Luxury business in India to grow: Mint Luxury Conference 2011

The 4th edition of the Mint Luxury Conference 2011 held at the Taj Mahal Hotel, Mumbai saw leaders of global luxury brands, top designers, policy makers and Actor Abhishek Bachchan share their views on India's luxury market. The conference theme was "Luxury: Triggers for growth".

The conference was inaugurated by Maharashtra's Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan. Speaking at the conference, he sent out a strong message to the luxury and other high value businesses to invest in India and specifically in Maharashtra, saying "that urbanization and the rapid growth of small and medium sized business made the exchange of ideas in a growing market crucial".

Commenting on the occasion, Spokesperson from Mint said, "Luxury: Triggers for growth" was the theme for the Luxury Conference. At the Mint Luxury Conference, each of the speakers discussed critical issues in Indian luxury business including trends, designs and highlighted the challenges and opportunities in the luxury market."

In a recorded message for the audience Santo Versace, Chairman Gianni Versace, spoke about Fondazione Altagamma looking to grow and strengthen their relations with India. Santo Versace is also the chairman of Fondazione Altagamma, which is a foundation of Italian luxury companies well known internationally and reflecting the Italian style and culture in their company management and products.

The presence of international luxury brands will also help local players to develop in the Indian market. Fondazione Altagamma also plans to start training programs to develop talent in the luxury goods manufacturing and management. Versace ended by saying that Italian luxury brands plan to make many investments in the Indian market.

Giovanna Vitelli, Member of the Board, Azimut Benetti Group, the company that makes luxury boats, talked about why India is a promising market for luxury boats, on working with local authorities for developing infrastructure and hoping that India soon develops "a sailing culture'.

Other eminent speakers on day one of the conference included, Emanuel Ungaro, Couturier; Raffaello Napoleone CEO, Pitti Immagine, Armando Branchini, Director, Fondazione Altagamma and Laxman Narsimhan, Director, Mckinsey & Co.

The second day of the conference saw Actor Abhishek Bachchan share his thoughts on the topic "These are a few of my favorite things". Frederic Dormeuil, Director Commercial for Dormeuil Mode S.A.S; Fluvia Visconti Ferragamo, Member of the Board, Salvatore Ferragamo; Jerome Griffith, CEO, Tumi; Michael Perschke, Head Audi India; Andrea Morante, CEO, Pomellato; Mark Henderson, Deputy Chairman, Gieves & Hawkes; Francesco Pesci, CEO, Brioni and many other global leaders expressed their views on topics like Trends in Luxury; Luxury Living; and Men's wear.

The luxury conference was well attended by 200+ audience comprising leaders in the business of luxury from India and across the world. In conclusion, the raison d'être of the successful event was to highlight the immense potential of luxury goods in India. Home to some of the world's richest people, the Indian luxury market is estimated to touch $30 billion mark by 2015 and by 2025 India would become the world's fifth largest consumer market.