The Indian market has brought luxury down to its knees. Discounted luxury now thats Indianism. Have you ever pushed a lunchtime date to accommodate a sale at the Fendi boutique in Emporio,where a seductive pair of red sandals is priced at Rs 21,270? You might be tempted to if you knew that the original price was Rs 35,450. And how long did it take you to believe that the blue moccasins you had been coveting at Tods,can now be had for Rs 12,000,after a 40 per cent mark down? For fashionistas who lust after labels,this is a great time to catch top-of-the-end goods at,sometimes,half the original price. At designer Tarun Tahilianis swanky Emporio store,store manager Pooja Arora sent out sales cards to clients in Chandigarh,Amritsar,Ludhiana and Kolkata before the the sale began on February 3. We sent out sales cards to more than 50 people. There are specific clients who cant afford to buy a Tarun Tahiliani accessory or apparel and wait for the sales. The number of walk-ins has surged by 50 per cent, she says. The store had put out the Spring Summer 2010 collection with items marked down between 30-70 percent. For the first time,the menswear line from the Spring Summer 2010 collection was also on offer,with sherwanis originally priced at Rs 30,000 being marked down by 15 per cent. We didnt put the high-end line of sherwanis on sale because it is the basic line that is most in demand, says Arora. Anuradha Jain,a graphic designer,who visited the store,didnt mind that the stock on offer was a year old. So what,the sari is still of-the-moment, she says. Marked down from Rs 3 lakh to Rs 1 lakh,it is a steal. At the Fendi boutique,non-monogrammed shoes,handbags and the ready-to-wear line from the previous season has been priced down by 40 per cent. We have women clientele who are aware of the trends but would rather wait for the mark down due to budget constraints, says Kim Ruth,manager. Of course,the rich do not need discounts. They turn up their noses at products once their prices are marked down,visibly diminshing their exclusivity. But as Arora says, Delhiites are particularly ostentatious by nature. They splurge on clothes and,during sales,luxury labels become affordable luxury for them. Kitsch,that sells labels such as Marc Jacobs,Alberta Ferretti and Alexander McQueen,holds a private viewing of the latest inventory before the products are marked down. Charu Sachdev,owner of the multi-designer store,says,Our clients always get their hands first on the products. It is a trend followed in the high-end retail sector. Kitsch is having a sale on the Fall 2010 collection till February 15. Abhay Gupta,Executive Director of Blues Clothing Company,retailer of luxury brands such as Versace and Corneliani in India,informs,There are enough people who are aware of luxury products and services now. There was a time when it was an acquired taste but now,the interest has peaked. Sales in luxury brands creates a new customer base. The regular clientele has a private preview of the special price collection where they book items in advance, said Gupta. The 4,000 sq ft Versace store at Emporio has a 30-50 per cent mark down till February 15 on its Fall 2010 collection. And footfalls have increased exponentially since the Sales stickers went up. It is a similar story at the labels huge store at the airport. The sale at the airport store has gone up by 40-50 per cent, says Gupta. Discounters,march on.
