Author: ShreyasPatel
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From luxury malls selling sparkling jewels to top of the range motor vehicles, India's new rich are keen to spend their wealth.The wealth of Asia's high net worth individuals those with liquid assets of at least $1 million jumped 31 percent last year to $9.7 trillion, surpassing Europe's $9.5 trillion, according to a report by Merrill Lynch Wealth Management and Capgemini. It is young millionaires who are shaping the luxury retail market in India. The Emporio mall has been built by India's biggest real estate group DLF and focuses on high-end items. Sudeep Chhabra, the marketing head of DLF Emporio mall says that wealthy consumers can find the most exclusive brands all under one roof."Never before, a format like this has been created. 74 International brands, 100 Indian designers all in one place. We are a big, huge, growing economy and you have the right market sitting there to be tapped so it is very logical to say that India is the next big thing." he says. India's spending on luxury clothes, watches, jewelry and cosmetics was about US$777 million last year, according to a Bernstein Research report.Chabbra says that middle class shoppers are also spending more. "I would say it is a mixed kind of clientele, a lot of it is entrepreneurial but we are seeing more and more working people come in. The so called "double income no kids variety", you know, the DINKS. We only see the market growing."Indivar Arora is one of India's new millionaires. He runs a engineering firm with his wife. He started the company 'Precision' in 1988, they manufacture sophisticated testing equipments used in automotive garages. Indivar started the company from his home with zero capital. Today, the turnover of his company is more than twenty million US dollars. Indivar says that they now employ more than three hundred and fifty people and have branches across India. "Today, I definitely, we have a group which has more than 350 people now. We have ultra modern factories, we have good offices in Delhi, Okhla. We are having network all over the country". Like many Indian firms, this is family business. His brother helps him in manufacturing, and his wife Pooja, (known as Sonia before her marriage) also helps him manage the company, allowing him to focus on the engineering. "My wife, she was more into management when she joined us and started, you know, and I learnt a lot of things of management from her and ultimately we could get the organisation, you know to a certain appreciable level." he says. After 25 years of marriage, its partnership that obviously works. The couple have two children, a successful business empire and now they are enjoying their wealth. While Pooja likes to wear diamonds hand-picked by Indivar, he likes luxury cars. Pooja says that he celebrated their first big success by buying a BMW. "He bought a BMW. I told you he has passion for cars so that is when the first BMW came." Since then their fleet of cars has increased. After coming back from work, Indivar likes to relax with his family watching movies in a mini theatre in his home, a luxury that cost two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. This month, Harley Davidson launched its first showroom in Delhi. The motorbike manufacturer has opened its first three dealerships and is planning to launch two more across India. Anoop Prakash is managing director of Harley Davidson India. He says the market for top of the range machines has increased. "We have seen there has been such enthusiasm for biking with the formation of biking clubs. I think that enthusiasm has only been slowed down because there has been a lack of choice and a lack of manufacturers coming in to help shape that market into fine where leisure riding is. I think, world wide Harley Davidson has been a leader in heavy weight cruising and we are very excited to shape that market, help our customers experience that lifestyle." The company hopes as luxury car sales boom in increasingly affluent India so will the market for its high-end bikes which boast 883cc to 1550cc engines. Asian wealth was bolstered by a regional economy that expanded 4.5 percent in 2009 despite global GDP contracting 2 percent according to the recent report by Merrill Lynch Wealth Management and Capgemini. Hong Kong, India and China led the wealth growth as property and stock markets in these countries surged last year after sharp falls in 2008.