‘Rise of middle class will be the engine of growth in India’: Sir Martin Sorrell

At the launch of the inaugural BrandZ Top 50 Indian Brands study in Mumbai, Sorrell reflected on growth in the BRIC markets and specifically, India.

 

He said, “In our (WPP) view, India is under-branded and under-advertised. In India, we have a $500 million business. China is our biggest BRIC market bringing in 1.5 billion in revenue. Second biggest is Brazil with 800 million, and Russia is the smallest of our BRIC markets, with 350 million.”

 

Sorrell noted that all the BRIC markets had done ‘reasonably well’ this year. He pointed out that Brazil has been under pressure and that Russia has not slowed despite developments in Ukraine and remains a strong market. Sanctions could have some effect in future, he pointed out.

 

He continued, “We’ve grown very significantly here (in India) this year and we’ll be crossing $500 million for the first time. Even before the elections, India was very strong and this will probably continue post the elections. The mood is of course stronger and more optimistic post the recent elections but obviously expectations have been built up which will have to be fulfilled.”

 

Noting that the middle class could drive growth in India, Sorrell said, “India is a massive market and has benefited from the rise of the middle class over the last 10 to 15 years. India will be a hotbed for growth and development both domestically and internationally. The downside in India is that you do see the difference in living standards and this is a marked difference to China who managed it much more effectively. The rise of the middle class will be the engine of growth in India.”