With consumers for luxury goods more in numbers than adult population of several countries, luxury brands are setting up shops in India to tap the growing market.
So you have Fossil wrist watches, Dunhill menswear, Bang and Olufsen, Escada ..., the list is growing in the metros and they are now planning to spread.
For 21-year-old Mukesh Kumar, his most prized possession is the Fossil watch that his father got him for his birthday early this year.
"I had always wanted to buy this watch but could not afford it with my pocket money. He gave me Rs 7,000 and I bought the watch," he says.
For many like Mukesh looking for high-end premium branded clothes, accessories, perfumes,
footwear and electronic goods, the growing recognition of India as a potential market by international luxury brands is a boon.
"India is a huge market for us. We are looking at having eight more stores across the major cities here," says Mark Newman, Asia Pacific Managing Director, Dunhill, a premium men's-wear brand, which recently launched its first store in the capital. The company is looking at India contributing between 10-20 per cent to its international market, he adds.
Of late, companies such as premium electronics-maker Bang & Olufsen and fashion designers like Escada and Brioni have opened shops in New Delhi and Mumbai, joining the likes of Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Versace, Fendi and Valentino.