New Delhi: The Luxury Marketing Council Worldwide - the apex body for luxury goods and service providers across the globe, launched its India chapter on Thursday - The Luxury Marketing Council of India (LMCI).
The organisation will perform the role of a nodal body for the industry - developing and sharing marketing, sales and customer retention best practices to help businesses in the luxury segment address the needs of the emerging affluent consumer category in the country.
American Express, India is the first to join the Luxury Marketing Council of India as the founding member.
The Luxury Marketing Council (LMC) Worldwide is an exclusive, "by invitation only" council with 700 of the most prestigious luxury goods and services companies worldwide. Under this umbrella more that 1,700 CEO's and CMO's set the standards worldwide for the intelligent exploration of best marketing practices and trends in the luxury arena.
In New Delhi to launch the India chapter of LMC Chairman and Founder of LMC Gregory J Furman said, "2006 is a very special year for The Luxury Marketing Council Worldwide. We're celebrating our thirteenth anniversary of service to the most prestigious luxury marketers and brands in the world, and will be expanding our worldwide network to cover more countries in the APAC region - starting with India."
"With the affluent consumer segment set to grow at 13 per cent over the next few years - the market presents tremendous potential for luxury goods and service providers - but the lesson from around the world is that you can't make assumptions. You need to know what these people want almost before they do: that is one of the expectations that comes with wealth and that is where the Luxury Marketing Council plays a vital role," he added.
Luxury Marketing Council of India will be headed by Devyani Raman, the CEO of Leading Brands of the World, a leading management consultancy focused on the luxury segment.
As CEO Luxury Marketing Council of India, Raman will be responsible for spearheading the growth of the organisation, and working with member organisations to develop and lead the LMCI charter for India.
LMCI CharterThe charter of Luxury Marketing Council of India is to:
- Be the leading forum for exploration of best marketing practices, critical economic issues and trends
- Act as a catalyst to bring together top management of luxury brands to help them better understand how the market and best customers are changing
- Serve as the leading source for research on global luxury
- To create "Think Tanks" that provide consulting to council members on critical business issues
LMCI Criteria for MembershipMembers of the Luxury Marketing Council will need to be CEOs and Senior Management from the marketing team of companies which:
- Are purveyors of luxury products and services
- Are interested in and have a understanding of the power of collaboration
- Have an interest in and are willing to share best marketing practices with like minded brands
- View the marketing discipline and marketing intelligence as an investment and not a cost
- Are bottom line and results oriented
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Speaking on the occasion, Devyani Raman said, "Our aim is to catalyse the growth of the luxury market in India - by bringing the smartest, most imaginative marketers of luxury products and services together to explore best practices and critical issues, and share intelligence on customers and market trends. Through the "incubation" of innovative collaborations and partnerships, LMCI will help its members grow revenue, share of wallet, referrals from and loyalty of the best customers. A key objective will also be to identify the important industry and policy issues that affect luxury brands - and collectively work to resolve these issues for the success of all stakeholders."
"A first step will be to assemble a community of like minded experts and organisations who are purveyors of luxury, and develop insights into the challenges they face. This intelligence will then be used to develop intelligent programming - that helps raise the level of luxury marketing practices in India, and helps our members drive revenues,” she added.
Also present at the event, was American Express India Country Manager Rob Hennin, who is the founding member of the Luxury Marketing Council of India.
Commenting on the launch Hennin said, "The affluent segment in India is witnessing tremendous growth. These individuals accounted for an estimated cumulative liquid wealth of US$203 billion in 2005, which is expected to increase to $322 billion by 2009. With such rapid developments underway - the Indian market poses a unique set of challenges for luxury goods and service providers - and an organisation such as LMCI that focuses on identifying and finding solutions for some of the key issues that face us, is critical for the overall growth of the industry."
"We are confident that the Luxury Marketing Council of India will help us move forward on our own objectives to strengthen our position as a premium brand in India, and are proud to be the founding member of LMCI," he added.
According to the recently released American Express study "Inside the Affluent Space in India" the Indian wealth market is undergoing explosive growth. There are an estimated 711,000 individuals with liquid wealth of $100,000 and more in 2005. This is expected to increase to over 1.1 million by 2009, growing annually at 11.6 per cent.
The study also finds that there is a distinct attitudinal shift that is taking place within the Indian affluent consumer segment, and a new mindset that says "I've Made It!" is emerging. The study also provided additional insights into the affluent consumer segment, and discussed the impact of these findings of luxury goods and service providers in the country.
Commenting on the growth of the affluent consumer segment in India Raman said, "The affluent consumer set in India is growing rapidly, and it is also evolving significantly. For example, there is a distinct shift from 'Old luxury' to 'New luxury'. Old luxury is defined by the attributes, qualities and features of the product, whilst 'New luxury' is defined by the consumer's point of focus on the experience that their purchase stimulates and not in ownership or possession of the product itself."
The Luxury Marketing Council of India will commence operations in December 2006, with a series of industry events including panel discussions featuring international experts in the luxury arena, Think Tank discussions, Executive Roundtables, Common Practice Surveys and others. The LMC will launch a detailed agenda of member events for 2007 later this year.
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