International powerhouse fashion brand Vogue is getting a lot of attention for its recent foray into the Indian market. And more magazines are set to follow suit.
The inaugural issue of Vogue India hit the stands September 20, its cover featuring Bollywood stars Bipasha Basu, Priyanka Chopra and Preity Zinta, local supermodels MoniKangana Dutta and Laxmi Menon, and Australian supermodel Gemma Ward. Considered the world’s fashion bible by many, Vogue already publishes versions in countries including China, Taiwan, Japan, Greece and Brazil, but the Indian Vogue is the first to hit the South Asian market.
The timing is ripe as India just recently changed its laws concerning foreign publications. Until recently, thanks to laws introduced shortly after India’s independence to protect national sovereignty, foreign investors were forbidden from owning any part of the news industry. A few years ago, India levelled the playing field by allowing foreign news brands 26% of ownership and non-news publications 100% of direct investment. Vogue is capitalizing on the opportunity.
So are others. One of the first to go to print in India was the International Herald Tribune.
The Financial Times has teamed up with the Business Standard newspaper. Fortune and Newsweek are also publishing Indian editions. Conde Nast, Vogue’s publisher, also hopes to introduce Gentlemen’s Quarterly, Glamour and Traveler to the Indian market. As the world’s largest democracy celebrates the 60th anniversary of its independence from Britain, newspapers are flourishing. Both consumer spending and literacy rates are rising, causing predictions of a 13% growth rate in Indian print media. Meanwhile, the international rate is at a measly 2.5 % and Western newspapers continue to lose customers to the Internet.
The India Vogue is priced at 100 rupees (approximately 1.75 euros) and will give attention to Indian designers, photographers and models, stylishly mixing up Eastern and Western fashion. Given the country’s penchant for bright color, according to Alex Kuruvilla, managing director of Conde Nast India, Vogue India is likely to be more vibrant in this respect than its Western counterparts. Vogue Managing Editor Priva Tanna sees purple as this season’s color. “It’s the color of Indian royalty, it’s elegant and timeless,” she told Forbes.com.
This article was published Tuesday, October 9, 2007.
