The 174-year-old British company Christy, which has been providing face and bath towels to the Wimbledon Championships for nearly 40 years, is set to introduce a line of high-end goods in the Indian market in early 2025.
Our goal is to make Christy a contemporary brand that appeals to young consumers. Christy is only available in the UK and the Middle East at the moment, and we recently started in the US. The CEO of Christy, a global brand of Welspun Living that purchased the historic British brand in 2006, Vanshika Goenka Misra, stated, “We are launching in India next year.”
“The items in our luxury segment will be introduced in India the following year. There was significant doubt earlier about whether Christy would work in the price-sensitive Indian market. Indian customers are hungry these days. Misra, the brand’s head, told Businessline during her visit to Ahmedabad that the company has changed and is now equipped with global sensibility and taste. The average bath towel marketed in the UK under the Christy brand costs more than ₹3,200.
Approximately 60–70% of the bath goods and 50% of the bedding that will be introduced in India will be produced in this country. The remainder will be sourced from Portugal and Turkey via Christy’s global supply system. “We wish to maintain the same selection that we have around the world. The quality of our products will not be compromised, and the things we offer in the Indian market will be identical to those sold elsewhere. We’ll introduce our products on all of the high-end internet marketplaces in India, and in a year or two, we’ll consider opening a physical store,” she added, adding that Christy will be bringing clothing, bedding, and bath towels to India.
According to Misra, Christy is at the top of the pyramid of all the Welspun Group’s home textile brands. “Welspun is the mass brand, Spaces is the premium brand, and Christy will be the luxury brand,” she continued. In September 2024, Christy made her debut in the US market. We are selling through our own website and warehouse, and we have started on the East Coast. We’re going to keep growing in the United States,” Misra stated. An annual growth of 30% has been observed for the Christy brand. “The brand is currently being premiumized. Prices are going up,” she continued.
Christy & Wimbledon
Christy has positioned itself as a prominent supplier of hand, face, and bath towels for Wimbledon. Since 1988, the brand has served as the official towel manufacturer for the Wimbledon Championships, with production now taking place at Welspun’s facility in Vapi, South Gujarat. “We are committed to expanding our collaboration with Wimbledon. One approach we are taking to grow is by broadening our merchandise offerings. 200–300 Terry towels that were left over from the previous year’s championships were used to create the tote bag that we debuted this year. These bags sold out in just two days,” stated Misra.