To be filed

Glossies zone in on India

When glossy international magazines enter a country - is a sure sign of the country’s prosperity and its economic stamina. Unlike USA, magazines in other countries do not derive their circulation income largely from subscriptions. India had the necessary infrastructure to sustain an international publication now : Multinational advertisers and an audience.

Rising pool of potential advertisers
Ever since Aishwarya Rai and Sushmita Sen bought home the Ms World and Ms Universes (respectively) titles in 1994, there as been an influx of giant beauty and fashion labels in India. The year 1994 marked the beginning of India’s ascendence up the social ladder of beauty as one after another models won subsequent beauty pageants. Diana Hayden, Manpreet Brar, Yukta Mookhey, Dia Mirza…. and the numerous models who did their time on that glittering dais.

By far the biggest player in this industry is L’Oreal that entered the market in 1991 via Ultra Doux. In 1996, it launched its hair-color system– fast forward to 2005 where Matrix and Kerastase brands have been launched and will predictably become household names in urban India. L’Oreal’s has seen an impressive growth of 33.4% since 2003. Luxury giant LVMH (Louis Vuitton Moet Hennesy) opened its first store in Delhi in 2004 and met huge success, so much so that it opened another store in Bombay.

Italian United Colors of Benetton is set to introduce its high-end label, Sisley in India and Spanish retailer Mango already has a store and a following in Bombay. Chanel, Bvlgari, Hugo Boss are nestled in India’s 5-star hotels. French brand Boucheron is eyeing India. And the buzz is, Indian architects and builders are already conceptualizing a giant 400,000 sq ft luxury mega-mall that will only house these luxury brands. Indian cities like Delhi, Bombay, Bangalore will be on comparable level to Singapore, Hong-Kong and Bangkok in next 5-7 years. A thriving village of these luxury brands and India’s own luxury brands make for a healthy advertisers pool - the prime necessity for any magazine to survive.
India. Has. Arrived.

And a discerning audience!
By 2010, India is predicted to have 1,40,000 millionaires. Since the year 2001, India has entered the consumer revolution bringing in more money and more power to the previously absentee middle-class. Indians are indulging more in aspirational purchases and multi-national banks are making this possible by offering excellent payment plans, loan options and credit cards.

India has the youngest population in the world : 65% aged below 35. Add to that a rise in individual spending power and India becomes the likeliest potential country for foreign ventures and investments. Besides, a gradual attitude shift towards sexuality, gender and professions has made India thriving hub , ready for exploration. And this audience that pays Rs. 60 for a cup of coffee is without a doubt, willing to shell out Rs.50 for an international magazine for the prestige that comes attached with an intl. title and for then for the content. You see, subscribing of reading a magazine like Vogue, Maxim or even Glamour is another step up the social ladder to the cosmopolitan world. And reading these magazines - puts this young audience on the same plane as their international counterparts, enabling both to share a thread of common culture.

Coming back to Maxim..

Now on a personal note, magazines have been publishing “100 things you never knew about women,” and “how to make your man happy,” features since the last 40 years. And it still sells! For its inaugural issue, lad-mag Maxim presents the same old stuff repackaged only to suit an Indian man’s sensibilities. There is solid debate regarding the launch of Maxim in India. Conservatives seek it as a threat, adding to the westernization of India. And optimists like me, see it as progress — believing strongly the future will see launches of titles like the Walrus and New Yorker in India. You pick your side.

PS: This and the last post have been inspired by the recent PSFK posts on India and Death of Newspapers. Kudos to Piers!