The iconic 125-year-old French department store Galeries Lafayette is set to open in India through a strategic partnership between Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Limited and Galeries Lafayette. This will facilitate flagship stores in Mumbai and New Delhi, and a dedicated e-commerce platform for India.
Galeries Lafayette is set to open in India through a strategic partnership between Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Limited and Galeries Lafayette.
Galeries Lafayette, the iconic 125-year-old Parisian department store, which is home to couture and ready-to-wear fashion brands, has grown to be Europe’s largest departmental store chain. Overseas, Galeries Lafayette is present in Beijing, Chongqing, Doha, Dubaï, Jakarta, Luxembourg, Macao, Shanghai, Shenzhen, and is now set to make history as the first European department store to open doors in India.
The flagship stores in Mumbai and New Delhi will bring more than two hundred brands under one roof with personalised shopping, digital check-in and omnichannel connections. The 90,000 square feet flagship store in Mumbai is expected to be operational shortly. It will be housed across two historic buildings at the heritage precinct of Fort, the leading commercial and cultural hub of the city. The 65,000 square feet store in Delhi will be at luxury mall, DLF Emporio.
The India outposts are part of Galeries Lafayette’s plan to open twenty stores outside of France by 2025, with a focus on China, Asia and the Middle East. The group opened stores in Doha, Qatar; Luxembourg, and Shanghai, China, in 2019. Its outposts in Beijing and Shanghai are run with partner I.T Limited, and Galeries Lafayette has announced projects in Macau and Chongqing, and the group aims to have 10 stores in China by 2025.
“This is a coming-of-age moment for Indian luxury. India is now home to a generation of young and affluent consumers with global exposure, who are willing to spend on the finer things in life. This is visible in the boom and dynamism of the luxury market,” says Ashish Dikshit, Managing Director, Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Limited. “The partnership with Galeries Lafayette is a ringing endorsement of India’s significance as a global luxury market and a future engine of growth for luxury brands.”
Galeries Lafayette strives to make each visit a unique experience by offering consumers a constantly renewed selection of the best brands.
“We are proud to expand our international footprint in such a prestigious market as India, where we believe our brand can benefit from a strong potential,” says Nicolas Houzé, CEO, Galeries Lafayette and BHV Marais. “It is also a new illustration of our ambition to reach twenty stores abroad, with a primary focus on China, Asia and the Middle East by 2025. We are very pleased to be working with Aditya Birla Group on this project, with whom we share the same values and vision on retail.”
Galeries Lafayette’s experience-focused design and proposition around entertainment, technology and engagement will be brought to life through installations, pop ups, innovative events and food n beverage explorations. Backed by personal stylists and omni-channel enabled shopping, the stores will provide a 360-degree retail experience that speaks directly to customer’s needs.
About Galeries Lafayette
A leading French department store, Galeries Lafayette has been the undisputed expert in fashion for the past 130 years. It strives to make each visit a unique experience by offering consumers a constantly renewed selection of the best brands, ranging from the affordable to premium. Present in the fashion, accessory, beauty, interior decoration, fine foods and catering, the brand is celebrated for its 57-store network in France – including 19 of its own and 38 subsidiaries – and ten current and upcoming international stores, its e-commerce website galerieslafayette.com and its off-price activity Galeries Lafayette L’Outlet.
About Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Limited
Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Limited (ABFRL) is part of USD 60 billion global conglomerate, Aditya Birla Group. It is the largest multi-brand retailer of International brands and has long-term exclusive partnerships with select brands such as Ralph Lauren, Hackett London, Ted Baker, Fred Perry, Forever 21, American Eagle and Reebok under ‘The Collective’. The company owns India’s largest fashion brands – Louis Philippe, Van Heusen, Allen Solly and Peter England and operates a network of 3500 stores. ABFRL has strategic partnerships with fashion designers such as ‘Shantanu & Nikhil’, ‘Tarun Tahiliani’, ‘Sabyasachi’ and ‘House of Masaba’. In the branded ethnic wear, ABFRL has brands such as Jaypore, Tasva and Marigold Lane.
Jasmeen Dugal is Associate Editor at FashionABC, contributing her insights on fashion, technology, and sustainability. She brings with herself more than two decades of editorial experience, working for national newspapers and luxury magazines in India.
Jasmeen Dugal has worked with exchange4media as a senior writer contributing articles on the country’s advertising and marketing movements, and then with Condenast India as Net Editor where she helmed Vogue India’s official website in terms of design, layout and daily content. Besides this, she is also an entrepreneur running her own luxury portal, Explosivefashion, which highlights the latest in luxury fashion and hospitality.
