Luxury fashion brand Cartier, recently opened its second its boutique in Mumbai at Jio World Plaza. Through the years, India has become one of Maison’s key influences, helping inspire a new language through the exchange of design, craftsmanship, and stones.
Expanding Cartier’s footprint in India is central to our global and regional growth strategy, Gaetan Guillosson, MD, Cartier India told ETRetail in an exclusive interaction.
“Our priority is scaling up our existing online retail capabilities in India to complement our physical presence. We are keen on connecting with potential and current consumers around the country who are physically not as close to our boutiques in Delhi and Mumbai,” he said.
Edited excerpts:-
How important is India as a market for Cartier?
India has held a very special place in Cartier’s history ever since Jacques Cartier, the grandson of our founder, first visited the country more than a century ago. This was the start of a deeply meaningful relationship between the Maison and India, founded on incredible and diverse inspirations and the exchange of design, craftsmanship, and precious stones.
Today, India is more vibrant and creative than ever. There is a huge avenue for opportunity, and expanding Cartier’s footprint in India is central to our global and regional growth strategy.
Over the past 12 months, we’ve renovated our boutique in New Delhi and recently opened our first boutique in Mumbai at the Jio World Plaza.
Opening Cartier’s new boutique in Mumbai symbolises Maison’s confident, positive outlook on the continuation of a long-term relationship that has been deeply influential on the aesthetics and craftsmanship of Cartier for over a century.
What is driving sales of luxury products in India?
India’s economy continues to go from strength to strength, forecasts to grow 6.5-7 per cent annually to 2030 – and is on track to become the world’s third-largest economy by 2027 as well as the most populous country.
We are seeing the resulting benefit of economic growth for every category of the population, with significant growth in the number of UHNWIs and HNWIs, as well as a widening and deepening middle class. This positive impact is reflected in the rapid growth of the luxury sector, which Bain & Company predict could reach $200 billion by 2030.
Since the end of the pandemic, consumer purchasing has witnessed double-digit growth, especially fuelled by discretionary consumption by higher income groups. There is a new level of demand for luxury in every sector from cars to art, and the supply has largely not kept pace with demand. All this growth adds up to significant and promising opportunities in the luxury sector.
According to you which are the key luxury sectors growing in India?
There’s strong growth across the entire luxury watch and jewellery sector. One very special aspect of the Indian market is that consumers are often buying gifts for their extended family, which creates an intimate, long-term relationship with our consumers and their families.
Watches remain one of the top categories for both personal buying and gifting. In today’s India, consumers are sophisticated and increasingly looking beyond the standard timepieces. This quest for unique pieces, such as limited editions, to add to a collection will continue to drive sector growth in the years to come.
In addition, Cartier’s iconic high jewellery creations have been closely connected with India for more than 100 years, through shared aesthetic inspiration and precious stones. This deep affinity results in continued interest in rare and outstanding pieces of fine jewellery.
Share your thoughts on e-commerce as an opportunity for luxury retail.
The experience of coming to a boutique, where a sales associate helps consumers find the perfect piece, is irreplaceable. We do believe that the majority of our consumers will continue to visit Cartier boutiques for purchases in the years to come.
That being said, e-commerce has become increasingly central to the luxury experience and is an important element of Cartier’s global business model. This is particularly true in a country as large as India, where online purchasing enables us to serve the whole population and reach clients outside major cities.
Our priority is scaling up our existing online retail capabilities in India to complement our physical presence. We are keen on connecting with potential and current consumers around the country who are physically not as close to our boutiques in Delhi and Mumbai.
Elaborate on the plans of the brand for the Indian market.
India is one of Cartier’s key growth markets, and following the successful opening of our Mumbai boutique we have many exciting plans for the region that will start coming to life soon.
Another priority is for the Maison to amplify the impact of our corporate commitments in India. Continuing to expand our effect as a responsible corporate citizen in India is of really high importance to the Maison.
