The luxury yacht business is moving to India. Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessey (LVMH) has tied up with an Indian distributor and plans to sell four to fives yachts annually in the country. The Indian superrich population will welcome this development, as LVMH’s yacht-making arm Princess International begins its operations here.
Princess has tied up with Indian distributor Navnit Marine, and will be selling its entire luxury yacht range through them. There is a wide range of yachts on offer. Customers can choose from among the smaller Rs. 4 crore yachts, or look at the higher end vessels where prices soar to as much as Rs. 30 crore. Soon, Princess plans to introduce a 39-foot yacht – the smallest in its luxury yacht range. The idea is to appeal to specific consumer interests in the region. The Indian customer is known to be very price-sensitive.
As of now, Princess yachts are sold in 65 countries around the world. Princess International’s official reason for moving to India is to benefit from the growth of the emerging economy. Princess International’s sales manager Bill Barrow revealed that emerging economies like China have been accounting for an increasingly greater share of the company’s revenues. An additional reason is probably the slowdown in Europe and the United States. However, Barrow would not confirm this as a reason for the move to India.
Meanwhile, Navnit Marine has gained tremendously from growth in the Indian economy. The company has ties with five other yacht makers for the India sector, and it has sold over a 100 yachts since its launch in 2002.
Via: Zee News
