5:27 p.m.
China’s red-hot economy is most often featured front and center in U.S. news reports, but the expansion of the Indian economy has not gone unnoticed by the giant fashion conglomerates. Earlier this year, LVMH purchased a 20% stake in Indian leather works company Hidesign, which is now expanding its focus on luxury leather handbags and developing a line of leather footwear.
Hidesign plans to cash in on its fashion status, eyes footwear
“Hidesign plans to open nine more stores in India by March, taking its total number of stores in the country to 48; it also has 15 stores in the US, South Africa, Russia and China. Kapur said the company plans to add 10-15 stores in overseas locations every year. The expansion will be funded from internal resources and the money invested by LVMH, said Kapur.”
Hidesign’s product line isn’t particularly dazzling at this point in time, but LVMH has plans to change all that. A seriously revamped website wouldn’t be a bad place to start, but perhaps that’s not a top priority.
“Don’t hate us because we’re not European.”
The infusion of cash from LVMH will enable Hidesign to widen its global appeal by expanding its product line, not to mention scaling up its offerings to compete with already established European fashion houses. Louis Vuitton trendy style and a higher quality of craftsmanship means they can start charging Louis Vuitton prices, and LVMH is all about the high prices.
“According to Kapur, the company is using the expertise of LVMH, which has a 20% stake in Hidesign, to chart its journey towards becoming a fashion brand. Hidesign’s employees are being trained at the offices of the French luxury brand, one of the best known in the world.”
Now that LVMH has established a presence on the Indian continent, there’s speculation that their intent is to export Indian designs and prints to the rest of the world, rather than transforming Indian tastes to accommodate Western fashion. While fashion houses Prada and Gucci have set up manufacturing centers in Vietnam, LVMH is betting that India is the place to be, with its rapidly modernizing economy, growing affluence and increasingly educated population from which to draw workers.
A taste of contemporary Indian fashion below:
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“Earlier this year, LVMH purchased a 20% stake in Indian leather works company Hidesign, which is now expanding its focus on luxury leather handbags and developing a line of leather footwear…”
Leather.
Made of cows.
In India.
Hey, it’s good to know there are literally no more sacred cows.