Jio World Plaza – The market of luxury goods in India is considered very small according to its size and population, but an organization named Eurometer estimates that in the coming five years this market will double to reach 5 billion dollars. In an attempt to tap into this growth, Reliance is building a mall where brands ranging from Louis Vuitton to Gucci, which are known around the world for their luxury and elegance, will be sold.
This ritzy mall named Jio World Plaza is at the center of Reliance’s efforts to woo customers who buy expensive shoes or bags in India. Reliance has already left everyone behind in the retail market. It tops the $900 billion retail market. However, there it is getting tough competition from e-commerce websites and supermarket brands like Amazon and Walmart.
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Big Shopping Mall
At least three people familiar with Reliance’s strategy told Reuters news agency that in the luxury market, Reliance’s effort is to partner with foreign brands and focus its competitors in this market in the first place.
Jio World Center is a huge shopping mall which is being built in the posh Bandra Kurla area of Mumbai. There are already many luxury malls here. Experts say that the total cost of building Jio World Center can be more than one billion dollars i.e. 76 billion rupees. This huge investment by Reliance, a $238 billion company, is a sign of how keen the Ambani family is about luxury brands. Mukesh Ambani’s 30-year-old daughter Isha is particularly interested in this matter.
Although Reliance declined to comment, a source familiar with the company’s strategy said, “Global brands want to come to India. Reliance wants to take advantage of that desire and is acting as a catalyst.”
How will the mall be?
Experts say that Reliance’s mall will be as big as 10 football fields. The entire floor will be of marble and documents show that gold will be its main colour. According to sources, it can be started next year.
According to the documents, at least 30 brands have already given their consent to set up their showrooms in this mall. These include international names like Louis Vuitton, Tiffany’s and Dior. Kerings, Gucci, Versace, Richmonds, Cartier and Hermes are also included in the list. None of the brands responded to questions about the agreement they had with Reliance.
watch the market
The upcoming showrooms at Jio World Plaza show that big brands in India are working on their mega-expansion plans. The websites of the companies show that till now their expansion has not been done as expected. For example, despite being in India for two decades, Louis Vuitton has only three stores in the country. Versace has only one.
Louis Vuitton will have the largest showroom in India in Reliance’s mall. According to the documents, its size will be 7,376 sq ft. Pankaj Ranjan of Anarock Property Consultants says that the luxury market in India is still small enough that most brands are preferring to partner with Reliance to understand the market and take advantage of Reliance’s hold to keep their expenses low.
Euromonitor estimates that India’s luxury market was worth $2.6 billion last year, which is expected to grow by 12 percent to $4.7 billion by 2026. In comparison, the luxury market in China could reach $107 billion by 2026. There are 60 Louis Vuitton stores and 40 Versace stores.