Incorporated in 2007, Brand Concepts was driven by an early recognition of a gap in the Indian market—the need for premium yet accessible fashion accessories. The company began its journey through strategic licensing partnerships with globally renowned brands like Tommy Hilfiger, United Colors of Benetton (UCB), and Aeropostale.
But India’s fashion landscape is also evolving. Bags, travel gear and accessories are no longer just functional add-ons—they have become powerful expressions of lifestyle, aspiration and identity. From Instagram-fuelled discovery to a post-pandemic travel boom, consumers today are investing in products that blend design, durability and brand storytelling.
Riding this shift, Brand Concepts Ltd stands at a strategic inflection point. Long recognised for its leadership in travel gear and accessories, the company is now accelerating its expansion into premium, super-premium and luxury fashion through international licensing. In 2025, it onboarded global powerhouses such as Off-White, Juicy Couture and Superdry, signalling a decisive move towards building a multi-tiered brand ecosystem tailored to India’s rapidly evolving consumer.
From decoding India’s readiness for high-value global brands to navigating Tier II and III growth, omnichannel complexity and evolving Gen Z preferences, Abhinav Kumar, Co-Founder, Brand Concepts Ltd., shares how the company is positioning itself as a preferred gateway for international fashion houses in India.
Edited excerpts…
Brand Concepts Ltd. has expanded its global fashion portfolio by onboarding Juicy Couture, Superdry, and Off-White for the Indian market. What strategic considerations drove this decision?
This expansion was driven by our intent to strengthen our portfolio, enter high-growth segments, and align with the evolving preferences of the Indian consumer. The strategy is anchored in three pillars—filling clear market gaps, diversifying categories, and fortifying our business model.
Backed by a strong omnichannel approach and our vertically integrated capabilities, this move allows us to drive better margins, sharper execution, and long-term competitiveness. Ultimately, it positions Brand Concepts as a preferred gateway for global fashion brands looking to scale in India.
How do these brands complement your existing portfolio?
These brands sit at the heart of our multi-brand strategy, enabling us to build a tiered portfolio that spans the Indian fashion market from mass-premium to luxury. While brands like Tommy Hilfiger, UCB and Aeropostale anchor us in high-volume mass-premium and premium segments, the new additions strengthen our presence in the premium, super-premium and luxury categories, while also expanding our play into apparel and sneakers.
Off-White is the most transformative addition, taking us into luxury streetwear apparel and footwear—a clear white space for us—and elevating the overall brand prestige while attracting high-net-worth consumers. Juicy Couture strengthens the super-premium segment with its glamorous, feminine lifestyle positioning, adding diversity beyond classic American styling. Superdry, meanwhile, complements our premium travel and backpack portfolio with a rugged, urban aesthetic that appeals to fashion-forward youth seeking alternatives to preppy brands.
How does international licensing strengthen BCL’s long-term growth strategy?
International licensing is central to our long-term strategy and underpins our vision of building Brand Concepts as a leading “House of International Brands” and the preferred gateway for global fashion houses entering India. It allows us to scale in an asset-light, high-growth manner by leveraging established global brand equity, rather than investing significant time and capital in building brands from scratch.
Equally important, licensing integrates seamlessly with our vertically integrated manufacturing and supply chain, enabling better margin control, operational efficiency and faster market execution. Over the long term, especially in premium and luxury segments, this approach elevates our brand prestige, diversifies revenue streams across price points, and ensures stable, sustainable growth through curated international partnerships.
How do you assess India’s readiness for high-value global fashion and accessory brands in Tier I, II, and III cities?
India’s readiness for high-value global fashion and accessories is not just high; it’s undergoing a structural, pan-Indian maturation that is fundamentally reshaping the market. We assess this readiness as Mature in Tier I cities and Explosive in Tier II and III.
Tier I cities remain our established hubs—the initial destination for global luxury flagships where experiential retail caters to a globally-exposed, high-net-worth individual (HNI) consumer base.
The most exciting growth is being driven by the Tier II cities, which are rapidly converting into the new economic engines for the Premium and Affordable Luxury segments, including cities like Jaipur, Lucknow, and Surat. For us, the focus in Tier II is on a ‘Phygital’ strategy: strategic physical store expansion validated by strong online discovery and demand.
Finally, Tier III cities represent an Emerging, Digital-First opportunity. While physical retail readiness remains low, consumer aspiration is skyrocketing, largely met through e-commerce platforms and localized logistics. Over 60% of new e-commerce transactions now originate from these smaller towns, demonstrating a fierce desire for global styling and authentic products. Our strategy here is entirely digital-first, using the online channel as the primary bridge to reach the “next 500 million shoppers” and capture their value-conscious but highly aspirational demand.
What specific consumer shifts—especially in premium bags, accessories, and lifestyle categories—are you observing in 2024–2026?
The 2024–2026 period is defined by a significant redefinition of value, largely driven by Gen Z and Young Millennials who prioritize authenticity and experience over overt status. We are seeing a major shift from Logos to Lifestyle, where the loud, heavily branded consumption is being replaced by ‘Quiet Status’ and ‘stealth wealth.’ This new mindset translates to a demand for highly personalized, customized accessories and a focus on smaller, high-impact categories—like handbags and premium accessories—as the most accessible form of self-expression.
Crucially, e-commerce has become the primary engine of discovery and aspiration, with social commerce and micro-creators heavily influencing purchasing decisions, especially among Gen Z. Our strategy must be fully omnichannel: seamless online discovery is non-negotiable, but for high-value purchases, the physical retail experience remains essential for tactile validation. This segment is characterized by a “spaving” mindset—they are highly willing to spend premium prices, but only for products that deliver clear, genuine value and quality.
Many international brands see India as their next key market. What makes India particularly attractive for categories like travel gear, handbags, and lifestyle accessories?
India is exceptionally attractive because it offers an unparalleled combination of market scale and aspirational consumer behavior that particularly favors our categories. The confluence of a massive, upwardly mobile middle class and the world’s largest population of digitally-savvy Gen Z and Millennials is creating a revenue opportunity simply unmatched globally.
Secondly, the market dynamics themselves are compelling. Post-pandemic travel has fundamentally transformed luggage from a mere functional item into a core lifestyle statement, driving demand for durable, stylish, and tech-enabled gear. Handbags and accessories serve as the crucial accessible luxury marker, often the first high-value branded item for aspirational consumers.
The final piece is our ability to meet this demand efficiently. International brands see our vertically integrated model—combining global brand equity with local manufacturing and distribution expertise—as the ideal solution for quick scaling. In essence, India offers the perfect growth trifecta: the disposable income is rising, consumer aspiration is globalized, and the right product categories (accessories, bags, travel gear) are perfectly positioned to capture that spending.
What is your strategy to expand visibility, accessibility, and category penetration for the newly onboarded brands?
Our strategy to scale these newly onboarded global brands is entirely built on a sophisticated, market-segmented omnichannel integration model, which is the single most critical factor for success in India’s diverse retail landscape.
We recognize the Indian shopper as ‘Phygital’—researching online but often buying high-value items in-store, making a seamless cross-channel experience non-negotiable. This model achieves two goals: Visibility through high-impact, brand-specific retail formats to establish prestige, and Accessibility through rapid, cost-effective distribution. Crucially, owning the Direct-to-Consumer (D2C) channel via dedicated brand e-commerce platforms is vital for capturing rich first-party data, controlling the customer journey, and ensuring better margins.
To execute this, we are deploying a tiered retail footprint: For Visibility, we will introduce Exclusive Brand Outlets (EBOs), such as luxury flagship stores for Off-White in major metros, to deliver an authentic global experience and signal high-end positioning. For Accessibility and immediate scale across Tier I and II cities, we leverage existing infrastructure: we utilize our proprietary Bagline multi-brand outlet (MBO) network and established relationships with Large Format Stores (LFS) to quickly introduce accessory categories (travel gear, handbags) for Superdry and Juicy Couture. Finally, e-commerce marketplaces and digital storytelling front-load our marketing, ensuring pan-India reach, high digital visibility, and effective category penetration into the apparel and footwear segments.
What white spaces do you see in the Indian fashion accessories market today?
Despite strong growth, the Indian fashion accessories market still has clear white spaces at the intersection of premiumisation, functionality and ethical values. The most significant gap is in affordable, verifiable sustainability—particularly for Gen Z consumers who seek ethically sourced, vegan materials but lack transparent options in the mass-premium segment.
There is also rising demand for professional, multi-function hybrid bags that combine tech protection and organisation with a refined, non-bulky aesthetic suited to highly mobile urban professionals. Alongside this, consumers are increasingly drawn to modular and customisable accessory ecosystems that offer personalization, versatility and stronger value perception.
From a category standpoint, growth will be led by Active & Smart backpacks, driven by young professionals seeking commuter-friendly designs with anti-theft features, tech integration and sustainable materials. Cross-body bags and small leather goods (SLGs) will remain the most accessible entry point into premium branding, while premium hard-shell travel gear—especially cabin luggage—will continue to benefit from the post-pandemic travel boom and the shift toward luggage as a lifestyle statement.
What are your revenue and growth priorities for FY25–26?
Brand Concepts is targeting 16–18% growth in FY25–26. H1 performance was strong, aided by an early Diwali that pulled some festive sales forward.
We commissioned our hard luggage plant in Q2, which is expected to reach ~80% capacity utilisation by year-end, creating a strong capacity base for the next financial year. We also added new brands—Superdry, Off-White and JC Apparels, with initial revenues expected from Q4.
Given the ongoing price disruption in the travel gear market, we expect to sustain ~20% CAGR going forward, driven by new brands and category expansions, thereby reducing growth pressure on the existing core business in a disruptive pricing environment.
What are your plans for expansion for the next 2-3 years?
Over the next 2–3 years, our expansion strategy will focus on leveraging backward integration, with travel gear remaining the core growth engine. However, given the price disruption in the category, we will maintain flexibility in our brand mix to stay competitive.
Our priority will be top-line growth and market share expansion, even as this may lead to some near-term margin pressure. At the same time, we are strengthening our portfolio with highly differentiated brands. Collectively, we expect these new brands to contribute 15–20% of total revenue by the end of FY29, helping diversify growth and balance category-level volatility.
