‘The business segment is where we want to grow’

French luggage-maker Delsey is not new to India. The company has operated in the country for over a decade. Its earlier entry was with VIP. The company considers it “a big breakthrough at that time”.

In 2010, the company tied up with Kolkata-based Beauty Concepts as its new joint venture partner. Known for its premium luggage range, it hopes to tap the India market in the coming days.

“On a long-term basis, it is better to have standalone presence,” says Guenther Trieb, Group CEO, Delsey SA.

Recently in Kolkata, Trieb in an interview to BrandLine talks about the company’s focus on user experience rather than advertisements, and growth plans in India.

Excerpts from the interview:

How important is India to Delsey?

India is one of the key priorities. We are very bullish about our future. You look at Asia and everybody wants to do well in two places – one is India and another is China. It is not different for Delsey.

I know emerging markets. Half of my career has been spent in building brands in emerging markets. I spent five years in China for Procter & Gamble. Nothing is easy.

How has the journey been between switching partners and moving ahead?

Actually Delsey’s history in India dates back to about 10-12 years. It has a presence, but nowhere near what you would expect in such a dynamic country like India.

Things changed dramatically one-and-a-half years ago since we changed our partnership.

How big is India in Delsey’s portfolio?

Currently, our India business is less than 1 per cent. We want to get it to 10 per cent of our business over the next five to six years.

So what would India’s position be once you achieve this 10 per cent target?

Maybe India will be amongst the top two regions.

What are your investment plans in India?

Right now, we do not manufacture. Most of our manufacturing is in China.

From a spending standpoint, it is mainly on marketing right now, primarily, new stores opening and so on.

What is the way forward for you here in India?

It is foremost to understand the consumer. Then it is certainly growing stores. We have a combination of both single-brand and shop-in-shops. And third is store-centred and shop-centred marketing. Currently, we have 18 single-brand stores out of 152 sale points.

The important thing is to make sure that the consumer is happy and gets the right product at an affordable price.

How will your marketing activities be spread out – television commercials, print ads and so on?

While we cannot share marketing figures, we are looking at very shopper-focused marketing, marketing which will help the shopper locate the right store and then influence him to walk into our store and buy a product.

Right now we do not have the scale to do TV advertising. It might be an option later. As we grow in this country, we will look to shore up our investment here.

So what would make a shopper walk into a Delsey store?

On a lighter note, a shopper should walk in wherever he wants to. But seriously speaking, he should know that there is an interesting product choice available. He will be told a very compelling story by our trained staff who will suggest products according to his need.

But the shopper has to come to you first. How will that happen?

Superior innovation and French style are our hallmark. This is important in selection of luggage.

In India, one of the event or promotions we would like to do is a challenge in the shopping malls. We challenge people to tamper with the luggage within 30 seconds.

Another important feature is the mobility of our luggage. No wheels to two-wheels and now four-wheels are what we are focussing on. Our latest innovation is noiseless wheels.

From an all boring black box to a more exciting range that looks good.

Who is your target audience?

Our target audience is both male and female consumers who are geared to the upper end of quality, who want to have a little bit of luxury in their luggage. Also, the business segment is where we want to grow in India.

So your focus is on the business travel segment?

What we do look at is the business segment. It is the core of our offering. We will have hard-line and soft-line products and maybe products specific to the business segment. We have less focus on the leisure segment.

Any plans for the lifestyle segment?

We do have some product representation in the leisure segment, rucksacks and more casual bags. But it is not the majority of our products.

What is your positioning in other parts of Asia?

In terms of percentage, Asia contributes 15-20 per cent of our total turnover. Hong Kong continues to be the largest contributor. I am the first CEO to shuffle between Hong Kong and Paris.

Right now, our primary market is certainly Europe and France, the US and West Asia. There are certain pockets in Asia such as Indonesia, Malaysia up to Australia, where we do well. We are also there in Beijing in China.

How different have been your marketing strategies in different regions?

Well, if you look at what consumers basically want, one basic query is weight (of the luggage). In Europe, consumers want to know about the lightest piece of luggage available.

Second, some discount airliners in Europe, India and other markets are strict about the weight of cabin baggage. This forces us to put in place slim products for those markets.

When it comes to convenience and functionality, you have some regions where features are just much more important than the look or the style.

Today, in our business the most extreme region is Asia. By far, most of our business is already four-wheel (trolley luggage). Now, we are starting some of our products with eight wheels for easier transportation.