Mumbai's first luxury shopping centre taps India's 'cultural understanding' of affluence
At the opening of Mumbai's first luxury mall, almost all of Bollywood's A-list stars turned out for the red carpet event in haute couture outfits, with photographers snapping away, reminiscent of the annual Met Gala in New York.
Some 66 global luxury brands - such as Balenciaga, Saint Laurent, Versace, Tiffany & Co - have set up shop in Mumbai's Jio World Plaza, a one-stop luxury shopping centre in India's richest city that is also home to 169 billionaires and 59,000 millionaires.
With China's economic growth slowing, the world's luxury brands have set their sights on India, which is expected to grow at around 7 per cent annually and is the world's fifth-largest economy.
Do you have questions about the biggest topics and trends from around the world? Get the answers with SCMP Knowledge, our new platform of curated content with explainers, FAQs, analyses and infographics brought to you by our award-winning team.
A wealth report by Knight Frank last year ranked India third in terms of its billionaire population, after the United States and China.
The wealthy in India is growing beyond old business families and corporate tycoons, encompassing start-up founders, investors and high-ranking corporate professionals.
"There is a new group that has emerged over the past seven to eight years. These are people who are wealthy for the first time, and have high disposable incomes to buy high-end housing, luxury cars and jewellery," said Arvind Singhal, chairman and managing director of retail consultancy Technopak.
The luxury market in India has also matured enough to start seeing demand from smaller cities.
"India is far behind China in most things but in luxury, the gap is smaller. I'd say India is only about 10 years behind China," said Singhal.
"Unlike China with the communist revolution, Indians have always been comfortable with luxury owing to the legacy of the maharajas and the custom of lavish weddings. They didn't have the purchasing power before, but have always had a certain cultural understanding of luxury."
Jio World Plaza was the brainchild of Isha Ambani, daughter of India's richest man Mukesh Ambani, who is chairman and managing director of the Reliance Industries empire.
The shopping centre puts Mumbai on a par with capital New Delhi in terms of a single luxury shopping destination. New Delhi is home to the DLF Emporio, where limousines roll up daily to drop off affluent shoppers from across north India.
At the Jio World Plaza, butlers help shoppers find stores, carry their shopping bags, and make restaurant reservations.
Personal shoppers are available at no charge to advise shoppers on styles, help with product selection, and boost the confidence of shoppers from smaller towns.
"It's a tricky balance to maintain - to guide someone who hasn't a clue about fashion or what suits them, but without seeming patronising. If they're agonising between a Gucci or Prada bag, I help them choose based on their wardrobe," said Suniti Sharma, a personal shopper in New Delhi.
Sharma is no stranger to shoppers with different habits, ranging from knowledgeable shoppers who know what they want to those who mispronounce brand names and think Armani is an Indian brand because its name shares similarities with a Sindhi community in India.
Indian consumers are also increasingly valuing a private, exclusive experience, as members-only clubs spring up across the country. Similarly, Jio World Plaza is also eyeing such consumers, providing private and curated shopping suites for those who require more privacy than the exclusive space of the plaza.
The shopping centre hopes to be a space for consumers to spend, away from the typical chaos, noise and crowds of India. "When they're in these luxury malls, they forget they're in India," Sharma said.
This article originally appeared on the South China Morning Post (SCMP).
Copyright (c) 2023. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.
