BlackBook's January issue features women in luxury industry

The January 2012 issue of BlackBook, the magazine on the business of luxury, features Gayatri Ruia, director (business development), Palladium, on the cover along with six other leading ladies of India’s luxury industry: Priya Sachdev Chatwal and Charu Sachdev; Kalyani Chawla; Amruda Nair; Sheetal Vaidya and Reena Wadhwa.

They belong to  some of the biggest brands in the country — TSG Marketing, Christian Dior, The Leela Palaces, Hotels and Resorts, Rose Salon and Gucci.

They have discussed their business strategies, expansion plans and the luxury industries need-of-the-hour with BlackBook.

In the interview with BlackBook, Ruia reveals her plans to take the hybrid luxury mall to Chennai and Chandigarh in 2012. The malls, which will be conceptualised similar to Palladium, Mumbai, will house a mix of luxury and premium brands.

“You will see a second Palladium opening up in Chandigarh and another one in Chennai, both in 2012. We have done an extensive study involving our retailers in it and we feel that the market is right,” says Ruia.

In her interview, Ruia outlines the business model of Palladium and why the mall’s initial strategy was a failure.