 With Austria established as a Brand for fine wine glasses, thanks to companies like Riedel, Lucaris has decided to take on the mighty Riedel by introducing glasses using Swarovski Crystal Charms Collection as bait.
The high-end glasses weighing 800 gms were launched at a dinner at Indigo, reportedly to a good response, but surprisingly are being marketed through India Times Shopping website which is not known for high end glasses but perhaps this is a precursor to the entry of luxury products on the website. The list price of Rs.8000 for 6, is discounted by 19% for the red, white and champagne glasses all of which are available at Rs.6500 per set including shipping and an option of 3 or 6-month EMIs.
As a contrast, Riedel glasses are available at an MRP of Rs. 680 each for the Overture Range and Rs.1150 each for the WINE series, both available from the distributor Grapes to Glass in Mumbai.
Arora was in Hong Kong recently as a judge at the 4thedition of Hong Kong International Wine and Spirits Competition (HKIWSC ) where Lucaris was a sponsor for the Test your Palate event held for the trade and public for the first three evenings and studied their full glass range at the Sponsor’s stall.
Lucaris Crystal is the higher-end glass producing division of the 33-year old Ocean Glass Company of Thailand which has captured a big chunk of the Indian wine glass market share because of the proper shape - designed on the lines of Riedel but at affordable prices. With the cost of around Rs.90-130 (US$1.7-2.5), they are highly in demand from restaurants and regular users, though the 5-star hotels are trading up to Riedel, Spiegelau (also owned by Riedel), Schott Zwiesel and a host of Italian, French and German companies with fancy shapes but recommended as luxury stemware.
As a marketing strategy, Lucaris has come out with different series, naming them after a popular Asian city. Bangkok Bliss, Tokyo Temptation, Shanghai Soul are some of the exotic names. In June they released the Hong Kong Hip series. The glasses retail for HK$159-169. If one buys 6 glasses, the Swarovski crystal charms are thrown in for free. The charms are essentially useful for banquets, parties or to designate a particular person in the family or just as a value-add for lovers of Swarovski which is known as a luxury fashion accessory as well as for house decoration pieces and artifacts. Both Riedel and Swarovski are Austrian-based companies.
 In a rather inaccurate statement by the company - ‘Lucaris brings to India for the first time the crystal stemware for the most enjoyable dining and wining experience,’ - the company has overlooked the other luxurious brands already present. Companies like Riedel have been marketing crystal wine glasses in India for at least over a decade when Sanjay Menon of Sansula had introduced them in the Indian market.
Lucaris, limited edition Crystal Charm Collection are advertised to be exclusively available on shopping.indiatimes.com only for a limited period though their distributor for Delhi, K I Glassware in Karol Bagh, confirmed that they are available with him.
How much the Luxurious Lucaris would dent the Indian market remains to be seen but the Indian fashionistas’ love for the Swarovski crystals is bound to charm a section of the visual-sensitive market, at least the females; it might even motivate the Thai public-limited company to come out with a new Series called Bombay Bollywood or Bollywood Blues or some such names recommended by ad gurus like Prahlad Kakar.
Subhash Arora |