On sale: Retailers make their way into India
Zara Zara opened in India last year with stores in Mumbai and Delhi through a joint venture with Tata Group's retail arm Trent.Press reports claimed that when the Spanish retailer opened the doors of its first Indian store it sold more on day one than any store in the country's history.
Mango The Spanish fashion brand originally entered India in 2001. At first Mango was regarded as a luxury brand because it charged prices that were three to four times higher than local brands for similar products. But in 2007 the brand revamped its prices, cutting them by nearly 25 per cent
Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger The two American brands operate in India together with Brand Marketing. Tommy Hilfiger spearheaded the US Warnaco Group's move into India in 2004.
It is Saturday afternoon at Mumbai's posh Phoenix Millsmall and the place is buzzing.
Giggling girls sit by the central courtyard sipping cold drinks, taking a breather. International labels such as Zara, Mango and French Connection adorn their shopping bags.
Very soon a new brand could tempt these marathon shoppers. Kenneth Cole - the US apparel retailer - has entered into a deal with India's Reliance Brands to launch retail and wholesale operations in India.
Analysts say Kenneth Cole's market entry comes at an opportune time.
"The timing is right for them because this is a market segment which is expected to grow fast. India has a young population which wants to spend on clothes, the increased urbanisation trend and growing disposable income are also contributors," says Amit Gugnani, the vice president for apparel operations at Technopak research house.
The market is expected to grow from US$65 billion (Dh238.7bn) to $200bn by 2020, according to Technopak. The sector's value has more than trebled since 2005 and it is expected to grow a steady 25 to 30 per cent annually, it said.
One of the shoppers Kenneth Cole may want to target is Supriya, 24, a television executive who spent 5,500 rupees (Dh404) on an outfit from the Spanish fashion house Zara. "I would definitely visit Kenneth Cole,' she says. "I know the brand from my visit to the States and like their stuff."
The American company wants to attract the young, brand-aware sector - shoppers with plenty of cash to splash. The US group's plan is to open 25 stores across the country over the next five years.
The appetite for western-style clothing is growing and the market looks promising, says Devangshu Dutta, the chief executive of Third Eyesight.
"In the last four to five years over 100 brands have been launched that are all targeting this space, whether across genders or for any single gender," he says. "Typically these brands would be targeted at consumers in households that have annual income of 1 million rupees or more, and the income and spend levels are also growing rapidly in this segment. Therefore, I would say that the market is far from saturation, despite the competition."
Apparel is the country's second-largest sector, behind food and beverages. And its size has not gone unnoticed from overseas players who have been lining up to land on India's shores. Brands such as Diesel, Vero Moda, Tie Rack, Promod, s.Oliver, French Connection, Guess, Next and Calvin Kleinhave been present in most of India's big cities for several years now, luring the middle-class rupee.
But it has not always been like this. Shoppers can thank India's decision to join World Trade Organization (WTO) in 1995, which meant a reduction in import duties on clothes. The government's decision to allow foreign direct investment of 51 per cent in single-brand stores in January 2006 has also helped the big brands to establish a presence.
Foreign companies were allowed to set up shop in the country, provided they had found a local partner. And more recently, the government has said it is considering raising the 51 per cent cap, which would mean a choice of even more foreign brands for Supriya and her friends.
Not all foreign ventures have been roaring successes.
Take the UK's high street retailer Marks & Spencer (M&S). When it launched in India in 2002 M&S positioned itself as a premium brand despite being a mid-market brand in Britain. But middle-class consumers did not flock to its Indian shops, turned off by the high prices, nor did the wealthy consumers, because they knew the brand was a middle-class phenomenon from their trips abroad.
M&S tills did not sing to the tune of the sitar and a few years later the company admitted defeat and decided to turn its ship around. It reduced its prices and made its stores more middle-class friendly. Today the group is working hard to attract the mid-to-premium shoppers in India and sales are rising steadily.
For Kenneth Cole India is still a blank canvas.
Analysts say its success will be based on how it positions its brand. "It depends upon the brand-product value offer that is designed for the Indian market and how well can the international brand differentiate itself from the competition in terms of the product width and depth and the customer's experience at the various touch-points," says Mr Dutta. "In addition, the product sourcing and supply-chain strategy will greatly impact the brand's responsiveness and the margins."
Pricing can be a problem for mid-market brands, he adds, because the mid-market segment in India is very different from mid-market in Europe. Income and spending habits vary greatly.
"A brand has two choices: either to be consistent in its pricing, or to change its merchandise and shift pricing downwards to fit into the very different Indian mid-market."
If pricing is kept consistent with European markets, then direct translation of European pricing into Indian rupees immediately places all mid-market brands into the premium segment.
"On top of that, import duties ensure that there is less margin to manoeuvre on the retail price," says Mr Dutta.
Reliance knows this because it is an old hand at handling foreign brands. Its stable has some of the most well-known global brands such as Ermenegildo Zegna, Diesel, Timberland, Quiksilver, Roxy and Steve Madden.
So to make it in India, Kenneth Cole's marketing, advertising and product people will need to be able to appeal directly to people such as Supriya and her friends.
"India's consumer base can be read as 'many countries in one', and the key to the success of any international brand in India at the outset is to be clear about its target customer," says Mr Dutta.
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"Both Indian consumers and the business environment are demanding, which reduces the margin for error and increases the time to break even dramatically."
No financial details of the agreement between Kenneth Cole and Reliance Brands were revealed and neither company responded to queries from The National.
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Planes grounded by coronavirus
British Airways: Cancels all direct flights to and from mainland China
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Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
The Buckingham Murders
Starring: Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ash Tandon, Prabhleen Sandhu
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Rating: 4 / 5
Schedule:
Pakistan v Sri Lanka:
28 Sep-2 Oct, 1st Test, Abu Dhabi
6-10 Oct, 2nd Test (day-night), Dubai
13 Oct, 1st ODI, Dubai
16 Oct, 2nd ODI, Abu Dhabi
18 Oct, 3rd ODI, Abu Dhabi
20 Oct, 4th ODI, Sharjah
23 Oct, 5th ODI, Sharjah
26 Oct, 1st T20I, Abu Dhabi
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MATCH INFO
What: 2006 World Cup quarter-final
When: July 1
Where: Gelsenkirchen Stadium, Gelsenkirchen, Germany
Result:
England 0 Portugal 0
(Portugal win 3-1 on penalties)
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Business Insights
- As per the document, there are six filing options, including choosing to report on a realisation basis and transitional rules for pre-tax period gains or losses.
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Indoor Cricket World Cup Dubai 2017
Venue Insportz, Dubai; Admission Free
Day 1 fixtures (Saturday)
Men 1.45pm, Malaysia v Australia (Court 1); Singapore v India (Court 2); UAE v New Zealand (Court 3); South Africa v Sri Lanka (Court 4)
Women Noon, New Zealand v South Africa (Court 3); England v UAE (Court 4); 5.15pm, Australia v UAE (Court 3); England v New Zealand (Court 4)
Farasan Boat: 128km Away from Anchorage
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Top investing tips for UAE residents in 2021
Build an emergency fund: Make sure you have enough cash to cover six months of expenses as a buffer against unexpected problems before you begin investing, advises Steve Cronin, the founder of DeadSimpleSaving.com.
Think long-term: When you invest, you need to have a long-term mindset, so don’t worry about momentary ups and downs in the stock market.
Invest worldwide: Diversify your investments globally, ideally by way of a global stock index fund.
Is your money tied up: Avoid anything where you cannot get your money back in full within a month at any time without any penalty.
Skip past the promises: “If an investment product is offering more than 10 per cent return per year, it is either extremely risky or a scam,” Mr Cronin says.
Choose plans with low fees: Make sure that any funds you buy do not charge more than 1 per cent in fees, Mr Cronin says. “If you invest by yourself, you can easily stay below this figure.” Managed funds and commissionable investments often come with higher fees.
Be sceptical about recommendations: If someone suggests an investment to you, ask if they stand to gain, advises Mr Cronin. “If they are receiving commission, they are unlikely to recommend an investment that’s best for you.”
Get financially independent: Mr Cronin advises UAE residents to pursue financial independence. Start with a Google search and improve your knowledge via expat investing websites or Facebook groups such as SimplyFI.
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JOKE'S%20ON%20YOU
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Total votes: 1.8 million
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Abdullah Abdullah: 720,841 votes
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Small Victories: The True Story of Faith No More by Adrian Harte
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The specs: 2018 Chevrolet Trailblazer
Price, base / as tested Dh99,000 / Dh132,000
Engine 3.6L V6
Transmission: Six-speed automatic
Power 275hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque 350Nm @ 3,700rpm
Fuel economy combined 12.2L / 100km
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