French Luxury Furniture Manufacturer Gautier Plans a Return to India

Gautier Plans a Return to India

French luxury furniture manufacturer and retailer Gautier will re-enter India for the third time, this time with local franchise partners and the possibility of opening company-owned stores.

Group Gautier's managing director for the Middle East and India, Richard Ravel, stated that the company will open 10 to 15 stores ranging in size from 3,000 to 5,000 square feet in the next couple of years.

Initially, the company will import all of its furniture from France, but as its India operations grow, it intends to establish a manufacturing line, he said.

Ravel explained that it was a top priority to establish stores using the franchise model, as it had proven effective for Gautier's 120 locations in France and the Middle East.

Gautier's India story till now:

Creating company-owned storefronts, both offline and online, is also a possibility, he added. Gautier initially entered India in the late 1990s in collaboration with the KK Birla group, and the two companies even established a facility in the country. In 2003, when the contract expired, Gautier left India. In 2007, the company re-entered the country in partnership with Ebony Retail, announcing intentions to invest INR 120 crore to establish 20 stores, a move that did not succeed as well.

Gautier has surely recognised that the joint venture route presents obstacles.

Garav Marya, chairman of Franchise India Group, a retail consulting firm assisting Gautier's re-entry, stated that the company is eager to go solo this time.

Manufacturers and retailers of a single brand are permitted to invest 100 percent of their foreign direct investment (FDI) in retail through the automatic route.