MAM
Luxury goods market in India on a lower growth curve
MUMBAI: As the global economy recovers, the luxury industry is growing accordingly. Not unexpectedly, growth is disproportionately focused on the Asia Pacific region.
In 2012, India had the fastest growing luxury markets in the region. The country grew much faster than China, but lost steam due a lack of sustenance of the growth, which once made the country an attractive market. Today, the Indian luxury goods market appears to be on a lower growth trajectory as pointed out in the Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu (DTTL) first annual report on ‘Global Powers of Luxury Goods’.
“The entire luxury goods market in India has seen a significant dip in the growth rate and is likely to see a couple of more turbulent years. However, the long term outlook remains positive and India’s luxury market is expected to rise with a strong performance. To supplement this long term growth trajectory, holistic implementation of new reforms and initiatives by stakeholders and regulators would only facilitate the vision” said Deloitte senior director Gaurav Gupta.
The report says that the very rapid growth of recent years have created a bottle neck leading to inflation this has caused the central bank to tighten its monetary policy to control inflation and stabilise the currency; hence, further slowing the booming market. From the regulatory side, there was not much of a focus to implement reforms that could boost productivity, unleash, more investment and induce a faster growth rate in the sector.
‘Global Powers of Luxury Goods’ highlight the fact that along with Indian markets, many emerging markets like China, Brazil and Russia have seen deceleration of growth in the past year. This follows a period of rapid growth that was driven by several factors. Going forward, the emerging world is likely to have a year or two of disappointing growth while imbalances are unwound. However the long term view remains positive.
In the last five years the expanding global middle class in the emerging markets has supported growth in the luxury sector and is continuing to grow through 2018. According to Euromonitor the emerging markets like Asia Pacific, Latin America, Middle East and Africa combined together accounted to 9 per cent of the luxury market in 2008 these figures spiked to 19 per cent in 2013 and is expected to leap up to 25 per cent in 2025.
The developed economies like US and Europe benefits from the emerging markets. Over the 2012 to 2017 Euromonitor projects China to lead the tourist expenditure growth followed by India and the other emerging Asian countries. The appetite for American and European brands in the underpenetrated markets is strong and growing many luxury companies to expand its international presence hence creating opportunities in emerging markets like India.
The world’s 75 largest luxury goods company generates total goods sales of $171.8 billion. Three of the top ten companies are conglomerates.
Brands
Bajaj Consumer Care FY26 profit rises to Rs 193.7 crore
Revenue climbs to Rs 1,092 crore as profit grows 49 per cent YoY
MUMBAI: Hair today, growth tomorrow Bajaj Consumer Care Limited seems to have found its shine again, posting a sharp jump in profitability even as it doubled down on brand spends and expansion. The company reported a net profit of Rs 193.7 crore for FY26, marking a strong 49 per cent rise from Rs 130.1 crore in FY25. Revenue from operations also grew to Rs 1,092.2 crore, up from Rs 942.8 crore a year earlier, signalling steady demand momentum across its portfolio.
For the March quarter, profit stood at Rs 64.1 crore, compared to Rs 31.5 crore in the corresponding period last year, while revenue rose to Rs 308.3 crore from Rs 243.5 crore.
The performance came despite a notable increase in spending. Advertising and sales promotion expenses climbed to Rs 168.3 crore in FY26, up from Rs 137.8 crore in FY25, reflecting continued investment in brand building. Other expenses also rose to Rs 151.3 crore from Rs 134.2 crore, indicating a broader push towards growth.
Operating efficiency, however, held firm. Profit before tax increased to Rs 234.8 crore in FY26 from Rs 157.7 crore a year earlier, supported by disciplined cost management across materials and inventory.
On the balance sheet, the company’s total assets expanded to Rs 959.1 crore as of March 31, 2026, compared to Rs 931.9 crore a year earlier. Other equity rose to Rs 780.3 crore, reinforcing a stronger financial base.
Cash flow from operations saw a significant uptick, reaching Rs 196.9 crore in FY26, nearly three times the Rs 67.9 crore recorded in FY25, highlighting improved working capital management.
However, the year also saw aggressive capital allocation. The company spent Rs 190.2 crore on share buybacks, contributing to a net cash outflow of Rs 196.5 crore from financing activities. Cash and cash equivalents stood at Rs 6.8 crore at the end of the year, down from Rs 25.6 crore.
Even as investments in subsidiaries and assets continued, the numbers suggest a company balancing growth ambitions with shareholder returns keeping one eye on expansion and the other on efficiency.
With margins improving and revenue steadily climbing, Bajaj Consumer Care appears to be combing through the competition with renewed confidence.
