The wait is finally over. After much anticipation, Galeries Lafayette will open its doors in Mumbai in early November, becoming India’s first true luxury department store. That the 130-year-old French company chose India for its ninth international store is a marker of how important the country has become for luxury brands.
Housed across two restored neoclassical buildings in the Kala Ghoda district, Galeries Lafayette Mumbai will offer 90,000 square feet of curated luxury. The store sits close to the flagship boutiques of Christian Louboutin, Hermès and Indian luxury leader Sabyasachi. Kala Ghoda today is Mumbai’s most atmospheric and cultured shopping district; where heritage architecture meets contemporary design. Known for its art galleries, concept stores and cafés, it has evolved into a creative and luxury hub that attracts a discerning, design-forward crowd.
Over 250 brands will be housed under one roof — from Assouline’s covetable coffee table books to Valextra’s Italian leather goods — with several food and beverage concepts set to open next year. Many of the labels will debut in India for the first time, including Coperni, Patou and Marni, alongside other global names. The dedicated beauty floor will feature maisons such as Amouage, Byredo, Guerlain, Hermès Beauté, La Prairie and Maison Francis Kurkdjian. Further developments are expected in the months ahead, with industry insiders already expecting Galeries Lafayette’s arrival to spark a wave of luxury openings in India.
Department stores in the West have faced mounting challenges, with the Saks-Neiman Marcus merger to create Saks Global dominating headlines, alongside the closure of Saks Fifth Avenue’s Union Square store in San Francisco. London has seen its own share of department store struggles — the iconic Fenwick on Bond Street, which first opened its doors in the 1890s, shuttered last year. Galeries Lafayette has felt the pressure, too, closing its Berlin outpost in July 2024. It’s clear that the East is where this legacy retailer sees growth potential: opening a store in Macau in 2024, and now focusing on India.
The Mumbai launch is a collaboration between the Parisian retail icon and Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Ltd (ABFRL), one of India’s most powerful fashion conglomerates. With over 7.3 million square feet of retail space in over 200 cities and metros in India, ABFRL’s portfolio spans luxury, masstige and ethnic brands, including investments in Indian names Sabyasachi, Tarun Tahiliani, Shantanu and Nikhil, and Masaba, alongside global partnerships with Christian Louboutin. It also runs The Collective, one of the first multi-brand stores in India to sell international luxury alongside more contemporary brands.
While ABFRL often maintains a low-key profile, its retail influence runs deep. With a vast national footprint, strategic investments in design talent and a growing luxury portfolio, it has built the kind of infrastructure that can help luxury brands navigate the complex and dynamic local market. According to Bain Co, the Indian luxury market is projected to reach $90 billion by 2030, expanding more than 3.5 times its current size.
Galeries Lafayette’s “architectural language will remain international yet its soul will be unmistakably Indian”, says Sathyajit Radhakrishnan, CEO of international brands at ABFRL. Vogue Business caught up with the executive ahead of the store’s press preview.
Vogue: India has been on the global luxury radar for a while now. Why do you think it’s taken this long for a true luxury department store to enter the market?
India’s luxury journey has been evolutionary, and that’s a good thing. The Indian consumer has matured alongside the economy. Over the last decade, wealth creation has accelerated dramatically, confidence has risen and global exposure has deepened. Historically, luxury was fragmented — designer boutiques, mono-brand flagships, or hotel retail experiences dominated. What was missing was a unifying platform capable of delivering true luxury retail with global standards, from curation to experience to scale. Galeries Lafayette requires both infrastructure and audience readiness — urban India now offers both: a digitally connected, aspirational and globally engaged consumer base. The timing is finally right for India not just to be a growth market, but a creative and cultural force in global luxury.
Vogue: Why begin with Mumbai? What about Delhi, a city known for its spending power?
Mumbai is India’s most cosmopolitan and globally connected city — a melting pot of entrepreneurship, art, design and culture. It is home to 90 billionaires and 142,000 millionaire households [according to the 2025 Hurun Global Rich List], making it India’s wealthiest city. Beyond numbers, it embodies the spirit of modern India: ambitious, diverse and forward-looking. Our Mumbai flagship — located in South Bombay across 90,000 square feet and five floors — will set the tone for luxury retail in India. Expansion will follow to cities like Delhi and more, but the first chapter has to begin where India meets the world.
Vogue: You’ve called Galeries Lafayette Mumbai ‘a retail-tainment destination’. How exactly do you see it changing the rules of luxury retail in India?
Luxury retail globally has evolved beyond products, it’s about experience, engagement and emotion. Retail-tainment means a space where discovery, culture and community coexist. Galeries Lafayette Mumbai will be a sensorial destination: fashion, art, design and entertainment converging under one roof. Our goal is to move from transactional to experiential shopping, with limited-edition collaborations, unexpected live activations, pop-up shows and more. It’s a space that feels alive, dynamic and uniquely Indian, mirroring the rhythm of our festivals and cultural heartbeat.
Vogue: What drew you to the Galeries Lafayette partnership specifically — why not a London or New York department store?
Galeries Lafayette stands apart for its democratic vision of luxury — it’s where heritage meets modernity and accessibility meets aspiration. For over a century, it has shaped the way the world experiences fashion and creativity. That philosophy aligns beautifully with ABFRL’s own belief in building brands that elevate lifestyles while remaining inclusive and rooted. In this partnership, we believe it’s a milieu of cultural collaboration that creates something authentically Indian yet globally relevant. This partnership is not about replication; it’s about reinvention — bringing French savoir faire and Indian sensibility together in a way that feels new and necessary.
Vogue: How did you curate the brand mix? What was the selection process — and what balance are you striking between global icons and Indian labels?
About 70 per cent of the portfolio will make its Indian debut, bringing together a selection of globally loved brands with contemporary names. Each brand has been hand-picked with the Indian consumer in mind, reflecting an acute sensitivity and relevance to local nuances from price accessibility to colour palettes, silhouettes and fits that complement the Indian aesthetic and way of life. As we introduce the Galeries Lafayette experience to India, the initial curation leans towards global brands, a nod to the maison’s rich international legacy. Alongside these, we are spotlighting a new generation of Indian designers who are redefining contemporary fashion, both at home and abroad, with names like Dhruv Kapoor and Kartik Research. The edit also embraces a thoughtful selection of resort and modern Indian labels, with a more expansive exploration of the ethnic and occasionwear segment planned for the next phase of our journey.
Vogue: There’s talk of Saks Fifth Avenue and 10 Corso Como also eyeing India. Do you see that as competition or healthy momentum?
The entry of global luxury players signals confidence in India’s consumption story. More entrants in this space will only raise standards, deepen the ecosystem, and enrich consumer choice. Our vision with Galeries Lafayette is to shape the category — to redefine what multi-brand luxury can mean in the Indian context. If more global names join this journey, it only strengthens the narrative that India is the next great luxury frontier.
Vogue: India’s retail calendar is unique — from Diwali to Holi to wedding season. How do you plan to localise your retail rhythm to those moments?
India celebrates emotion through festivals, and we will do the same. Our calendar will mirror India’s cultural rhythm, with storytelling, experiences and exclusive collections aligned with key festive moments. From couture-inspired capsules for the wedding season to art collaborations around Diwali, every event will be a celebration of Indian creativity and joie de vivre. That’s how we’ll make global luxury feel at home in India.
Correction: This article was updated to correct the size of the store to 90,000 square feet. (16/10/2025)
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