Anita Khatri Luxury Consultancy Services (AKLC) has an ambition to be the top most company in India offering unique marketing and communication platform to luxury brands in the niche segment. AKLC is principled to work with one Top Brand in each segment.
This one-of-a-kind unique consultancy firm which helps luxury brands to create a footprint in the Indian Market through strategic marketing and communication. AKLC works with some of the most well known brands in the luxury industry: Audemars Piguet, Burberry Fragrances, Lapis Bard, Montegrappa Italia, Kings, Lamy, Fabriano, The Silver Room, Mumbai Duty Free, Zoya and Time Avenue.
This six year old company has been has been growing by adding brands to its portfolio at a steady pace. The company has forged a strong partnership with leading media brands in the Indian market. Anita Khatri is Founder & CEO of Anita Khatri Luxury Consultancy Services (AKLC). She is a Mumbai-based luxury expert. Driven by her passion for luxury, Anita Khatri founded AKLC in 2013. We are publishing an interview with Ms. Anita Khatri.
Q.: What is the problem you are trying to solve?
Ans: For more than two decades, luxury brands have been investing in the complex Indian market to establish themselves. I saw a gap (opportunity) for a specialized consultancy and a PR company that luxury brands could work with to help them establish in India. Thus AKLC was born.
Q.: Tell us about the Product / Solution. Explain how you went about the Product-Market Fit Process.
Ans: We have different services being offered in the consulting firm, depending on the brand’s goals/objectives/ problems that they want the consultant to help them with, the services will be designed as per that. The best way to explain the services offered by our company is like visiting a restaurant. When you walk into a restaurant, one has a choice to make from the menu offered (tea/coffee/starter/dessert). Our company has a bouquet of services within the marketing and communication segment that the brands can choose from which includes media buying-planning, PR, Creation of an event, social media marketing, digital solutions etc.
With regards to the Product-Market fit process, one out of the many services is PR service. This is the service which is most sought after as we have 360 degree understanding which includes experience with media and understanding the nuances of luxury brands which ensures we are in the position to help develop content that media looks for. This way, brands receive interesting and relevant editorial coverage.
Q.: What is your USP?
Ans: 360 degree understanding of luxury, media and communications.
Q.: Who in your mind is your ideal customer? Do you have atleast one of them signed up?
Ans: The ideal customer is the high-end luxury brand and we do have a few signed up. To mention a few are Audemars Piguet & Burberry Fragrances.
Q.: What has been your biggest failure as an entrepreneur and what did you learn from it??
Ans: So far there isn’t really a failure but what we are still learning is to scale up the business or the scalability of the business.
Q.: How are you pricing the Product? Explain your thought process.
Ans: As mentioned earlier, we can be best described as a restaurant. Therefore, each service has a different fixed price. More or less, these prices remain constant for any brand. The prices are a result of time and effort that has been invested in delivering the service.
Q.: How did you get your first customer?
Ans: After spending 23 years at The Times Group building their luxury division, I was ready to expand my career horizons beyond just serving one company. I also had a strong desire to work on the other side of the business—the client side. My secret wish was to work with one of the top prestigious Swiss watch brands that I admired and so when I found the opportunity to work with Audemars Piguet, I grabbed it.
I was quite clear in my mind that I wanted to work independently and no longer as an employee, so I set up AKLC. Audemars Piguet was AKLC’s first client and that’s how my entrepreneurial journey began.
Q.: Is there any interesting success story? If yes, please write about it. ?
Ans: Time Avenue Haute Horlogerie (TAHH), a first-of-its-kind luxury watch exhibition in India. This was created in order to establish our client Time Avenue’s image as the retailer of choice for high-end luxury watches.
Q.: What is the big picture of your startup?
Ans: Okay.
• Consolidate AKLC as the go-to PR and media agency for luxury and premium brands
• An event IP owned by AKLC
Q.: What is the insight that you have about this market, which no one else has? Uniqueness about your Startup.
Ans: The 360 degree understanding of the subject of luxury, media & communication.
Q.: List all the names of the core Team Members, along with their Designated Roles.
Ans: Sure. They are:
• Ashok Khemlani – Consultant – Has a specific domain expertise of 23 years in the print media marketing and knowledge of luxury watch industry.
• Custodio Lobo – Administration & Finance Officer – has evolved from Administrative assistant to finance and Administration officer. Holds a Degree in Management Studies.
• Sana Shaikh – PR Executive – PR communications professional with a degree in B. CA. Handles all PR queries and PR servicing for multiple clients.
• Shrreaa Khatri – Assistant Manager Digital & content – Masters in International Relations. Evolving to undertake business development and client servicing of premium luxury brands.
• Suellan D’cruz – Operations & HR Manager – Admin & HR Professional with Degree in Industrial Psychology, HR & Certified ISO-IMS Auditing.
• Ruchika Jain – Executive – Digital and PR Support has a Masters in Luxury Fashion Management- Assists in providing digital and PR support to clients especially in the social media domain.
• Vishal Ingle – Office Boy. Evolving over time to office assistant in Administration.
Q.: Who do you Perceive as Your Competition? How do you differentiate yourself with them?
Ans: The most demanded services in our company are media buying & PR. This kind of a combo is very rare to be found because the PR companies who are successful do not offer the services of media buying and planning. And the companies who are doing media buying and planning do not offer excellent PR Services. So really speaking, it is difficult to find out who your competition is but if I had to point out, it would be PR companies.
But how I differentiate from them, is because along with the PR services we also offer media buying & media planning expertise.
Q.: What would be your goal to accomplish in the next six months?
Ans: To add to a few new brands, along with strengthening my current team
Q.: What message do you want to convey to fellow entrepreneurs?
Ans: Do what you love and until you can do that, love what you do. At some point in life you must follow one’s calling. As far as values go, honesty, hard-work and freedom are my most cherished ones. Having the freedom that you are being able to do what you wish to do without being answerable to anyone is the real luxury. Also, a sense of meaning and purpose helps me feel that I am contributing to the world in my own unique way.
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Thanks Anita. Best wishes!
