The first Hindustan Times Luxury Conference, co-sponsored by the Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Government of India, was held on January 13 and 14 2006 in Mumbai.

Hindustan Times, one of India’s leading and most respected English dailies, has always prided itself in spotting emerging trends and the Hindustan Times Luxury Conference was initiated to aid the development of the luxury industry in India. The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), India’s premier trade body, was a partner in this endeavor.

With increasing prosperity Indians, especially in metropolitan cities like Mumbai, Bangalore and New Delhi, are likely to spend a large proportion of their disposable incomes on luxury goods.

A testimony to this is the presence of prominent luxury brands - Chanel, Hugo Boss, Bulgari, Zegna, Aigner and Louis Vuitton in India, and there are reports of many other prestigious luxury houses considering their foray into the Indian market. With Indian government seriously contemplating the opening up of the retail market in India, the Hindustan Times Luxury Conference allowed a platform for international luxury houses to interact with the Indian government and industrialists.

Some of the most well known luxury house representatives graciously agreed to be a part of the conference.