PARIS — France and India’s luxury trade organizations are bolstering their ties ahead of a historic trade agreement that promises to wipe out around 4 billion euros a year in duties on European products. 

Bénédicte Epinay, chief executive officer of Comité Colbert, and Payal Kanwar, director general of the Indo-French Chamber of Commerce and Industry, or IFCCI, this week signed a memorandum of understanding cementing their ongoing cooperation efforts aimed at boosting bilateral trade after years of frustrated expectations. 

“I truly believe that the time has come for us to write India’s new script,” Epinay told a symposium in Paris that gathered a cross-section of government officials, luxury and retail executives, Indian suppliers and designers.

Kanwar said a shift was underway, as the openings of locations like Mumbai’s Jio World Plaza luxury mall transform the local retail landscape in the world’s fifth-largest economy. 

“There’s something different in the air whenever I meet companies and businesses,” she said. “There’s a new excitement and there’s a renewed momentum when French businesses are looking at India, or Indian businesses are looking at France, and especially in this space.”

The main topic of conversation was the free trade agreement, or FTA, between the European Union and India, which is expected to come into effect in late 2026 or early 2027 after a framework was concluded in January, capping almost two decades of negotiations.

The deal is expected to double exports of EU goods to India by 2032 by eliminating or reducing tariffs on 96.6 percent of merchandise — the biggest tariff reductions that India has ever granted to a trading partner. 

While luxury goods account for just a fraction of European exports to India, companies like sector leader LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton are betting on the country’s burgeoning middle class, estimated at 400 million people, to help them out of a prolonged slump. 

The Place to Be

“LVMH wants to do more in India, to do more with India, to do more for India,” Marc-Antoine Jamet, secretary general of LVMH, told the gathering. “I guarantee we will look at every opportunity.”

Describing India as “the fastest-growing luxury market in the world,” he said the FTA would not only eliminate tariffs, but also help companies cut through red tape.

“India is really the place to be, and the good news is that we are already there with a network of boutiques just waiting to grow across the country,” he said.

But he noted that LVMH directly employs only 300 people in India, versus 45,000 in the U.S. and 25,000 in China, underscoring the road ahead. “We are too small. We are too weak. We are not visited enough. I dream of an India in which we have as many shops as we have in the U.S.,” Jamet said.

In an interview with WWD, Epinay and Kanwar outlined a number of joint initiatives designed to deepen mutual knowledge and understanding, and smooth dialogue between foreign companies and Indian authorities. In the last three years they have organized several conferences in India and France to highlight opportunities.

“We realized that many luxury CEOs hadn’t visited India for some time, and that it might be useful to talk about the India of today and show how it has evolved,” Epinay said.

LVMH is already a big consumer of Indian raw materials, like cotton, and craftsmanship, such as embroidery, he said. “We want to go beyond simply being present,” Jamet insisted. “We want our maisons to embrace local craft and local sensibilities to make India part of who we are.”

Most existing Indian tariffs on textiles and clothing will be lifted the moment the FTA comes into effect, while the current 22 percent levies on cosmetics will be phased out over five to seven years, she noted.

“It may be a sales opportunity for brands, but it also means increased competitiveness for India as a sourcing and subcontracting hub, so it’s actually a win-win situation,” Epinay said.

Wines and spirits stand to be among the major beneficiaries. The tariffs on wine will immediately be halved from a prohibitive 150 percent to 75 percent, gradually decreasing over seven years to 20 percent or 30 percent, depending on the price category. 

Open Door

Kanwar said the IFCCI, which has a staff of 40, launched a dedicated luxury committee some three years ago in response to signs of growing interest in the Indian market. Signals included the appointment of Leena Nair as global CEO of Chanel in 2022, and Dior’s pre-fall show in Mumbai in 2023.

The country’s retail market is estimated at around $950 billion today and is expected to reach $2 trillion by 2032, according to the Boston Consulting Group.

Yet foreign retailers must negotiate a complex foreign direct investment (FDI) framework, which treats single-brand and multibrand retail as fundamentally different investment categories, each with its own FDI cap, approval route, sourcing mandates and operational conditions.

“Today, the multibrand segment remains a challenge,” Kanwar acknowledged. “However, for single-brand operations, 100 percent FDI is now allowed. A growing number of brands in India are regaining their independence. Some have parted ways with their Indian partners to go solo — a major shift in recent years.”

She added that the arrival of French department store chain Galeries Lafayette in Mumbai “sends a very strong, encouraging signal for the sector.”

Another major hurdle foreign firms face is obtaining product certification from the Bureau of Indian Standards. 

“For brands that sometimes have to wait six or nine months to obtain a license, is it possible to expedite matters? These are the kinds of discussions we are currently having with the authorities to effectively support these companies,” she said.

Meanwhile, the European Union represents a major market not just for Indian suppliers, but also homegrown luxury brands including couturiers like Gaurav Gupta, Vaishali S and Manish Malhotra, who show at Paris Couture Week, and jewelers like Aneka.

As a result, France and India have the potential to cocreate the next chapter of global luxury, said Sanjeev Singla, India’s ambassador to France. “Please rest assured that our doors are open,” he said. “You are actually pushing against an open door.”