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Nov 29, 1999 |
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 Brandmania By Farah Baria New money and availability of exclusive international labels has spawned a growing tribe of brand worshippers in the country. The shop assistant is a stunner: smoky green eyes and glossy mane, her tall, lithe figure poured into a red knit top with "Versace Couture" boldly emblazoned on one sleeve. She pulls out a long black cocktail dress from one of the racks. Armani. "You can tell by the sheer simplicity of the cut." But for those who want further proof of originality, there's also a discreet label attached to the collar. "Certificato Di Authenticita" it says irrefutably. Price? Rs 11,000. Next to the formals are shelves full of more, uh, modestly priced casual wear: Versace jeans (Rs 7,800), Gianfranco Ferre shirts (Rs 6,800 a piece), and itsy-bitsy tank tops from DKNY (Rs 3,400). Nope, it's not Milan. This is Gabbana, Mumbai's fashionable designer store where clients include filmstars, housewives, corporate types, even college students who scrimp on shoe-string budgets to splurge on an original Krizia top. Reason? "Indians are getting brand conscious," says owner Akbar Shapoorwala. We're talking top-of-the-line stuff, the kind even a Monte Carlo memsahib would think twice about buying. In Chennai, Sony dealer Harish Santhani has a designer footwear fetish -- Salvatore Sargomas in the office, Bally and Gucci for casual wear. The Sargomas cost around Rs 11,000 a pair, "but they are value for money", he shrugs. Mahesh Jayram, a Bangalore it executive, has a penchant for pens. Jayram's prized possessions, in his collection of over 100 pens, include a Parker Dufold that is a numbered edition from the historic Reagan-Gorbachev Non-Proliferation Treaty, a Waterman Leman 100 to mark Waterman's 100th anniversary, and a Mont Blanc Meister. Renuka Bhatia, a garment designer from Delhi is a "glutton" for foreign cosmetics. Her favourites: Aveda shampoos from the US (Rs 1,500 a bottle) and Mac make-up. She spends Rs 2,000 every month on "impulse buys" -- last month it was Neutrogena's Serious Body Moisture at Rs 975 and Guerlain's Terracotta Bronzing Powder (Rs 1,250). Ridiculous? Perhaps. "But then exclusive global brands have always been status symbols," says Tara Dhillon, the suave manager of Beautiful Boulevard -- -- Mumbai's exclusive lifestyle store. Her shop offers gold brooches from the Paloma Picasso collection (Rs 44,200), Tiffany's Baby Rattles (Rs 8,510), Omega watches (Rs 33,000-3.57 lakh), Lalique and Rosenthal objets, Godiva chocolates at Rs 3,300 a box, Versace ashtrays (Rs 5,500) New money has given rise to a growing breed of brand worshippers. "The nouveau riche are always brand conscious. It adds to their new-found sense of importance," says Roshan Mathew, marketing manager of Chennai's Lifestyle International. Sanjay Jolly, regional manager for Headway Cosmetics, a marketing firm that promotes imported perfumes in India says the sudden influx of foreign labels has been responsible for rising brand consciousness. And the razzle-dazzle of high-profile launches does the rest. Needless to say, the firangs are as pleased as punch and
jostling for a slice of the Great Indian Bazaar. "You can't go wrong with one billion
people," grins Amar Agarwal, managing director of SPA Agencies (India) Pvt Ltd, sole
distributor for Swarovski in India. His turnover target for the year 2000: Rs 25 crore.
"Yes, it's realistic," he nods. "Even if 1 per cent of the Indian
population were to buy Swarovski, that's still 10 million people." Whew. -with Anna M.M. Vetticad, Rehmat Merchant and L.R. Jagadheesan |
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