The market for luxury lifestyle products in India has a potential to grow at the rate of 50 per cent and create plenty of jobs, Union Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath said on Friday.
Inaugurating the Hindustan Times Luxury Conference in New Delhi, he said more employment opportunities could be created in the country through indigenously designed luxury products and asked small and medium enterprises to get involved in wealth creation.
The market for high-end clothing alone in India was estimated at Rs 1,000 crore (Rs 10 billion) and lifestyle accessories, including cosmetics, costume jewellery and footwear, at another Rs 1,000 crore, he remarked.
If luxury products such as furniture, appliances and premium models were added in all the product lines, this (market) would amount to Rs 10,000 crore, which is steadily growing at 20 per cent, the minister said.
The luxury market has the potential to grow at 50 per cent and provide more jobs, he told captains of India Inc and global heads of premium lifestyle brands, who are participating in the two-day conference.
The luxury summit, the first of its kind in the country, provides a platform for heads of top lifestyle brands to interact with the government, which is considering opening up the domestic retail sector to foreign direct investment.
"Our vision is that the traditional sectors and SMEs should join the bandwagon of wealth creators. The large share of our unorganised sector in the industries of footwear, textiles, beverages and handicrafts need to be equipped to create recognisable trademarks of luxury products," Nath said.
'Designed in India' should stand side-by-side with 'Made in India' and 'Served from India', the minister opined.
Indian SMEs need to be motivated to take the path of innovation and experimentation. SMEs could adopt the European clustering strategy in order to become more competent and competitive. Collaboration by clusters with overseas partners will help a great deal, Nath said.
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