New Delhi: CK Lifestyle LLP, a unit of the CK Israni Group, that also brought luxury Parisian pastry chain Ladurée to India, will expand the brand’s presence with about 20 outlets within three years. The company that has bought the master franchise rights of the over 150-year-old luxury brand in India, will be deploying ₹50-60 crore to develop its stores, Chandni Nath Israni, co-founder and managing director of the CK Israni Group, told Mint.
At present, the company has four stores, three of which are in Delhi-NCR. It will launch its Mumbai outlet at Jio World Plaza soon, and expects the next phase of growth to come from Mumbai, Kolkata, Bengaluru and Pune.
The firm brought the master franchise to India in 2020 and set up a central kitchen or ‘lab’. It hosts pop ups in some cities to understand if there is a market for the products. “All our outlets will be owned and operated by the company. We will not do further franchising because we want to make sure the French brand stays true to its original name. Towards the end of this month we will open our fourth outlet in Jio World Plaza,” said Israni.
The company spends close to ₹12,000 per sq. ft. for rentals at any location, she said. The luxe French brand is around for well over a century, but started expanding globally in 2005 with its first store in London. Ladurée had been looking to enter the Indian market for about nine years before it tied up with Israni. The companies have so far signed a 10-plus year agreement.
“A concept like this works when we achieve scale and have more stores since a large part of investment goes into training our teams and the primary investment in lab,” she said. Israni expects profitability within five years. It expects to grow its operations by 50% year-on-year.
India’s luxury food and beverage market is still in its nascent stages though. For instance, there were just a few takers for Cavalli Caffe in Delhi’s Emporio mall a decade ago. The cafe backed by iconic Italian designer Roberto Cavalli opened and shut in the country about a decade ago. Just a handful of international restaurant chains thrive in India today, and that too at very select locations.
But Israni does not consider that as a deterrent. “Every global luxury brand today is eyeing India for its future growth. They recognize the fact that HNI Indians who travel abroad spend very well. Even from a decade ago to today, there is a palpable change in the way Indians shop for luxury domestically. There is always a queue at international luxury brands at Delhi’s Emporio on the weekends, that should tell us something,” she added.
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Updated: 05 Nov 2023, 10:52 PM IST
