India is a very big and emerging market for French lifestyle products and French companies are fast gearing up to fully leverage the opportunity, said Patrick Manon, the Trade Commissioner for India at the French embassy.
The growing spending power of the middle and affluent class of Indians is driving the consumption of luxury lifestyle products from France, he said, speaking on the sidelines of a three-day exhibition on French lifestyle products running at The Taj Palace Hotel, Delhi.
Twenty-two French companies are participating at the show that ends on July 16. The products on display relate to categories such as tableware, furniture, decoration, upholstery frabrics, fashion accessories and jewelry.
Manon said: "The French lifestyle brands showcased in this exhibition are not for the mass market. They are premium high-range products manufactured by companies which can appropriately be called as our ‘living heritage.’ They have been successful in preserving centuries-old skills of French craftsmanship in the fields of interior decoration, beauty and fashion."
He added that in the coming few years, the Indian market for high-end lifestyle products is set to explode and French companies in the area are agressively looking for distribution partners in the country. The French embassy plans to hold one such exhibition every year in India to better inform the Indians about the products that French companies can offer. Over 5,000 French companies today export their products to India, out of which 700 have established a presence in the country by opening an office.
Manon said that French products are known the world over for their innovation and technology, but to succeed in the Indian market, French companies need to find the right local partner. He said his office and the participating French companies were very satisfied with the response the exhibition has generated in the country and are expecting many tie-ups with the Indian firms in the near future.
– Tripti Bisht
