(left)Gopal Asthana, CEO, Tata CLiQ and Jean-Christophe Babin, CEO of Bvlgari
Roman luxury jewellery brand Bvlgari has announced an exclusive partnership with Tata CLiQ Luxury, to launch its first digital boutique in India. This is the first time, Bvlgari is making its foray into the Indian ecommerce space.
With a fast-changing, globalised market and the purchasing aspirations of the Indian consumer rapidly evolving, luxury ecommerce platforms play a pivotal role in attracting new customers residing all across the country. Bvlgari has already launched multiple India-inspired creations, such as the B.zero1 kada bracelet and the iconic Bvlgari mangalsutra. In order to maximise the reach of Bvlgari’s high-end product offerings, the brand has launched a one-of-a-kind digital boutique in India.
Tata CLiQ Luxury and Bvlgari will offer a dedicated luxury concierge service, through which customers can get a personalised shopping experience from knowledgeable experts trained by Bvlgari who can guide them in their journey. Forbes India speaks to Gopal Asthana, CEO of Tata CLiQ Luxury, and Jean-Christophe Babin, CEO of Bvlgari about this exclusive partnership, the price sensitive Indian market, and more. Edited excerpts:
Q. What motivated Bvlgari to pursue an exclusive partnership with Tata CLiQ Luxury?
Jean-Christophe Babin: We are excited to partner with Tata CLiQ Luxury to enhance its presence in the Indian market through a strategic ecommerce channel. Given India’s diverse customer base, wealth fragmentation across the vast country and the absence of extensive luxury offline retail, this partnership allows Bvlgari to leverage Tata CLiQ Luxury’s large customer reach and digital expertise while delivering an authentic Bvlgari experience.
This also allows us to tap into emerging markets, where ecommerce is a critical channel for accelerated brand growth. By collaborating with Tata CLiQ Luxury, Bvlgari can build relationships with luxury clients across India, especially in regions beyond major cities like Delhi and Mumbai, where it currently lacks physical stores.
Q. How do you see this collaboration affecting Tata CLiQ Luxury’s growth in the luxury segment? Are there plans for expanding similar collaborations with other global brands?
Gopal Asthana: At Tata CLiQ Luxury, our endeavour has been to bring the most celebrated luxury brands to consumers across the country. This launch not only elevates Tata CLiQ Luxury’s reputation as the premier destination for luxury shopping, but also enhances our offerings across multiple categories, including jewellery, watches, and accessories. We anticipate an increase in both repeat buyers and new customers, given Bvlgari’s global reputation and its renowned products, including traditional Indian jewellery-inspired pieces that will be available on the platform.
Tata CLiQ Luxury has been a pioneer in launching brands online for the first time. In 2023, we launched TimeVallée. It marked the luxury multi-brand boutique’s entry into India and its online presence with the introduction of Cartier, IWC Schaffhausen, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Panerai, Piaget, and Roger Dubuis, on the platform.
Q. Given how price sensitive the Indian market is, will pricing for a brand as luxurious as Bvlgari prove to be a challenge? How do you hope to tackle this?
Asthana: While India is a price-sensitive market, there are innumerable buyers for premium and luxury products in the country. India is experiencing a notable uptick in the desire and consumption of luxury goods. Several factors are driving this trend, including the increasing number of ultra-high-net-worth-individuals (UHNIs), the growth of the middle-income class, rising disposable incomes, the introduction of entry-level luxury products by global brands, heightened demand from Tier II and III cities, and the expansion of ecommerce platforms.
Consumers in the country are also value driven. Luxury is not just defined by its price, but also the value-driven experience and quality offered. If consumers perceive value in a product, price is not much of a concern.
Q. What are Bvlgari’s growth and expansion plans for India?
Babin: Bvlgari is focused on expanding its footprint in India by enhancing its ecommerce capabilities and strengthening its presence in luxury jewellery and watches, opening three-five monobrand stores in the coming years as well as additional professional multi-brand watch retailers. The affluent demographics, especially millennials and young professionals in urban areas, show strong interest in luxury products, presenting significant growth opportunities for the brand.
Q. How has the year been for Tata CLiQ Luxury so far?
Asthana: We now house over 1000+ premium and luxury global and Indian brands across categories such as accessories, beauty and fragrances, fashion, fine jewellery, handbags, home, fitness, sneakers & footwear, stationery, and watches.
As a platform, we have consistently analysed consumer behaviour to identify opportunities that enhance our position as a leader in the luxury lifestyle sector. This year has been performing well for us; we are seeing year-on-year growth across all categories, with further improvement in average order value. The platform has sold several luxury products priced over Rs1 lakh in watch and home categories. The platform attracts a young, affluent customer base, with 35 percent of our customers aged between 26 and 35 years. Approximately 55 percent of our revenue comes from non-metro markets.
Q. How do you view the growth potential of luxury ecommerce in India compared to other markets?
Babin: This year has been globally important for Bvlgari, with solid performances in various markets despite a volatile and uncertain international environment and the economic slowdown impacting China.
The growth potential for luxury ecommerce in India is significant, especially considering that branded jewellery, currently has still a marginal share of the huge market. With a burgeoning upper middle class and increasing digital penetration, Bvlgari sees many opportunities in India, making it a promising market.
Moving forward, Bvlgari plans to innovate its product offerings and enhance its online presence, including launching new collections and digital experiences that cater to the unique tastes of the Indian clients particularly attracted by gold and jewellery since centuries.
Q. The market is quite crowded already. How is Tata CLiQ Luxury differentiating itself?
Asthana: We are expanding our categories by onboarding new brands on a regular basis, and will launch new international brands and designers on the platform. Apart from our assortment, we have add-on services like our best-in-class block box packaging, the Select Programme—an invite-only service offering special benefits—and assisted selling, where experts provide personalised guidance for high-end purchases. This enables us to elevate the online luxury shopping experience.
An essential part of our growth strategy is enhancing online storytelling and integrating content with commerce to elevate the consumer shopping experience. The platform has consistently focused on seamlessly merging these elements through various initiatives on the app, social media, and influencer marketing, while also leveraging our larger content play through IPs like Luxe Life and The Watch Society.
Our overall strategy will continue to emphasise Tata CLiQ Luxury as a luxury lifestyle destination across all categories, with a focus on new emerging high growth categories to provide a differentiated experience and build an exceptional customer experience delivered across multiple touchpoints.