Christy, a 174-year-old British brand known for supplying face and bath towels to Wimbledon for nearly 40 years, is set to launch luxury products in India in early 2025.
According to Business Line, Vanshika Goenka Misra, CEO of Christy, a global brand of Welspun Living that acquired the British brand in 2006, mentioned, “We are on this journey of making Christy a brand that is modern and relevant to the young customer. Currently, Christy is only present in the UK and Middle East and we just launched in the United States. We are launching in India next year.”
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During her visit to Ahmedabad, Misra explained, “The products that will be launched in India next year will be part of our luxury segment. Earlier, there was some scepticism about the Indian market being price-sensitive and if Christy will fit in such a market. Today, the Indian customer has the appetite. They have evolved and are armed with global sensitivity and taste.” However, a bath towel under the Christy brand in the UK costs over INR 3,200.
Christy to Manufacture 60-70% of Products in India
About 60-70% of the bath products and 50% of the beddings launched in India will be made locally. The rest will be imported from Christy’s supply chains in Portugal and Turkey. Misra said, “We want to keep the same assortment that we have globally. We will not be compromising on our quality and the products that will be made available in the Indian market will be the same as those available overseas. We will launch our products through all the luxury online platforms operating in India and within a year or two, we will think of having a physical store for our products.” She added that Christy will launch its products in India, starting with bath towels, beddings, and clothes.
Furthermore, Misra stated that Christy is the top brand among all home textiles under the Welspun Group. She said, “The brand for the masses is Welspun, the premium brand is Spaces and the luxury brand will be Christy.” Christy entered the US market in September 2024. Misra added, “We have launched on the East Coast and we are selling through our own website and warehouse. We will be expanding further in the US.” The Christy brand has been growing 30% year-on-year. Misra said, “We are in the process of premiumising the brand. We are increasing prices.”
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Christy’s Towels for Wimbledon Now Manufactured in Gujarat
“We are working on increasing our business with Wimbledon. One way of growing is by expanding the merchandise mix. This year we introduced the toad bag where we used 200-300 left-over terry towels from last year’s championships. These bags were sold out within two days.” Misra further said.
Notably, The Christy brand sells hand, face, and bath towels to Wimbledon. In 1988, the brand became the official towel supplier for Wimbledon Championships, and now these towels are made at Welspun’s facility in Vapi, South Gujarat.
