India’s luxury promise hits a wall: not enough malls to shop in
MUMBAI/PARIS: In India’s rapidly growing economy, millions of newly affluent consumers are fuelling demand for bags and accessories from the likes of Louis Vuitton, Chanel and Dior. But getting to a store can be a problem - there aren’t that many of them. With nearly 1.5 billion people and an economy growing more than 6%, India is expanding faster than China, the luxury industry’s growth engine for over a decade. That said, top brands are struggling to expand amid a severe shortage of high-quality retail space. India only has three true luxury malls: two in New Delhi - the Emporio and the Chanakya, owned by real estate developer DLF, and the Jio World Plaza in Mumbai, owned by the Reliance conglomerate. “We have regular requests from the parent companies - from LVMH Group, from Kering, from Richemont - to give them more space for the brands they want to get into India,” said Saurabh Bharara, head of luxury malls at DLF. “We have top 15 brands that are ready to enter India, if we give them space tomorrow,” he said, but added there was “zero availability” right now.