From production hub to consumer market: Why India is becoming a key B2C opportunity for Danish companies

When speaking of India in the context of value chains and opportunities for Danish companies, particularly SMEs, the conversation typically moves towards topics of supply-chain optimization, sourcing, production, and back-office teams, i.e. a place to make things, not sell them.

Additionally, the few companies who do consider the later parts of the value chain with sales and distribution are almost exclusively focused on B2B models – but can you really write off almost 20% of the world’s population as non-consumers?
India is the world’s most populated country, and it houses one of the fastest growing middle-classes on the globe. Not unlike China in the 2000s, India has over the past decades experienced a rapid growth in purchasing power and currently, very few Danish companies are a part of this development.

The perception of India solely as a place for Global Competence Centre, production hub or B2B market has already been challenged by many of the global actors such as IKEA, LEGO, H&M, and Amazon, but SMEs in these retail fields are largely absent. Given the emerging consumer market, offering growth and scale, it might be time to consider India as a relevant place for expansion.

India is often, like most countries, described using averages: GDP per capita, purchasing power parity or income levels that, on paper, place India firmly in the “emerging market” category. While these metrics are useful, they can also be misleading.

India’s defining feature is scale

Even with modest or below-ideal averages, absolute numbers paint a different picture. India has ”a million millionaires” and tens of millions of households with purchasing power comparable to consumers in developed markets. Something that alone can sustain a viable consumer market and is particularly interesting for companies serving niche or premium products.

This is also where the earlier comparison with China becomes relevant. While it would be impossible to say whether India’s growth and general trajectory continue mimicking what has been seen in China, it does share some of the same signals: rapid urbanization and metropolitan concentration, a growing “globally oriented” middle and upper-middle class, and more.

Furthermore, national statistics and the averages of India often do certain regions a disservice – India is not one country – what is true in Karnataka is not necessarily true in Gujarat, and while a city like Mumbai might be ready for PH lamps and LEGO’s, Shillong might not. India simply is too big to consider only with macro statistics and nationwide averages.

Macro trends can be discussed in theory but understanding how they translate into real business conditions requires on-the-ground experience

A short boat ride (or a bit longer drive) from Mumbai is the coastal town of Alibaug, an area that in recent years has attracted a number of affluent Indians and investments from high end developers. The practical location, being less than an hour away from Mumbai coupled with the quiet and withdrawn feeling of the area makes it a desirable place for wealthier households. In addition to this, it is also the home of Norse Brands, a distributor of classic Danish luxury furniture from brands like Carl Hansen & Søn, Louis Poulsen, Fredericia, and more. A visit to their showroom, a beautiful villa, - and a subsequent conversation with the company’s founder and CEO Henrik Haagen, a seasoned man in the high-end sector in India and many other countries – offer insights into the realities of selling premium consumer products in India today.

Visiting Norse Brands Villa in Alibaug is quite the experience for any Dane who’s spent longer periods outside of Denmark. Immediately upon entering you’re met with a number of some of the most recognizable pieces of Danish furniture ever, from the Spanish Chair to the iconic PH Lamps, something that continues as you move through the many rooms in the villa. Notably you won’t see any prices, and if you didn’t know better you wouldn’t have guessed that anything there was for sale. Walking around you’ll have a feeling more akin to visiting a friend and asking where they got their new chairs, rather than visiting a store or boutique.

This is naturally not a coincidence, but a decisive and intentional decision by Norse Brands. In Denmark most people in the market for high end furniture know the wishbone chair, and they know the Danish design language – This is not the case in India. As such, a visit to the villa in Alibaug is not only a showcase of the products, but an education on the vision, story and use of these pieces. This approach also reflects a broader reality of the Indian market: it is complex, competitive, and deeply relationship-driven. Contrary to common assumptions, India’s difficulty does not stem from immature consumers, but from the opposite. Nothing happens organically, and success requires patience, trust, and extensive local networks. All things Henrik stressed during an interview.

From the Danish military to co-founding Boozt, starting the first microbrewery in the Middle East, e-commerce in Tanzania, fashion in Vietnam, and now furniture in India, Henrik’s resume stretches globally and too far to fully list here. He is a man who has extensive experience heading projects in complex countries, within niche fields. During the interview, Henrik stressed both the opportunities that exist within the Indian consumer-market, but with a recurring theme being the necessity of fully understanding not just your products, but the Indian market and consumer behavior within your field – by extension the conversation highlighted the importance of physical presence and the highly intentional efforts required to form the network required to succeed in these premium markets. Henrik also makes the point, that while being able to decode the local consumer, and adapt accordingly, companies are not on completely foreign territory – India has many similarities to both the rest of the Asian market as well as the European. India uses the typical distribution structures, same marketing-channels, proficient English capabilities, same SoMe, etc.

While very few Danish/Nordic companies engage in B2C in India, the experience of Norse Brands is not an isolated one, major actors like LEGO, IKEA, H&M, and Bestseller are increasingly present and paving the way for SMEs in introducing the Indian consumer to Nordic design language and products. Common for these brands is not just brand recognition, but a willingness to treat India as a serious consumer market rather than a peripheral experiment. They operate with physical presence, local teams and a level of adaptability that a prerequisite of operating in a market like India.

These examples showcase India’s consumer market, not just as an emerging market, but a functioning one.

As the market matures, success increasingly depends on the same factors that characterize developed economies, clarity of positioning, presence, cultural/local adaptation and commitment.

DI India offers local experience to inform decision-making and assist in creating a sustainable presence

For companies considering India, either as a potential growth market or a larger long-term strategy, the implication is not that India is “easy” but that it’s increasingly relevant. The cost of misjudging the market, underestimating complexity, or approaching it with a plug-and-play mentality can be high – conversely, companies that invest the time, resources and structure required will be tapping into one of the biggest markets on earth.

This is where DI India becomes relevant. Through local experience over many years DI India supports companies wishing to engage with India as a maturing consumer market – helping translate opportunity into informed decision-making and sustainable presence. If you’re curious about the Indian market, as B2C, B2B, supply-chain, or something completely different, we invite you to reach out.