Tommy Hilfiger has become one of the best selling international brands in India thanks to a little unexpected help from actor Shah Rukh Khan, says Mohan Murjani, who built the brand in the U.S. and brought it to India six years ago.
Some Indian consumers knew Tommy Hilfiger even before they knew Levis because they saw superstar SRK covered head to toe in Hilfiger in the 1998 mega hit “Kuch Kuch Hota Hai.”
The romantic comedy — which was a defining moment for the Hindi film industry as it was director Karan Johar’s first – created millions of new Hilfiger fans and an untapped demand which the chairman of the Murjani Group has been riding ever since he brought the brand here in 2004.
Its bright shirts and jeans got all this attention without having to promote itself in Bollywood or even pay a penny for product placement, says Mr. Murjani.
“The (movie’s) stylist just loved Tommy Hilfiger. We couldn’t believe it when we saw it,” he told India Real Time. “Even before we launched in India it was on top of the list of brands to buy.”
Many foreign brands have complained that India is a tough market to crack. Not only has the government put restrictions on foreign ownership in retail but the Indian consumer has been much less likely to pay big bucks for the international names than in other markets like China.
Some retail brands have come to India and left and even homegrown stores are struggling. Mr. Murjani gave up the franchises of Gucci and Jimmy Choo in India when he realized he had overestimated demand for luxury goods.
Still, Indian sales at Tommy Hilfiger have been unstoppable, he says. His revenues have been rising 50% per year every year, even in 2008 and 2009 when almost everyone was struggling. Tommy clothes, perfume, watches and underwear can now be found at more than 1,000 different points of sale across the country.
“The consumer base is growing extremely rapidly, not only in terms of number of people but also in terms of the individual disposable income,” of the Hilfiger customer, he said. “It is really boom time.”
And he expects growth to continue at this pace as he brings the brand into smaller and smaller towns, wherever he can find Shah Rukh Khan wannabes.
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