RJ Market Watch
India is growing for us despite political changes & economic slowdown: Lars Schmidt, Swarovksi
Lars Schmidt, the new managing director – consumer goods business for South-East Asia and India at Swarovski, visited India recently. Schmidt spoke to ET on the billion-dollar Austrian affordable luxury brand, known for its crystal jewellery and figurines, completing two decades in India and celebrating 125th year of its existence globally.
India as a market has been growing for us despite any political changes and economic slowdown. In fact, we may have grown stronger due to the economic slowdown. Fashion jewellery as an industry is growing strongly. CAGR for the segment is growing faster than precious jewellery. Indian consumers are possibly down-trading. From owning a precious piece of jewellery, people have been buying jewellery that they can wear on a daily basis.
While many international brands in India are retailing through flagship portals, Swarovski’s website still does not have a shopping function. Does the company have an ecommerce plan for India?
Given our growth rate in India, there are plans to expand online and offline. We have a small presence on Myntra but we are looking to grow into different online concepts now. We are currently working on introducing the shopping function on our website in India. It should be up relatively soon. Looking at the size of this market geographically, we need to make sure that our infrastructure is in place. It will thus take a little time.
Currently, we have 45 mono-brand boutiques in India. We are looking at offline stores in Tier 2 and 3 cities now. Our online sales from smaller towns and remote areas indicate an appetite for the brand.
This is the first time that Swarovski launched a dedicated Diwali campaign for India in 2019. What were the reasons?
We want to remain relevant in this market. The Diwali campaign is a sign that we are putting focus on India. Diwali helped us cater to the demographic here which is getting younger. We are planning additional campaigns for 2020 with more localized activities and possibly even from a product perspective in the future. Appreciation of local holidays, culture and religion is important to maintain connection with the consumer.
Globally, we have collaborated with brands and luxury labels such as Christian Dior, Alexander McQueen, Off White and Supreme to crystalise their products. We are a key partner for the Oscars and a lot of Hollywood productions. Bollywood in India is an obvious collaboration for us. There is nothing we can announce or confirm yet. The Indian film industry has a lot of potential. Given the focus on the India market, we will collaborate with Bollywood and local designers. We could even collaborate with an online fashion platform to come up with a line.
What is the company’s brand vision for India?
We have been constantly increasing the number of stores in India and see potential for further expansion. According to Euromonitor, the $135 million fashion jewellery market in India grew 15% in 2019. This number is predicted to double in the next four years. It is a small market at the moment compared to the overall jewellery market but is growing at a high rate.
Trends such as smartphone penetration, growth of middle class, middle class income and awareness of international trends and brands have been reasons. We can take advantage of this development and take the brand to the next level in India. I want to put the medal on the pedal when it comes to India now.
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