Awash in luxury

A passage in Steve Jobs’ biography talks about the joy he felt when he bought a washing machine after long deliberations on ethics, environment, and technology. His choice was Miele, the €2.83 billion (Rs 19,368.5 crore) German domestic appliance brand. The company has been in India since 2009. It’s growing in triple digits and targeting sales of Rs 100 crore by 2014. So who’s buying? Dhananjay Chaturvedi, managing director of Miele India, says, “About 35% to 40% of our customers are people who are never mentioned in consumer reports as potential luxury customers.” He mentions traders from Karol Bagh and politicians who turn up at his store in Delhi to buy anything from washing machines (Rs 1.4 lakh) to refrigerators (Rs 2 lakh) to wine conditioners (Rs 2.15 lakh). They usually end up sending their domestic help to be coached by the Miele staff on how to operate these machines. More than the fascination with technology, Chaturvedi says Miele’s success here is due to the fact that domestic appliances such as washing machines were never positioned as lifestyle choices, even as options exploded in other segments, such as cars or TVs. Remember a certain electronics brand, with a half eaten fruit for a logo, which still thrives on being a lifestyle pick.