Bulgari re-enters India, opens first boutique store in Delhi

Luxury jewellery company Bulgari has re-entered India and opened its first boutique store at New Delhi’s DLF Emporio after getting nod from the Foreign Investment Promotion Board to set up single retail brand stores under a joint venture.

A part of the LVMH Group, the Italian brand is known for its jewellery, watches, accessories and fragrances. Earlier, the brand was present in India through a franchise partner, but withdrew its stores in 2011.

“Indians are very big jewellery consumers and are buying more than any other nation. But they are largely buying from family and neighbourhood jewellers, who are essentially local players. We are selling jewellery across many countries and believe we will be able to get a growing market share out of the total cake. As the market is expanding, there is room for everybody to grow,” Jean-Christophe Babin, CEO of the Bulgari Group, told Business Line. He said Indian consumers buy Bulgari products when they travel abroad and contribute significantly to the company’s business when they are out of the country. Now that the company is establishing its boutique stores in the country, it hopes to get bigger business.

“In the current joint venture, we have a majority stake and we decide everything and we believe we can represent the brand in a more complete way and present all the facets of the brand and have more control over the distribution.” The company did not give specifics about its Indian partner.

Asked about expansion plans, Babin said, “Given the distribution of demographics in the country, there is room for growth for luxury brands in 5-10 cities in the coming years. But the point is that there are not the right kinds of retail spaces or malls in these cities that meet the requirements of luxury brands.”

He said the company could look at opening boutique stores in luxury hotels but added that these had limitations as they attract limited traffic and are not enough to develop a big luxury business.

“Our expansion strategy will need to be a combination of luxury malls and selective luxury hotels,” Babin added. For now, the company is looking out for the right kind of luxury retail spaces to open additional boutique stores.