Llyod Grove of Portfolio.com recently did an interview with Lynn Forester de Rothschild, CEO of EL Rothschild, the holding company she owns with her third husband to manage investments in the Economist and various enterprises in India. Those include FieldFresh, a startup that will grow and export Indian fruits and vegetables for markets in Europe and Asia, and a soon-to-be-announced retail venture aimed at the exploding Indian middle class. Here's an excerpt from the interview:
L.G.: What else will you do with E.L. Rothschild?
L.R.: We are also looking very seriously at the retail space in India, both in terms of front-end retail as well as Indian brands that we believe have opportunities. I think that'll be the next area where you'll see some announcements from us.
L.G.: When? Can we make some news?
L.R.: Not by the time you go to print. [Laughs.]
L.G.: Give me a hint. I know you're on the Estée Lauder board, and I know you're very interested in luxury goods in India. Would it have something to do with that?
L.R.: Well, we're looking at those. You know India has luxury in its DNA. All you've got to do is look at the maharajas and look at the Taj Mahal. There's no Hermès or Louis Vuitton that's going to tell India anything about luxury. Luxury is a very interesting, undeveloped piece of India. I don't think it will be a big piece for a long time, because of the income level, but I think it's interesting. We do think luxury when we think retail, but we also think more mainstream, aspirational brands and opportunities
L.G.: And the country obviously has an exploding middle class, so that could be a good market internally-or are you thinking for export as well?
L.R.: I am thinking more about the domestic markets, more about the growth of the domestic market, because 10 million people are entering the middle class every year in India. You know, there are more billionaires in India than anyplace else. Let me put it this way: Every day in India, the entire nation of Great Britain is on the train, one way or another. So the numbers are pretty colossal. Seventy million people in India can afford anything they want. It's a small percent, but that's a reasonable number.
L.G.: That's a pretty healthy market.
L.R.: Two hundred fifty million are middle-class, so you might not go for the Chanel glasses, but you sure could go for an Estée Lauder lipstick or a Starbucks coffee.
Pic courtesy: Portfolio.com
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