Luxe brands see a cracker of a Deepavali



*Luxe brands see a cracker of a Deepavali*

Swati Anand \| tnn Chennai: It's not Deepavali yet, but luxury brands are all set to celebrate. Last year, the economy had only just hit recovery mode and the year before, was the slowdown year, which saw a dull festival season. But this year, with the economy back on track, luxury retailers may see cash registers ring like never before. "We expect Deepavali to be a fantastic seas'on for us. We're looking for at least 20 % rise in sales," says Charu Sachdev, CEO of The Sachdev Group (TSG), which is selling brands like Moschino, Jean Paul Gaultier and Alberta Ferretti. Luxury shopping destinations like DLF Emporio in Delhi and UB City Mall in Bangalore are abuzz with activity. Unlike their international stores, where new collections are released closer to Christmas, brands are launching			sales will only increase," says Olivier Bernheim, CEO-president of luxury watch brand Raymond Weil. Raymond Weil and Seiko recently opened their exclusive boutiques in Chennai's -Express Avenue Malt-and the timing is clearly well planned. "While we grew 42% in 2009-10 in India, we have grown by 84% in the period of April to September. This season, things will only get better¹,-says Hi-rohiko Umemoto, executive director (international sales and marketing), Seiko. And although luxury buying largely comprises of personal gifts, corporate gifts are also on the rise. "Last year the sentiment was low and corporates hardly shopped for gifting. This year, however, we are getting many inquiries for gifts from our luxury brands," says San-jay Kapoor, MD of Genesis Luxury which sells brands like	Paul Smith, Kenzo and Just Cavalli. TSG offers gift vouchers in denominations ranging from Rs 5,000 to Rs 50,000 are being snapped up by corporates. At Dunhill, enquiries are pouring in for small leather goods. "Corporates also look for small accessories. We also offer them a lot of personalisation in their gifts, be it in the item or the packaging," says Anjani Kasliwal, director (group), SKNL, which has brought down Dunhill. Industry experts say that the luxury brand market will see an increase of 25% in sales this season. "While the more recently, launched brands may not see this spurt, brands like Louis Vuitton, Armani, Chanel, Gucci and Canali, which have been around longer and are more visible, will definitely see a sharp increase in sales," says Arvind Singhal, chairman of Technopak.
	new collections to cash in on the festive spirit. Canali, which launched the 'Nawab Collection' a couple of seasons ago, has added the 'Blue Nawab' collection. Jimmy Choo has introduced jeweled bags and Bottega Veneta has launched new home accessories and desk sets. This season also happens to be the	wedding season and that only adds to the shopping fervour in the luxury segment. "The wedding season contributes greatly to our revenues. And that's the reason why sales never dipped dramatically during the slowdown. This year, with the good monsoon, the rising sensex and the bright job market,