India’s retail industry is poised for growth and that is the main reason why many international retail brands have already or are planning to foray into the country to claim their share of the ever-increasing profit pie of the Indian retail sector. Malls play a pivotal role in facilitating the entry of these renowned international brands, as they provide quality retail space to them.
Few of the international brands like UCB, Bestseller (Jack & Jones, Only, Vero Moda), Levi’s, Lee, Zara, etc, have done extremely well in the country, whereas few others, such as Nautica, Kenneth Cole, etc, are pretty successful brands in other countries but are still trying hard to get a firm foot-hold in the country. Off late, India has witnessed entry of many luxury brands as well, and most of them prefer to open their debut store in malls. Keeping all these factors in mind, one might wonder with so many international brands coming to India, will Indian malls continue giving equal importance to home-grown indiginious brands.
Giving a better perspective to this open ended question, Dinaz Madhukar, Senior VP and Mall Head, DLF Promenade and DLF Emporio, says, “We are always excited about international brands making headway into India, especially into our malls. Lately though, even niche luxury brands, not just the better known ones, are exploring India. Unlike most countries, India has a strong ethnic influence and hence the Indian brands are as important and compete on the same stage as the international retail giants.”
All said and done, one can’t ignore the fact that it’s a two-way synergy between malls and retailers; malls facilitating entry of international brands in India and international brands adding glitter to Indian shopping centers. But the Indian brands also have their own role to play in creating a perfect brand mix for any successful mall. To get deeper on this thought, and many similar pressing issues, join us at The India Shopping Centre Forum 2014, which will bring together the stalwarts of the business to talk fresh and discuss tangible ideas for positive development with customer service in focus. ISCF 2014 is going to be held at The Renaissance Convention Centre, Powai, Mumbai, on 7th and 8th of May, 2014.
