the company has to fear but the fast developing chain of indigenous Indian luxury brands. Even when it comes to specifically tailored designer clothes, local designers have been the ones who have been selling their products with some success. Some of them have however been extremely successful.

The bottom line however remains that the fashion and luxury market in India is here to stay and here to grow. Just last month saw the launch of the men’s fashion magazine GQ. In addition to which brands like Vogue and FHM India too have launched. While these are magazines, brands like Armani will depend on India’s emerging fashion conscious youth population which in time will be in a position to decide the demand for these products and consequently pay for them.