Mumbai / New Delhi, March 2026 – India only has three true luxury malls: two in New Delhi, the Emporio and the Chanakya, owned by real estate developer DLF and the Jio World Plaza in Mumbai, owned by the Reliance conglomerate. With nearly 1.5 billion people and an economy growing more than 6%, India is expanding faster than China, but top brands are struggling to expand amid a severe shortage of high-quality retail space.
Saurabh Bharara, head of luxury malls at DLF, said the company receives regular requests from the parent companies of LVMH Group, Kering, and Richemont to provide more space for brands they want to bring into India. “We have top 15 brands that are ready to enter India, if we give them space tomorrow,” he said – but added there was “zero availability” right now.
India has only about 10.2 million square metres of grade-A mall stock, compared with more than 37.2 million square metres in China and about 65 million square metres in the United States, said property consultancy Anarock.
The Brand Gap: Prada Has Zero Fashion Stores. Chanel Has One
The shortage of high-end mall space has resulted in notable gaps in India’s luxury market. Several leading brands such as Patek Philippe and Loro Piana have no physical stores in India. Prada has no fashion stores and only one beauty store, while Chanel has just one fashion store and seven fragrance and beauty boutiques. In China, by contrast, Prada has 14 fashion stores while Chanel has 18 and it is not uncommon for brands to have 40 to 50 stores in China.
India now ranks fourth globally in the number of individuals with wealth above $100 million behind only the US, China, and Japan. Yet India’s luxury goods market was estimated at just $12.1 billion last year, less than 3% of China’s, according to Euromonitor data.
What’s Coming: Four New Luxury Malls in the Pipeline
DLF is planning an expansion of the Emporio which will double its leasable space of 160,000 sq ft, but will likely only be operational by end of 2028. Four luxury-focused malls are being planned – including the Emporio expansion, one new project in Mumbai, one in Hyderabad, and one in Gurgaon, although all are expected to take several years before opening.
In response to the infrastructure gap, some brands are entering through franchise agreements with retail conglomerates such as Reliance, Aditya Birla Group, and Tata Group which act as gateways to the market, providing store networks and capital. Developers, meanwhile, face a chicken-and-egg problem: securing funding is difficult without firm brand commitments, which in turn don’t flow until the project is near completion. R. Satyajit, CEO of international brands at Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail, described quality real estate as “the single largest stumbling block.”
