Arjun Mehra has spent the last few months preparing for a high-visibility launch of Condé Nast’s maiden foray into the Indian magazine space with its flagship brand, Vogue.
Fortunately for him, the hard slog seems to have paid off and the Michigan Business School-educated publisher is thrilled with the news that the third issue, which recently hit the newsstands, received an equally boisterous response as the first two.
Typically, Vogue’s entry into a market signals that that market has ‘arrived’, from the luxury and fashion point-of-view. Rather than simply looking to win the race to be first, Vogue believes in being at the right place at the right time.
“We had been looking at the Indian market for several years, but the relaxation of norms in foreign ownership regulations in print was a key factor influencing Condé Nast’s decision to enter India,” explains Mehra.
“The key difference is that as licensee brands, you look at the market with a short-term view. There is low investment in circulation, brand building and content. This leads to a lower quality product with a small reach.”
Condé Nast India, as a fully- owned subsidiary of Condé Nast International, is able to make substantial investments in India, adds Mehra. The publishing house is looking to invest a couple of million dollars in marketing alone, compared to the US$5,000 to $10,000 the current crop of players put in.
“Our content investment is approximately 10 to 12 times more than our nearest rival, most of which will be ploughed into getting the best photographs, editorial excellence, research and so on.”
According to Mehra, the timing could not have been more appropriate, with both the readers and the advertisers ready for a brand like Vogue. “India’s potential is enormous and it is one market global brands simply cannot ignore,” he says.
“The growth is unprecedented, with the huge rise in affluent consumers as a result of the nine per cent GDP growth. There are 36,000 millionaires in India, a number which surpasses China and other Asian countries.”
While those who came 10 years ago were forced to mainstream their brands and businesses, resulting in a generic ‘me-too’ product due to lack of big luxury brands in India, Vogue’s entry coincides with some of the biggest fashion names making a foray into India’s retail sector.
With deep-pocketed marketers ready to pay a premium for space in the magazine, Vogue is able to retain its über-chic positioning, with the advertising rates as high as $10,000 a page. “We work very closely with advertisers, especially international advertisers that may require market knowledge we can help provide,” says Mehra. “The idea is to treat them not just as advertisers, but as partners.”
The fashion title is targeting a million Indian households with an annual income of $100,000, each housing the ‘Vogue woman’ who, according to Mehra, is on par with her privileged counterparts around the world.
“As her lifestyle choices expand, the new, elite Indian woman is looking for an authoritative voice on fashion and beauty, one she can trust to provide her with just the right information on everything she needs to know to be in the know.”
Vogue India’s launch circulation was 50,000 copies, with a target readership of 250,000 to 300,000.
“Compared to the highest circulated fashion magazine currently, which is 20,000, we are more than twice the number,” notes Mehra.
Condé Nast has partnered with India Today for distribution, an area which remains a challenge for a luxury title like Vogue, as most distribution literally happens on the street. Luckily for the title, the booming retail sector is seeing more upmarket bookshops - a venue which a possible Vogue reader is likely to frequent.
The former promoter and publisher of L’Officiel India and Seventeen India, Mehra understands the complexities and constraints of operating in India. “The publishing space in India is nascent and disorganised,” he says.
“We at Condé Nast will work towards building the entire ‘luxury publishing’ space.”
Mehra, who is unmarried and pursues spiritualism in his free time, has a two-fold publishing philosophy: provide your reader with the best content, satiating her discerning needs, and secondly, being a critical factor in the success of the advertisers by accelerating the adoption of luxury labels.
Mehra is confident of replicating Vogue’s China launch, which broke even within a year.
“We have an incredible response to the magazine and advertisers are pouring in. Unlike China, the Indian market has many highly-talented domestic fashion designers and jewellery companies that are seriously advertising.”
Arjun Mehra’s CV
2007 Publisher, Vogue India
2002 Publisher and director, Apricot Publications
2000 Managing director, Mazaa Entertainment
1993 VP, new projects Orkay Group
