Titans Of Luxury

Indian luxury is booming, with conglomerates like Reliance Industries, Tata Group, and Aditya Birla Group expanding aggressively. The $10 billion market is projected to triple by 2030. Reliance leads with global brands and luxury malls; Tata is growing through Titan and Tata Cliq Luxury. At the same time, Aditya Birla is focusing on fashion and ethnic wear, each using unique strategies to capture this flourishing segment. Will the fight for market dominance unlock India's true luxury potential?

- BY KRISHNA GOPALAN

GOPAL ASTHANA is soft-spoken and picks his words carefully.

It suits the slow-paced business he runs well. As CEO of Tata Cliq, he explains, the concept is to “encourage consumers to pause, reflect and engage meaningfully with the stories and heritage behind every brand and product.”

Tata Cliq Luxury was launched in 2016 when the management realised there was a fundamental gap in India’s luxury retail landscape. “While the demand for luxury products was growing steadily across the country, access remained limited due to the scarcity of premium retail spaces,” he says. That was enough for the conglomerate to create a differentiated platform to bridge this gap. Asthana recalls that the timing was significant, since Indian consumers were becoming more digitally savvy, with growing confidence in shopping for high-value categories online.

The more important part was in customers coming not just from the metros but across the country. Today, the platform has over 1,500 premium, luxury global and Indian brands across a slew of categories that include accessories, beauty and fragrance, fashion, jewellery, home, fitness, and watches.

India’s luxury market is gradually moving away from catering specifically to generational affluence to tap into the rising aspirational section of the population. This rising class of consumers is well-travelled and has more spending power.