Luxury products are no longer out of reach as now there are online retailers who sell pre-owned luxury handbags and products such as foot wears and apparels at much discounted rates. MINAL SANCHETI talks to some of the online retailers who sell affordable luxury products, toknow how the market functions, the trends and other aspects of this growing business.
“This was way back in 2009 when I was studying in UK. I wanted a particular handbag online but I couldn’t get it and this website popped out that had the same handbag in half the prize. Although first I was little skeptical but then it came in a very-very good condition and it gave me the feeling that I bought a luxury item. Then for some years, I gathered some work experience and started the business in 2014,” says Anvita Mehra, founder & CEO of Confidential Couture.
For Vijay K.G. the idea of Luxepolis sparked when he was the founding partner and chief business officer for Nykaa.com, where he was instrumental in signing-up 12 odd luxury brands and took them online. “I founded Luxepolis after conducting nearly 7 months rigorous research in studying luxury product authentication, successful online models in US and Europe and after meeting several luxury brands/retailers across fashion, electronics, furniture, beauty, automobiles, fine art, antiques and real estate property consulting firms such as JLL, CBRE etc”
Clients and target audience
The pocket friendly luxury items gets buyers from all walks of life, from college going girls to professionals and people working in corporate. The aim is to get the same feeling of luxury in less price The target audiences are generally from 17 to 65, “The sellers are generally rich and elite working women, housewives and buyers are from college going girls to professionals, bankers and women working in corporate and housewives as well,” says Mehra about her clienteles.
“We also get celebrities as buyers and sellers but I can’t name them as it’s confidential. Now-a-days the whole mindset has changed towards these products. Sellers also think a bit from the recycle point of view. Buyers also feel that why buy a bag from showrooms when here it’s available for half the price,” says Anvita Mehra.
Anandita Singh, co-founder of Envoged, talks about their clienteles and customers, “We get a lot of clients from cities where these brands are not available. There are also a lot of youngsters who buy from us because they want variety and quality. So instead of buying one they can buy two items.” Their (Envoged) highest purchase has been a Hermès Bag for Rupees 1.1 Lakh. The market price of the same is 2.75 Lakh.
Anvita Mehra gives an insight about the process of listing the items on the firm, “Nothing can be listed directly. If someone wants to sell something on the portal, the enquiry comes directly to us with pictures. The system’s going to ask for images. So the query comes to us and then we decide the price range. We see the bag personally and ones the procedure is complete, we give a final prize. After going through the authentication process and photography, we list it on the website. The general lead time is three to four weeks for a product. But few products may take longer time. ”
Their (Confidential Couture) highest purchase has been a Hermès Bag for Rupees 410,000. The market price of the same bag was 680,000.
Authentication
Checking the authenticity of the luxury items before selling, is the top priority of the business. Vijay K.G shares the authentication process that Luxepolis follow, “All products are subject to a rigorous, multi-layered, brand-specific authentication process by our team of luxury brand authenticators, horologists, gemologists. Luxepolis has partnered with authenticators all over the world to ensure that no fake products are (ever) shipped from our warehouse. The authentication team inspects all goods for appropriate product material used, hardware used, zipper quality and make, leather trimming, seam line stitch consistencies, brand markings and logo printing and embossing, date codes or serial tags and hologram stickers.” Their (Luxepolis) highest purchase is a Chanel Classic for Rupees 2,75,000 and the bag was originally priced around 400,000 in the showrooms.
Current trends in the market
Anandita speaks about general preferences of the buyers, “A lot of Indians are buying luxury products as they are getting more acquainted with the brands. Usually buyers prefer bags or products that shout out the brand properly. So we have a lot Louis Vuitton and Burberry selling.”
“Structured bags for everyday use, is the latest fashion and most selling. Most college going girls prefer shoulder bags asthey are big and spacious. Louis Vuitton-Never Full for the shoulder is a classic. It’s a comfortable bag. The other thing is LV Suede and L.V. monograms so that’s more like a tote then a shoulder bag. That also goes really well because it can be a travel bag and can also be used as an everyday bag. It’s really like an all-time classic. Monograms do really well in the market. So anything with a monogram is in trend,” Anvita Mehra talks about the contemporary vogue in the market.
“These bags are pocket friendly and the quality is as good as new. They give the feeling of luxury to the buyers who cannot afford or just don’t want to spend a too much but crave for.
