Indians are aspirational buyers: Pavers England CEO

Utsav Seth, CEO and managing director of Pavers England Limited, talks about the shift in luxury brand products and forecasts the trends for 2012.

Tell us about your latest Autumn-Winter collection?
We have put together a rather different collection  for this Autumn-Winter collection. The patterns of the footwear are completely fresh and different from our previous collections. For the men, we have come up with some interesting sandals and shoes. For the women, we have a range of footwear that includes flats, small heels as well as high heels. The DNA of our shoes is all about comfort, yet designed in the most fashionable manner.

Do you think European styles work in a country like India?
We have indulged in a thorough research and development work before launching our stores in India. Keeping some of the research findings in mind, we have customised our range of footwear. For instance, women’s footwear sees heels that are neither too high nor small. Even the shoes for men are designed keeping the Indian sensibilities in mind.

Do you think people in India are getting brand conscious?
People in India are not aiming high on luxury, but they are aspirational buyers. There is only a small percentage of people who want luxury. The rest of the population is looking at buying at premium levels — comfort, average spends along with style. Middle-class people are aiming at becoming upper-middle class as they too want to have their share of fashion and fun. However, we aim at the upper-middle class strata of people. Men’s footwear is priced between Rs1, 999 and Rs7, 999 and women’s footwear start from Rs999  and goes up to Rs4, 999.

Tell us about your range of bags and other accessories...
We have designed our bags and belts in manner such that they go well with our range of footwear. They are all clubbed together, to make it easier to buy matching accessories at a one-stop-shop. We also have a range of clutches, bags and belts in common colours and prints that go well with most outfits.

What are some of trends that we could look forward for 2012?
Spring-Summer is all about wearing the right combination of nude and bright colours. Anything that represents the feel of summer will be ‘in’ for 2012. The colour purple is out-of-fashion and it’s time for people to choose colours like pinks, blues and reds. White will be one colour that will never go wrong, and will be seen big in accessories like shoes and bags. Designs will be more on the contemporary side to strike the right balance.