This article focuses on the entry of international fashion brands in India following the economic liberalization process starting in 1991. Existing literature and reports are examined to understand the various strategies employed by foreign brands to enter the country, with particular attention on the approaches employed to introduce the brands in the city of Bangalore. The article discusses why most of the top international fashion brands prefer Bangalore as their destination when compared to other metropolitan cities in India.

This article is motivated by the need to better understand how international brands introduce their products in an emerging market given various types of constraints. Since 1991, the international brands have had an increasing access to markets in India as the liberalization policies of successive governments opened up consumer markets to global competition. The article focuses on the entry of international brands in India, with special attention given to Bangalore city. This city is an interesting market to study because of its cosmopolitan nature and the concentration of India's IT industry in the city. The population of the city contains a significant proportion employed in the IT industry with higher incomes along with Non-resident Indians (NRIs), employees of Multinational Corporations (MNCs) as well as an increasing number of expatriate employees.

Since the mid-1980s successive reforms have progressively moved the Indian economy towards a market-based system. State intervention and control over economic activity have been significantly reduced and the role of private sector entrepreneurship is increased. To varying degrees, liberalization has touched on most aspects of economic policy including industrial policy, fiscal policy, financial market regulation, and trade and foreign investment.

Globalization and liberalization have greatly influenced the Indian economy and made it a huge consumer market. One of the main aspects of globalization is foreign investment. India, today, has emerged as one of the perfect markets for foreign investors due to its vast market base. More and more foreign companies are investing in the Indian market to get higher returns. The Foreign Institutional Investments (FII) amounts to around US$10 bn in FY 2008-09, while the rate of Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) has grown around 85.1% from US$25.1 bn in 2008 to US$46.5 bn in 2009.

Marketing Mastermind Magazine, International Fashion Brands, Economic Liberalization Process, Multinational Corporations, Financial Market Regulation, Foreign Investments, Industrial Policy, Globalization, Foreign Institutional Investments, Foreign Direct Investments, International Brands, Local Market.