Luxury Hiring in India: Why the Talent Gap Still Hurts Brands

Art: Here After Here After Here 19°03'55.3”N 72°51'59.5”E | Location: Jio World Plaza, Mumbai | Artist: Jitish Kallat

India is finally ready for luxury - but is luxury ready for India?

With international luxury houses expanding into Tier-1 and Tier-2 cities, the demand for trained, sophisticated retail staff has never been higher. Yet, there's a clear gap between what brands want and what candidates offer. Here's why:

1. A Booming Market Without a Strong Talent Network

India’s luxury market is expected to hit $200 billion by 2030 - but recruitment hasn’t caught up. There are very few recruiters who specialise in luxury, and most HR heads rely on outdated CVs instead of deeper candidate evaluation.

2. Candidates Don’t Know Where - or How - to Apply

Many talented individuals don’t know where to look for luxury jobs. There’s no central platform, and few candidates understand how to build a luxury-ready profile or approach these roles professionally.

3. Companies Don’t Know How to Attract or Train the Right Staff

Even top brands sometimes hire based on appearance or basic retail experience - not the skills required to handle UHNW clients.Result? High attrition, poor store performance, and lack of customer loyalty.

4. Misaligned Expectations

Brands expect candidates to be polished, discreet, and service-oriented - but most applicants are not trained in the nuances of luxury etiquette, storytelling, or emotional selling.

5. Lack of Structured Induction and Upskilling

Many new hires are simply thrown into the sales floor with minimal training.There’s no structured induction, no CRM training, and almost no ongoing learning.

What Can Be Done?

• Brands must invest in real training: not just product, but people skills, psychology, body language, grooming, and objection handling.

• Candidates must learn how to get noticed: through the right CV, interview prep, and video presentations.

• Recruitment must evolve: specialised recruiters for luxury are the need of the hour.

Luxury Learnings is already working with companies in India - like Lighthouse - and understands the unique challenges of this market.

If you're a luxury brand expanding in India or building your retail team, we can support you with:

• Custom onboarding plans

• Staff evaluation & development

• Soft skill & selling training for the Indian customer

Let’s build India’s next luxury sales force—reach out to Luxury Learnings today.

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