French premium lifestyle brand Lacoste has opened its first boutique in North East India, located in Guwahati — a move that signals both the brand’s deepening commitment to the Indian market and its growing appetite for geographies traditionally underserved by premium retail.
The opening was announced by Rajesh Jain, MD & CEO of Lacoste India, on LinkedIn. “A new destination on the Lacoste map,” Jain wrote. “When a place has its own style confidence and point of view, you don’t wait to be invited, you show up and grow with it.”
A Strategic Bet on India’s Northeast
Guwahati Airport is the busiest airport in the Northeast and the main entry point for most travellers to the eight-state region — making it, in retail terms, a high-visibility, high-footfall location that functions as both a brand statement and a practical point of sale. For Lacoste, it is also an entirely new market.
The choice of an airport boutique — as opposed to a mall — is consistent with Lacoste India’s long-standing strategy of using airports as premium brand touchpoints. The brand already operates stores at Delhi’s IGI Airport (Terminal 3), Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (T2), and Hyderabad’s Rajiv Gandhi International Airport.
Expansion in High Gear
The Guwahati opening is the latest in a string of new store launches under Jain’s leadership. Lacoste India currently operates over 50 points of sale and is pursuing an accelerated expansion strategy aimed at nearly doubling its locations over the next three to four years.
