'We've grown 89% in the last one year'

IN CONVERSATION: Olaf Drubba

German luxury brand Aigner, which started out with leather products, is happy with its growth in India. Olaf Drubba, the company's director (sales), was in New Delhi recently. He shared his company's viewpoint on trends in both the national and international markets in a free-wheeling chat with Archana Jahagirdar.

In the luxury segment internationally, one of the biggest areas of growth is the leather accessories segment with a projected growth rate of 11 per cent per annum for the next four years. What is Aigner's strategy to take advantage of this growth rate?

For us, the growth rate in the next two years will be 15 per cent in the leather accessories segment. This will take into account markets where we have gained as well as markets where we have lost.

The markets where we expect growth are India, the West Asian countries, Japan, China and Russia. In India, we expect a 20 per cent growth rate in the leather accessories segment.

Aigner is an established leather brand. What we are planning to do is modernise the product as in the marketing, distribution and development.

We are also designing the product to focus on the modern working woman. The big challenge for us is to be smart in an industry like luxury, which is driven by giants. Aigner is a niche brand.

How will Aigner make itself visible in India?

Product placement among opinion leaders and high society goers is one of the initiatives we are going to take. We are also looking at new stores in Mumbai and Delhi. And the flagship stores in these two cities are going to be part of the essential tools we are going to use.

But India still has a limited number of celebrities that Aigner can rope in. What category of celebrities is Aigner looking at?

We feel that India has a strong base of celebrities. Apart from the obvious celebrity names, we will also look at TV entertainers and anchors. The core identity that we are looking at is a well-balanced celebrity woman. Consumers see Aigner as a reliable brand and whatever we do has to fit into that.

The marketing frenzy around "It" bags has reached a crescendo. Do you feel that there might be a consumer backlash against this trend?

The lifespan of an "It" bag is too short. There will always be a group of consumers who will want an "It" bag but it won't continue to be such a big trend. Consumers are getting a bit tired.

Leather accessories do better than clothes for most luxury brands. Do you see that changing anytime soon?

We are a leather brand and this is our core area. Ready-to-wear is an add-on to that as we wanted to be seen as a lifestyle brand. Leather will continue to be bigger than clothes.

Where are Aigner's products made?

All our leather products are handmade in Italy. Our sales are not in the region that would justify industrial output. When you buy a handbag from us it should age well.

Many luxury brands have moved their production to China. Dana Thomas, who wrote Deluxe: How Luxury Lost Its Lustre, feels that there would be no problem if craftsmen in China were to make luxury products. Your take on that.

Making handbags is so well developed in Italy that if we do it in China, we would lose some of our core points.

What about India?

India would be like China.

How would you quantify your success in India?

We have been in India for three years now. In the last one year, we have grown 89 per cent. From our product range, we have found that handbags, briefcases, men's shoes and ready-to-wear, and watches are selling very well.