NEW DELHI — If you go trend-spotting in beauty retail here, what stands out is a category that was barely there two years ago: niche fragrance. And the sector has been emerging in malls, on high streets, in shop-in-shops, e-commerce, even in wedding gift boxes.

Stores such as Maison des Parfums, Scentido, Creed and Jo Malone have opened in some of the most popular malls in the country, like Select City Walk, Emporio and The Chanakya in New Delhi and Palladium in Mumbai; in premium market spaces such as Khan Market in New Delhi, and on high streets near Horniman Circle in Mumbai. They are finding areas in shop-in-shops like Good Earth and other specialty retailers, and even in the emerging department store formats, as in the new premium Shoppers Stop concept, in Gurugram. While the movement toward the format is cautious given the exorbitant retail real estate costs in India, high import duties for global brands and the complicated registration process for products, the sector is growing fast.

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