Balenciaga opens its first flagship store in India, looking back at the changes in Indian trends and luxury goods market in recent years | Hypebeast

Recently, Balenciaga officially opened its first flagship store in Jio World Plaza, Mumbai, India, providing local consumers and tourists with the brand’s men’s and women’s clothing series, accessories, bags, footwear, jewelry and glasses.

Jio World Plaza is a new shopping venue in Bandra Kurla Complex, a commercial and residential area in Mumbai, India. It has 4 floors and an area equivalent to 10 football fields. In addition to Balenciaga, the shopping venue will also gather 66 luxury brands from LVMH Group, Kering Group, Richemont Group and Burberry Group, including Cartier, BVLGARi, Louis Vuitton, Dior, Gucci, Burberry, IWC, Rimowa, etc.

At present, India’s total population exceeds 1.4 billion, and it is the country with the largest population of Millennials and Generation Z in the world. Millennials and Generation Z are also expected to be one of the key trends affecting the development of the luxury market in the next decade. According to Knight Frank data, the number of people in India with $30 million to their name is expected to grow by nearly 60% in the five years from 2022, and by 2027, approximately 1.66 million people in India will have a net worth of more than $1 million.

The gathering and attention of luxury brands not only means that they have finally found high-quality retail space in India, but also reflects that India is currently experiencing strong economic growth and rapid market development, which is nurturing local trends and the luxury market.

In 2015, the launch of YEEZY shoes, Nike’s annual Air Max Day and other sneaker-related activities appeared in India one after another, helping India’s sneaker resale market to take off. In the same year, India launched digitalization and set off an e-commerce boom. Today, India has the second largest e-commerce market in the world, second only to China.

Focusing on the young workforce, foreign-funded companies have moved manufacturing to India. Coupled with policy changes, the development of e-commerce, etc., this has led to an increase in job opportunities in the manufacturing and service industries. The overall income of the Indian people has increased, and the middle class has rapidly Growth, the number of domestic millionaires is increasing day by day… Driven by various factors, India has become a consumer country of international fashion brands that cannot be ignored.

At the same time, stores specializing in sneakers and trendy streetwear are gradually appearing in India, such as Veg Non Veg, Sneaker Pimps, Indian Sneaker Society, Superkicks, etc., gathering local fashion enthusiasts and becoming the soil for cultivating local creative power.

The actions of luxury brands have also become more frequent in recent years.

French luxury retailer Galeries Lafayette is recently opening up the market through cooperation with India’s Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Group*, selling more than 200 luxury brands; Reliance Brands Limited, the largest player in the Indian luxury market, is also expanding its cooperation with Valentino and Partnerships with global brands such as Tiffany; BVLGARI appointed Indian film star Priyanka Chopra Jonas as its global brand ambassador in 2021; Louis Vuitton invited Bollywood actress Deepika Padukone to be its first Indian brand ambassador in May 2022; this year In March, Dior held its 2023 autumn and winter fashion show at the historic Gateway of India; in May, Gucci announced Bollywood actor Alia Bhatt as its first global brand ambassador from India…

Global information consulting firm Euromonitor International estimates that India’s personal luxury goods market will grow by nearly 12% annually from 2022 to 2026, reaching a value of nearly $5 billion. The Bain & Co report even shows that the entire luxury goods market in India may reach US$200 billion by 2030.

Shivani Boruah/Uday Shanker Acharya

As India becomes increasingly affluent, the lifestyles of young Indians are also constantly changing. Like young people around the world, they are eager to absorb and accept global fashion trends and follow the latest trends in the market. Anand Ahuja, founder of Veg Non Veg, a well-known shoe store in India, said: “Indian tastes are becoming more and more international. The difference between New Delhi and New York consumers is already very small, because Indian people now also want what people around the world have. Something you want.”

In addition, some smaller but more unique and innovative brands are also creating new fashion trends in India. The designer brand HUEMN founded by Pranav Misra and Shyma Shetty, who graduated from the National Institute of Fashion Technology and won the Vogue India Fashion Fund, NoughtOne, a brand focusing on Techwear functional clothing, and Karu Research, which was shortlisted for the LVMH Prize in recent years, etc., these local brands Brands have also contributed to the development of Indian fashion products to a great extent.

Arguably, there has never been a better time to start a fashion business in India.