Recently, Louis Vuitton opened a store in Chennai. Chennai is becoming big in terms of consumers’ spending on luxury and lifestyle, feels Rajmohan Krishnan, Executive VP (wealth management) for north and south, Kotak Mahindra Bank. People have new money and there is a new generation of entrepreneurs who want to splurge. Moreover, the mounting connection between the north and south is impacting spending habits of people in south India.
Louis Vuitton also plans to share space in the seven lakh sq. ft. mall built by businessman Sanjiv Goenka in Kolkata. Although the mall is under-construction and expects to open by next year, it has already leased out 50,000 sq. ft. of space to luxury brands like Bottega Veneta, Bally, Burberry, Rolex, Porsche Design and Jimmy Choo. Pankaj Renjhen, MD, retail services, at property consultant Jones Lang LaSalle feels that the mall will not only attract shoppers from the entire east India, but also from Bangladesh. Apart from this, Louis Vuitton also plans to have its presence in cities like Hyderabad, Noida, Gurgaon and Pune. Gucci too is exploring possibilities of opening a store in Kolkata.
In Surat, Genesis has taken up space for half a dozen stores at a luxury mall being built by Virtuous Retail, a retail real estate asset platform sponsored by the Xander Group Inc. It is also looking for space in Chandigarh, Ludhiana and Jaipur. It is expected that in the next six months, more than half a dozen international luxury brands