Prada Spa, the Italian luxury apparel brand, is mulling to enter the Indian market and is currently in talks with various prospective partner firms, according to a Live Mint report.  

The Italian brand is one of the few leading luxury apparel brands that do not boast of having a retail presence in the Indian market.  

The luxury fashion retailer’s move of eyeing the Indian market is in sync with the current trend of luxury retailers extending their reach to the emerging markets in search of new buyers there, in view of the developed markets still grappling with economic uncertainty.  

The size of India’s luxury goods market is likely to rise from US$ 2.18 billion in 2011 to about US$ 7 billion by 2017, according to a Euromonitor report released last year.  

In the recent past, few luxury brands have entered India by forming partnerships with domestic firms like Genesis Colors and Reliance Brands.  

The Prada Group is one of the world’s leaders in the design, production and distribution of luxury handbags, ready-to-wear apparel and accessories. The Group owns some of the most prestigious international brands like Prada and Miu Miu.  

A year ago, the Group operated in 70 countries through 388 directly operated stores, 30 franchise stores and a network of selected high-end multi-brand stores and luxury department stores, according to the Group’s website.