What?s in a bag? However exclusive or wide ranging, not every brand can claim to have made it to every US presidential swearing-in ceremony. Leiber may well be in a category of its own. And that isn?t unusual for this 45-year-old brand of women?s handbags which became an instant favourite with the distaff side of the world?s well endowed population ever since it launched.
?Ever since Judith Leiber started the company, it has consistently been about the same thing ? an extraordinary level of craftsmanship, entirely hand crafted, each component chosen with great care,? says Frank Zambrelli, president and creative director, Leiber. ?It?s beyond ?ber luxury ? we need a new word.? It is no surprise that Leibers have acquired the status of heirlooms. As the company readies to launch its first exclusive showroom in India (compromised by the delay in the start of DLF Emporio, a ?luxury mall? in India) a talking point was the collection of Leibers with Her Highness Padmini Devi of Jaipur. Her association started way back in 1965 and today, she has a collection of 25 bags. And each in perfect condition, Zambrelli points out rather triumphantly.
All stages included, the bag takes about 14 months to be prepared, after being handled by experts in different countries. Zambrelli gives the example of a bag where the crocodile skin was prepared in a specific tannery in Singapore, the outside of the box done in Florence, the crystal work done in Austria, metalwork in France and designing in the US. The inspiration may be geographical ? India has inspired a collection, but it could also be a film, architecture or even confectionery! The just-launched Ganesh bag is an ultimate expression for Leiber, says Zambrelli, who studied about 700 images over months to perfect it.
There are usually four collections in a year, each with about 60 to 100 styles. Even the smallest of bags has about 3,000 crystals, going up to 20,000 for a single bag! And the price in India ranges from Rs 65,000 to Rs 2,65,000.
?There is a price difference of about 10% between New York and here,? says Zambrelli, explaining that the difference is due to stiff duties and rentals in India. ?The right tenancy mix is a must and we had to wait till we had such a location? he says. ?Luxury brands tend to move together. We had to find the right venue before thinking of entering the market.?
Zambrelli explains that there have been private sales among Indians, but no count of the actual sales has been possible earlier. ?We had been aware of the Indian customer through sales among the diaspora, in North America, UK and south east Asia.? Leiber enters India through a distribution channel by Marigold, owned by Sangeeta and Madan Assomull. They explain that there might be a store in Mumbai and an undecided location in southern India in the next five-odd years. Even the profile of the customer is growing younger, down from an average of 35 years to buyers in the 20s.
The president of this signature however declines to put an estimate as to how much of a share India can have in global sales. ?We are expanding in many parts of the world, and India is part of the expansion plans,? says Zambrelli. ?It?s a long-term relationship. We have to establish personalised service and follow up care.? And given India?s penchant for colour, Leiber is optimistic about it becoming the must have for the sari-clad. And sorry ladies, there are no mark ups, no sales! So next time you look to make a long-term investment, a Leiber may be a good idea.
