Weekly announcements of yet another luxury brand succumbing to the Indian market are hardly news any more. In spite of the market size being extremely small and the lack (so far) of adequate retail space, more players continue to queue up for the buyers' rupees.
And the latest to bite the bait is Dunhill, which has arrived with its entire men's range. The UK-based brand has tied up with Brand House, a part of the S Kumars Group, to launch its first store in New Delhi.
Says Mark Newman, regional managing director, Asia Pacific for Dunhill, "Spending on luxury brands while travelling abroad has been on the rise so it seemed the right idea to set up shop in India."
Nitin Kasliwal, vice-chairman, S Kumars echoes the sentiment: "The brand has a great following across the globe and we hope the trend continues in India as well." Dunhill is looking to provide 360-degree solutions for men's fashion clothes, accessories like belts, travel bags...the works.
Dunhill already has some competition in India from brands like Hugo Boss, but is not deterred about being a later arrival. "The purchasing power of Indians is on the rise and we felt that it was the right moment to set up operations in India."
Dunhill is looking to open four stores -- two in Delhi and two in Mumbai -- in the next two years, gradually expand to 10 in the next four years or so, with stores in places like Goa or Pondicherry. But the number of stores could vary, cautions Newman, depending on the success of the brand.
Dunhill will spend Rs 3 crore on promotional activities this financial year, mainly on print advertisements in lifestyle magazines and events around the brand. Dunhill has also signed on film director and television host Karan Johar as brand ambassador and will be looking to him to promote the brand in his films and on his show.
The target audience, obviously, is the über rich -- naturally enough with prices of shirts starting from Rs 9,000 and going up to Rs 21,000, jackets for Rs 40,000 and upwards, and ties and belts starting from Rs 7,500.
But, as Newman rightly points out, "Unlike other luxury brands, the starting price-point of our products is comparatively low so the brand is more accessible to people from different sections of society."
The market for luxury products in India is pegged at around Rs 2,500 crore (Rs 25 billion) and growing at a fast clip. As a retail analyst puts it, "The market is there for luxury brands to make a dent." And this is exactly what Dunhill plans to do.