Luxury shopping gets a festive sparkle, basks in celebratory spirit

The days at Emporio — one of Delhi’s two luxury malls (the other being The Chanakya) – have been busy. Home to brands like Gucci, Michael Kors, Jimmy Choo, Burberry, Cartier and Canali, the mall has had more buyers in the last two months than in the whole of 2022.

As the year draws to a close and people slip into celebratory spirit, shopping for luxury has been on the rise. The excuse to splurge on indulgences began with Black Friday in the last week of November and has continued into Christmas and the year-end.

A Gucci sales executive says the number of shoppers at the store doubled in December compared to November.

At the nearby Michael Kors store, wallets and belts are selling like hot cakes. At Jimmy Choo, demand for the classic Daisy clutches and the Bon Bon bag has also seen an uptick.

The New Year frenzy is evident online, too. Traffic has increased on e-commerce platform Tata CliQ Luxury, which deals exclusively in luxe items.

“The festive season for us started on a good note, and the response was very encouraging. We saw an increase in the average order value for categories such as Indian designer wear, home, handbags, and products for gifting,” says Gitanjali Saxena, chief business officer, Tata CLiQ Luxury. “This year’s Black Friday sale provided great offers on leading luxury and premium brands across categories, and the platform's sales increased by 70 per cent over Black Friday last year.”

The October-November-December quarter, she adds, is an exciting period for e-commerce.

The wedding season, which is in full gusto, has also led to an uptick in sales for luxury brands.

“Wedding celebrations seem to have regained their spirit after the pandemic setback,” says designer Manish Malhotra. “We have bounced back from the intimate wedding functions and, hopefully, the momentum will carry on into the next year.”

The designer’s classic embroidered saris and mukaish embroidered lehengas have been much in demand this season. His new bridge-to-luxury line, Diffuse, too saw “great interest,” he says.

KH Radharaman, founder and the principal designer at The House of Angadi, a heritage brand based in Bengaluru, says they have seen a 20 per cent increase year-on-year in sales. With the South Indian wedding season falling before the north Indian season, the momentum in sales carried on from Diwali.

Bridal saris from the brand’s Eternal series and pieces from the recently launched collection for men – Advaya bespoke line – have seen a “tremendous” increase in demand, adds Radharaman.

According to the 21st edition of the Bain & Company–Altagamma Luxury Study, released in November 2022, the global personal luxury market is projected to see further growth of at least 3-8 per cent next year, despite a downturn in global economic conditions. And by 2030, the market value is expected to climb to around €540-580 billion – a rise of 60 per cent or more compared to 2022, says the report.

Among the rising stars, India stands out for growth potential, which could see its luxury market expand to 3.5 times today’s size by 2030, propelled by an increasing interest and evolving attitudes and behaviors among (young) customers towards luxury goods, adds the report.

With the luxury sector projected to stay robust in 2023 as well, Saxena says Tata CLiQ Luxury plans to drive further growth for the platform in FY24 by “focusing on expanding and strengthening our assortment in categories such as fitness, beauty, home, and fashion, as well as introducing exclusive international brands”.

In a conversation with Business Standard earlier this year, Radhika Butala, founder, The Better Collective, a brand consultancy company, said, “India is a growing market and the luxury sector has seen a lot of activity in the past few years — especially in the pandemic, which essentially changed people’s value systems. There is a clear rise in discretionary spending by the younger generation, and a lot of that is directed towards the luxury sector.”