Brands
Galeries Lafayette lands in Mumbai with massive bet on Indian luxury
MUMBAI: Mumbai will get its first luxury department store next month when Galeries Lafayette throws open the doors of its 90,000 sq ft flagship in the heritage Turner Morrison and Voltas House buildings at Kala Ghoda. The move marks the French retailer’s biggest bet yet on India’s exploding luxury market, forecast to hit $85bn by 2030.
The partnership between the 130-year-old Parisian institution and Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Limited (ABFRL), struck in 2022, brings more than 250 global luxury brands to five floors of meticulously restored colonial grandeur. London’s Virgile + Partners has designed the space to blend Parisian refinement with Mumbai’s architectural heritage.
Aditya Birla group chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla called it “a coming-of-age moment for Indian luxury retail.” He pointed to India’s fastest-growing affluent population and a new generation of globally exposed consumers hungry for high-end experiences. “For the first time, India will welcome a luxury department store, housed in landmark real estate, executed with precision, and infused with the elegance of Indian sensibilities,” he said.
Galeries Lafayette group executive chairman Nicolas Houzé described the Mumbai opening as “a defining moment” that brings together French heritage with India’s energy and cultural richness. The partnership with the Aditya Birla group, he added, gives the project “a particularly strong foundation.”
To mark the occasion, both chairmen sailed from the Gateway of India aboard a flotilla of yachts for a celebration on the Arabian Sea—a suitably theatrical arrival for a brand built on spectacle.
Beyond the merchandise, the flagship offers personal styling, private lounges, concierge services and curated cultural programmes. ABFRL, managing director Ashish Dikshit said the store aims to create “cultural experiences” that go beyond retail. “We are setting new benchmarks in assortment, service and experience,” he said.
The store opens early next month at 16 G. Vaidya Road, Kala Ghoda. If India’s luxury trajectory holds, it won’t be the last of its kind. Mumbai’s moneyed set, it seems, is ready to shop like Parisians—without leaving home.
Brands
Faber-Castell India appoints Sunaina Haldar as director – marketing
With stints at Tata, SleepyCat and ADF Foods under her belt, Haldar is primed to redraw Faber-Castell’s brand story
MUMBAI: Faber-Castell India has poached Sunaina Haldar from ADF Foods, appointing her director – marketing as the German stationery brand looks to muscle up in a category that is rapidly reinventing itself around creativity and self-expression.
Haldar hit the ground running. “My first couple of weeks have been incredibly energising, understanding consumers, visiting markets, engaging with retailers and immersing myself into the world of Faber-Castell Group,” she said.
She arrives with considerable firepower. At ADF Foods, Haldar ran marketing across India and international markets for a portfolio spanning Ashoka, Aeroplane, Camel and ADF Soul. Before that, she was vice-president – marketing at direct-to-consumer mattress brand SleepyCat, where she helmed brand, content and performance marketing. Her résumé also includes a stint leading marketing, new product development and CRM for Tata SmartFoodz at Tata Consumer Products, no small proving ground.
Between corporate roles, Haldar also operated as a fractional CMO for early-stage startups, building marketing strategy and operational structures from scratch, a signal that she knows how to move fast with limited resources.
With 18 years straddling FMCG, D2C and the startup world, Haldar now takes the reins at a brand that has long owned the classroom but is clearly hungry for the living room. In a stationery market where the pencil has become a lifestyle statement, Faber-Castell has picked someone who knows exactly how to sell that story.
