Have money, crave luxury, but don’t know how or where to spend? An unexpectedly large number of Indians face this “problem”, as Advita Bihani discovered during a casual chat with a businessman, Karan Bhangay, who organised expos of luxury products in smaller towns across India. Intrigued, Bihani, the scion of a century-old Marwari business family, soon found herself teaming up with Bhangay to launch Indulge Global, a startup offering luxury concierge services.
There is a huge appetite, and unmet demand for luxury goods and services, says Bihani, chief operating officer of the two-year-old company. “High-networth individuals (HNIs) can afford to buy luxury products or book tickets at premium sporting events. But they don’t have the time or bandwidth to do that.”
So if a patron wants to catch the semis and finals of the Wimbledon tennis tournament in London, the startup will take care of the entire logistics involved. Similarly it can shop for a Rolex watch or an aspirational handbag from a vendor in Paris, or even book a hotel reservation in an exotic tourist location.
Asked if it would be apt to describe the service as ‘a personal assistant to HNIs’, she readily agrees, quipping, ‘Yes, a PA on steroids.”
Quoting third-party reports, she pegs the Indian concierge market at $3 billion as against the $50-billion global market. The Indian luxury products and services market is valued at $30 billion, as against the global market size of $312 billion.
Convenience on tap
Demand for luxury concierge services is on an upswing in cities like Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, and Hyderabad as they promise personalised access to premium products and services.
“We sell convenience. That is our USP. To offer a hassle-free service, we allot a seven- to eight-member team to each customer,” Bihani says.
The startup offers a two-tier membership — premium at ₹4 lakh a year with unlimited service requests; and entry-level at ₹1 lakh with a service charge of 5 per cent.
Privacy control
Bihani says most HNIs, especially celebrities, seek adequate privacy. “Any information about their movements or purchases could create a ruckus. It is sensitive. We ensure every bit of their information is secure,” Bhangay says.
Ahead of launch, the co-founders hired 30 people, aged 25 on average, to travel widely and understand the individual cultures and nuances of markets in 180 countries.
“The supply chain was laid out before launch. Our customers can order products or services across 180 countries. The vendors know who we are. We built trust and confidence,” Bihani says.
The duo eyes Dubai and London as their next stop. “We have a lot of NRI customers... we will also launch an app-based service to expand our reach,” Bhangay says.
Asked how they differ from similar concierge services offered on bank credit cards, Bhangay says, “We don’t upsell a service to make money. Moreover, members can simply contact us on WhatsApp to get things done.”
From 1,000 currently, the startup targets 10,000 memberships by the year-end. It is also exploring angel rounds for funding. “We are not capital-intensive... we want to invest a little in technology and scale our operations,” he says.