Brands @ discount

Most luxury and premium brands are holding sales - whether they admit to recession or not. Anoothi Vishal scouts for some smart grabs.

The iconic Stam bag by Marc Jacobs, possessed by the likes of Victoria Beckham, can now be yours — at a 30 per cent discount on its Rs 70,000-plus price. Avail a 60 per cent discount on CK Jeans. Or, get 30 per cent off on Versace, Cadini or Corneliani jackets (Rs 17,000-60,000, depending on the brand). As we’ve been pointing out, if you are determined to look for silver linings these days, you will find them, not the least in luxury malls and premium stores in your city.

While most brands — luxury, premium and mid-market — are going ahead with what they call “end of season” sales, offering big discounts on Autum-Winter ’08 lines, the question is whether these discounts are tied to recession. Internationally, that is quite the case. But, in India, most brand representatives and retailers are shying away from admitting as much — their argument, that they are only following brand practices in international markets. But if you are a regular shopper, you may have observed that most of the sales have, this time around, started much earlier and show all signs of continuing till February end, when end-of-season sales had typically started earlier.

Abhay Gupta, executive director, Blues Clothing Company, that represents several international labels in the country, agrees: “Yes, the end-of-season sales started almost at the beginning of the season this year… The phenomenon is linked to a global crisis wherein most brands have been directed by their head offices to start liquidating inventories built for many American and European markets.” Recession fears, Gupta adds, “led to a slowdown of purchases during the last quarter of 2008. The result — almost all brands went on ‘end-of-season’ sale immediately as 2009 set in.”

Regardless of the hows and the whys, however, here are some must-grabs that you can look at during the sale period: Moschino, manufacturer of women’s, men’s and children’s clothing, that designed outfits for Madonna’s Sticky and Sweet Tour last year, has reopened its store at the Taj Mahal hotel in Mumbai — with a sale. While ready-to-wear clothes are available at a 40 per cent discount, in Bangalore, where the brand has an outlet at the UB City mall, the discount is up to 50 per cent. In fact, several other brands, both at UB City and DLF Emporio, deemed luxury malls, are on substantial sales and there are reports of shoppers even being offered additional 20-30 per cent discounts on merchandise not officially discounted (Times of India, Bangalore). This strategy may have helped boost sales.

Mukulika Sinha, associate, corporate communication, TSG International Marketing, that represents 7-8 luxury brands in the country, picks out some “must grabs” from the discounts on offer. Brands like Marc Jacobs, Gaultier and Lanvin available at Kitsch, a multi-brand store, are offering up to 30 per cent discounts. Gaultier’s Le Prive bag (Rs 90,000 upwards, before discount) can make for a steal if you aspire to be a rock star, and then there are Lanvin dresses. The oldest French couture house is favoured by none other than Carla Bruni and its simple and straight lines in the ready-to-wear segment are distinctive.

Besides, if you wanted to splurge, you could ask for a “Toga dress” favoured by Hollywood celebrities like Katie Holmes (Rs 1 lakh plus). Even brands like Feretti boasted of this style last year, inspired by the early Roman period. According to Sinha, sales have helped bring in “aspirational customers”, who had been lost because of real or perceived fears around recession. Sinha says that these — BPO executives and the like — make up around 20 per cent of the luxury brands’ customers.

Now is also your chance to go berserk at Alfred Dunhill stores (January 10 to February 28), where discounts on garments, accessories and leather goods are up to 50 per cent. Dunhill is a British luxury brand specialising in men’s leather goods, writing implements, lighters, timepieces, fragrances and clothing. In India, it offers formal and casual wear and accessories like shoes, cufflinks and ties. On sale will be the Autumn- Winter Collection 2008, which brings out the English heritage of the brand.

Then there are some premium brands too, vying to catch the attention of shoppers. At Allen Solly, the season’s sale is on till February 15, and combo offers are expected to pump up sales. For the menswear collection, the brand is offering a buy one, get one option or a flat 40 per cent off, while offers like buy four, get five free for womenswear make it difficult to overlook this sale. Tanishq too has announced a discount of up to 25 per cent on its diamond jewellery, from January 11 to February 22. Alpana Parida, head (marketing and merchandising) explains, “This 25 per cent discount offer is our initiative to provide an opportunity to customers with the best price and product options.”

In Mumbai, there is a 50 per cent off sale at Debenhams, the UK’s favourite department store, and Puma, a sports lifestyle brand, is offering up to 60 per cent off on jackets, sweatshirts, sneakers, t-shirts, pants, shorts and shoes and swimwear amongst others, from January 10 to February 10.

That apart, DLF brands, that just opened last month with a slew of premium European brands, has announced discounts too, citing that it is aligning itself with its European brands (in terms of pricing too; a jacket in Milan, for instance, costs you the same in New Delhi) in the timing of its sale. So, you can get Alcott jackets for Rs 1,495, sweatshirts, the full range of colours and sizes, for an affordable Rs 795, and trousers by Boggi, a more conventional Italian brand, for Rs 1,795 (down from Rs 2,900), not to mention Scottish Marino pullovers for Rs 4,700 (down from Rs 6,900).

At the Crescent, New Delhi, that houses the creations of Indian designers like Ritu Kumar, Anju Modi, Suneet Varma, Rohit Bal and Meera & Muzaffar Ali, up to 70 per cent discounts are on offer. The only glitch: it isn’t a “flat” sale and most of the stuff that you may want to pick up, including kurtis, sarees from Kumar or signature kurtas from the Alis’ Kotwara Neemrana brand, will sport the “15-20 per cent off” tag. But worth a visit any way.

(With inputs from Priyanka Joshi and Abhilasha Ojha)