Mumbai: If you see someone with the most expensive luxury brand Louis Vuitton handbag costing a few lakhs or Hermes bag that costs anywhere between Rs 4-12 lakh then don’t be surprised as they have actually purchased these genuine luxury handbags online at a discount of about 20-70 per cent depending on the condition of the product.
Providing these brands at affordable prices is Vijay KG, co-founder of Luxepolis, an online platform. He informs, “We sell both new and pre-owned luxury/premium brands of men’s and women’s fashion accessories, watches, jewellery and luxury automobiles. All pre-owned products are refurbished to look almost ‘new’.”
Taking authenticity very seriously, he says, “We have invested in a global authentication team that has a collective experience of 150+ years in identifying fake branded products and every pre-loved luxury purchase comes with an authenticity and grading certificate, similar to what consumers get when they purchase diamonds/gold jewellery. We also provide 100 per cent purchase protection to our consumers.”
Asked how he hit on this idea of selling branded luxury goods both resale and from popular consignor shops, Vijay says, “there’s a latent and significant demand for international designer and luxury brands that you don’t get easily in India. According to a study by international payments major PayPal, Indians will spend an estimated Rs 54,700 crore on online shopping in 2015.” About 53 per cent of this online shopping is through foreign websites for personal items like clothing apparel, footwear and accessories followed by electronics (51per cent), and digital entertainment and education items (44 per cent). Another statistic reveals that for every one dollar spent in buying a luxury brand in India, $9 is spent outside, says Vijay. Cashing in on this demand he set up his platform Luxepolis.com in October which he says “will hopefully fill this gap.” He says “I believe that luxury is timeless” and that every luxury piece, whether newly obtained or savoured for long is a valuable investment.
He envisions Luxépolis to become India’s most trusted online destination for luxury shopping & selling, where luxury products have resale value and become an investment asset like gold & diamond jewellery, real estate and automobiles. And he wants to make this accessible to luxury lovers all over India. His platform he says will be a catalyst for the creation of a vibrant luxury brand market in India. It has items of the most covetable, vintage and new luxury products from many top global brands. As for luxury automobiles, Luxépolis offers new and pre-owned range of marquee auto brands such as Maserati, BMW, Mercedes Benz and Audi. A BMW can go for Rs 20-60 lakh depending on the condition, he informs.
Vijay leverages on his solid startup exposure, product development expertise, tech knowledge, marketing and business development skills. He was the founding partner and chief business officer at Nykaa.com.
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