In what could be the norm in the days to come, luxury brands that are available in India, including the ones mentioned above, are coming together to work in unison.
If you are a patron of the Taj Group of Hotels, there is fat chance that you could be among the elite who aspire to own Nokia's frightfully expensive mobile phone range, Vertu. Or you could lend your ear to top-of-the-line music or video systems from the Danish brand, Bang & Olufsen. And finally, you could use American Express cards to fill your shopping bag with luxury goods.
Under the platform of The Luxury Marketing Council - a worldwide body that has offices in 12 locations - these companies intend to share information and occasionally, even resources, to tap Indian millionaires (with financial assets in excess of $1 million).
At present, India has less than one lakh dollar millionaires, according to "Inside the Affluent Space", a report published by American Express.
But this number is expected to grow annually by 12.8 per cent over the next three years. This is the market that luxury brand companies are targeting.
Brand consultants are of the opinion that it makes sense for luxury brand marketers to join hands, as the Indian consumer base for luxury goods is still small in number. In comparison, Japan has about 30 million consumers of luxury brands, about 25 per cent of its total population.
"We will act as a catalyst for these brands to promote relationships and foster growth of the luxury market," Devyani Raman, CEO, The Luxury Marketing Council's India chapter told Business Standard.
She added that five more members are expected to join the council soon but declined to divulge names.
Internationally, the council's members include not just luxury brand companies, but also management consultants like Booz Allen Hamilton and Boston Consulting Group, B-schools like Stern School of Business and publications like Harvard Business Review.
Various initiatives that are being planned for India include open sharing with members of the council information and results of their marketing and brand building efforts.
As a result, members can learn and benefit from what initiatives work, or understand the reasons behind why certain initiatives work and others do not.
The objective is to also pursue collaborations between members to jointly tap into the affluent customer.
