A View From India: Today's Luxury Mindset by Amit Dutta Amit Dutta is the Founder and Managing Director of Luxury Hues Consultancy Services. He also serves as the CEO of Luxury Marketing Council in India. For over 20 years, Amit has had a successful track record in "thought leadership," championing business reinvention initiatives, innovations and transforming brands into leading and profitable market players, working with companies such as American Express, General Motors and Reliance India. For more about Luxury Hues, click here, or email here. Amit recently hosted a session for the Luxury Marketing Council of India in association with American Express. The following summarizes some of the event's conclusions: For a decade now, reforms in India have been slow in the luxury brands segment, and the reasons have remained unchanged. Chiefly, these veer around the absence of adequate retail infrastructure and incentives, a large potential market whose capacity to spend has still to be tested, and the definition of luxury in a country where a lavish wedding is considered both a luxury and a necessity. There is no argument that Indians consume luxury like elsewhere, but it is a challenge to sell marquee cars when the roads are crammed and, worse, potholed; or yachts in the absence of marinas; or business jets when there are no hangars at congested airports to park them. Is the family jeweler more bespoke than an international brand with a reputation over generations? Have we got the wrong measure of the luxury market in India? How India Defines and Consumes Luxury As distinct from other countries and cultures, India is unique in its behavior relationship with luxury. For instance, it is probably more value-conscious than consumers in other nations, and all buys are well-thought, often family-led decisions. As a society, Indians are not consumption-driven, and will often choose quality over quantity. How do you define value when it comes to luxury? Panelists agreed that for top-end customers, value is a process of self-actualization - that they are buying luxury products to make themselves feel good. As in many Asian societies, so in India too, luxury is about the recognition a brand brings to the consumer, an outward manifestation of the ability to consume (mostly new) wealth. It is for this reason that the brand logo positioning and size is inherently important, and its obviousness will continue to be important in the Indian market. Yet, there was the view, important in the context of marketing luxury, that there will always be a gap between possessing and aspiring for luxury. It goes to show that there is an inevitability in wanting to acquire the next rung of luxury, and therefore a consumer of luxury will want to aspire to the next level, then the next, whether within the same brand or from different brands. How the Recession Impacted the Luxury Consumer It seems to have been a good time for both the luxury marketer as well as the luxury consumer in India. The consumer got luxury at the best value ("the best of both worlds") because of the sales and discounts, whereas the marketer remained happy because people were willing to spend on luxury goods and services. But marketers pointed to two interesting trends. One: that the aspirational (or new, or even nouveau-riche) consumers slowed down their luxury purchases, while the old buyers who had been sidelined in the luxury market frenzy, returned. And, two: even though sales were somewhat more obvious during the period of the recession, it was less for reasons of discounting and more because of a miscalculation of sell-throughs (excess stocks) - whether on account of the impact of the (unexpected) recession, the terror attack (in Mumbai), or delays in the completion of retail infrastructure. All of which brings us back to the reason why consumers invest in luxury in the first place - as an investment in themselves. Or as moderator Ravi Shankar explained as a conundrum at the start of the discussion, "You can't put a price to luxury, but the luxury business IS about putting a price to luxury."

Evolution of a Revolutionary Brand At Hot Topic it's "everything about the music," and this evolution of the store environment is no exception. Recently opened in Santa Monica, CA, this new store is all about musical tastes and how consumers access music today. A collaborative design effort by Hot Topic, CRI (Fairfield, NJ) and JGA, the character of the store is technical, sleek and edited to reflect "the music." Cast acrylics, molded metals and media technology lend to the store's high-tech feel. The Santa Monica location is feature-rich interactively, from the access to online music and Hot Topic's own music resource ShockHound, to stations where shoppers can co-create micro-manufactured tunes. The store also reflects a "takeover" capability, where the environment can be modified to accommodate live music performances right in the store. Non-selling space can also be modified to serve as a pre-staging area for bands to prepare for Hot Topic gigs. Ken Nisch Named Retail Design Luminary According to DDI Magazine, the "Portfolio Awards reflect the results of their annual reader survey, nominating the best, brightest and most innovative people, projects and companies in the retail design industry." This year, Ken Nisch has been named Retail Design Luminary, presented in recognition of his "unparalleled creative excellence." Ken was recognized at the DDI Forum ceremony, held in Santa Rosa, California on September 25th, as well in the September magazine along with JGA designs for The North Face, LittleMissMatched and Fantasy World (Kuwait). In the feature, Ken said about his multi-decade career at JGA, "I like to say I've had one parking place, but 500 jobs. Not one day has gone by that I haven't learned something new or re-thought something." Orchard Supply Hardware Named Best Designed in 2010 DDI Magazine also named Orchard Supply Hardware as one of the Best-Designed Stores of the Year in their September Portfolio "best of" issue. DDI reiterated the voter's findings, "The new 48,000 square foot prototype in Santa Rosa, California brings an emotive, comfort-based design to the typical hardware store experience." In recognition of the unique environment, JGA's Ken Nisch, Tony Camilletti of Design Fabrications and Janis Healy of OSH conducted a behind-the-scenes tour of their collaborative project for DDI Forum attendees. For more on Orchard Supply Hardware, click here. IRDC Truly Goes International This year, the International Retail Design Conference is moving up - up to Toronto, Ontario that is! Being held at the Westin Harbour Castle on October 13-15, David Nelson, JGA's VP Client Strategy is hosting two roundtables at the event presented by VMSD Magazine. On Wednesday the 13th, Dave will be hosting the topic "Corralling Creativity: Getting from Brainstorming to Bricks-and-Mortar." On Thursday, Dave will introduce the topic: "Questions to Ask Before Hiring a Design Firm." David said, "Attendees are encouraged to attend this session to share what important factors are key to their decision-making process since too often their choice is based on price rather than relevant experience, team availability and vision." For details, visit the IRDC website. In the News: Casual Male Tries on One-Stop Shopping In the August/September Chain Store Age, editor Marianne Wilson covers the new concept designed by JGA for Casual Male Retail Group - Destination XL. In the article, Ken Nisch remarked, "DXL allows Casual Male to bring all its various collections and full assortment, including private label and national brands, under one roof. It offers a wider variety of products, price points and brands than the typical Casual Male." He added, "Casual Male's customers range from 17-year-old football players to retired executives. They cross all demographics. That led us to create distinct lifestyle zones to house the merchandise." To see the complete article, click here. America's Cool Rule Each year, InStore Magazine names the top jewelry retailers in their "America's Coolest Stores" competition. Ken Nisch was invited to review the finalists in the "Small Store" category and scored the entries based on their "cool story factor," the store environment (interior and exterior), marketing, website and individuality. The First Place Cool Small Store winner was Don Muller Gallery (Northhampton, MA), described by Ken, "The shop does an interesting job of combining handmade artifacts and jewelry, where artifacts become jewelry and jewelry becomes wearable art - in an environment that becomes an attraction in its own right. The shop avoids the 'don't touch' or hush character of many craft galleries and creates a sunny day in an environment of long New England winters." To see all of the winners, click here. Save the Date! The National Retail Federation celebrates its 100th anniversary this January with Retail's Big Show held January 9-12, 2011. JGA will be featured on the NRF Design STUDiO education stage on Monday, January 10th at 11:00 am, when we present "Showers of Creativity: Rays of Retail Inspiration." Along with Ken Nisch, speakers will include: Kate Ancketill - Managing Director of GDR Creative Intelligence, Harry Cunningham - Senior Vice President/Store Planning and Visual Merchandising of Saks Fifth Avenue and Jonah Staw - CEO/Co-Founder of LittleMissMatched, who will discuss how innovative "shower thinkers" seek what is next and create what is inconceivable by others. From the neighborhood farmer's market to the unexplored corners of the globe, these thriving rays of inspiration characterize brave market leaders, new concepts and under-the-radar signals that predict evolving consumer behaviors and the engaging visual environments they love to shop. Partnering futurist, strategist and retailers, this forum blends emerging trends, invaluable insights and visual techniques for global consumer brands to directly shape their world. To register for the free session and learn more about the big event, click here.

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