To celebrate Galeries Lafayette’s highly anticipated arrival in India, guests embarked on a unique journey. They were whisked by golf cart from the Royal Bombay Yacht Club to a private jetty near the Taj Hotel, where speedboats awaited to transport them to a flotilla of six gleaming yachts, including the elegant Allegra, ready to set sail across Mumbai’s picturesque harbour.
Against the breathtaking canvas of Mumbai’s Colaba harbour, the illustrious 130-year-old French luxury department store orchestrated a truly Parisian spectacle. Giant red-and-white balloons soared above the Arabian Sea, complemented by sailboats adorned with crimson flags gracefully gliding across the water. From yachts anchored offshore, a distinguished assembly of editors, stylists, designers, and French and Indian executives witnessed this historic fusion of Mumbai’s maritime heritage with a monumental step forward for India’s luxury retail landscape.
This much-anticipated launch culminates an eight-year journey since Aditya Birla Fashion & Retail Ltd (ABFRL) first began discussions with Galeries Lafayette. The extensive renovation of two historic Mumbai buildings, Turner Morrison and Voltas House, alone consumed nearly two years. Ashish Dixit, managing director of ABFRL, humorously remarked on a boat, “We started as retailers and ended up as structural engineers and architects.” He expressed immense pride in the transformation and repurposing of these architectural gems.
Galeries Lafayette spreads across Turner Morrison and Voltas House
Parisian Elegance Meets Indian Artistry
Designed by the renowned London-based architectural firm Virgile + Partners, the expansive 90,000 sq. ft. space unfolds across five floors, seamlessly marrying Parisian sophistication with Mumbai’s rich architectural legacy. Visitors will marvel at exquisite interior details: striking monochromatic black-and-white tiles edged in gold, a delicate lotus-motif parchinkari gracing the atrium floor, and plush, inviting pastel pink furnishings. A crowning jewel is the store’s signature cupola, an homage to l’Intrépide, the historic French hydrogen observation balloon of 1796. Within these opulent surroundings, a curated selection of over 250 Indian and international brands awaits discerning shoppers.
The store will house over 250 brands
The Turner Morrison building embodies the classic department store layout, dedicating individual floors to beauty, leather goods and accessories, and women’s luxury and evening wear, with a future space for food and drink. Meanwhile, the adjacent Voltas House will host an exclusive gallery for exhibitions, a sophisticated gift shop, a bespoke personal shopping salon, and premium men’s luxury wear. Overseeing these intricate retail operations is Alexandra von Canisius, an accomplished fashion executive with prior experience at Saks Fifth Avenue in Bahrain and Holt Renfrew in Canada.
While the store is currently in a soft launch phase, with its official opening slated for the first week of November, a sneak peek revealed exciting brand inclusions. Notably, Patou makes its highly anticipated India debut, alongside fashion powerhouses like Comme des Garçons and Phoebe Philo. Though the food section is set to open next year, the company anticipates it will be a significant draw for visitors.
Patou makes its India debut
Heralding a New Era of Luxury Consumption
During the exclusive preview, Kumar Mangalam Birla and his family were seen gracefully mingling with guests; Neerja Birla exuded elegance in a chic black Patou pantsuit, while matriarch Rajshree Birla captivated in a resplendent sari. A brief rain shower momentarily sent rooftop attendees scrambling for cover, but it serendipitously led to an impromptu and delightful exploration of the Turner Morrison building’s various floors.
As the weather cleared, guests returned to the rooftop, where K.M. Birla and Nicolas Houze, Executive Chairman of the Galeries Lafayette group, highlighted India’s luxury sector as being on the cusp of a significant transformation. They emphasized the burgeoning population of affluent and aspirational consumers. Projections from Kotak Securities indicate that India’s luxury market will reach an astounding $85 billion by 2030, with the Mercedes-Benz Hurun India Wealth Report 2025 further noting that India currently boasts 871,000 dollar millionaire households.
“You can’t compare India in 2025 with the U.S. in 2025”
While traditional department stores face challenges in Western markets, emerging economies like India offer a beacon of hope for retailers. Dixit articulated this vision, stating, “You can’t compare India in 2025 with the U.S. in 2025.” He anticipates a massive consumption boom over the next two decades, underscoring that “our population is so large that even if a small sliver of it moves up, somebody must service that aspiration.”
Luxury Finds its Home in Heritage
Unlike the prevailing trend of luxury retail primarily residing in malls across India, ABFRL has deliberately chosen to embrace heritage locations for its portfolio of brands. This strategy is exemplified by Sabyasachi Mukherjee’s iconic Horniman Circle store, now conveniently close to Galeries Lafayette, and Tarun Tahiliani’s exquisitely designed Ballard Estate boutique. These heritage settings foster a more intimate and refined shopping experience.
For Galeries Lafayette, a cherished family business, selecting a heritage property was paramount, echoing the grandeur of its Paris flagship, a landmark 1912 Art Nouveau building famed for its magnificent glass dome.
The glass dome at Galeries Lafayette in Paris
Mumbai marks the brand’s tenth international outpost. Dixit concluded, “These kinds of projects are amazing because it shows even the government that if you save these old buildings rather than tear them down, there is so much potential.”