Putting The Best Foot Forward
Putting The Best Foot Forward

British luxury shoemaker Harrys of London, which shot to fame in 2002 when 30 Hollywood celebrities, including John Travolta and Denzel Washington, wore its shoes to the Oscars, plans to enter India. In conversation with Indian Retailer, Steven Newey, CEO, Harrys of London, shares his plans for the country

Do you think this is the right time to enter India?
The Indian economy is doing well when it comes to fashion and luxury brands. In fact, we have seen a growing appetite for luxury brands. People are spending more on good products that they can use and invest in, basically. So, it is the right time to enter the market.

How will you set yourself apart from the competition?
We are a design-led company. Our products exhibit great style and design, and they are made possible through cutting-edge technology and innovation. More than just shoes, we are always introducing new products and applying its approach to the modern man’s life, not just the modern man’s feet.

How will you customize your offering?
We have already established several Indian customers who we serve from our UK and Middle East stores. So, we have used our online demographics to access the demand in India. Services and quality will be top notch and the staff would be highly trained on the product. We stand by the quality.

Who is your target audience?
Our customer isn’t defined by any specific age group, profession or demographic: rather, he is defined by his attitude. He is self assured, confident and driven, but you might not know it to look at him. He is not obsessed with fashion. But he does choose everything he wears carefully, as he wants the best. We have playfully injected a boost of colour into all our footwear ranges, either on the upper or the sole of each piece. Each style projects its own identity allowing the Harrys man to pick and choose the perfect pair for that specific mood.

Please share your expansion plans.
We have plans to open a store in Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore in the first phase of our expansion plan. We would first open standalone stores and then would look at the shop-in-shop format to create brand awareness.

 

 

 

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