“I have never had the opportunity to drive this super car on a racing track. The experience is simply exhilarating,” says 25-year-old Arvind Bafna who came for the event from Mumbai.

NEW DELHI: Luxury brands are going beyond private viewing, Sunday brunches and wine and cheese evenings to pamper the rich and the famous with differential experiences to win their loyalty. From Lamborghini to Judith Lieber to Pernod Ricard, a slew of luxury brands are offering test drive of super cars on F1 track, exotic international holidays, exclusive parlours for VIP shopping, exclusive relationship managers and shopping assistants to win the confidence of rich Indians. 

"The idea is to provide a moneycan't-buy experience," says Pavan Shetty, head operations at Lamborghini India, which this weekend invited 80 elite customers from across the country to test-drive the Rs 2.9-crore Gallardo Coupe on the Formula 1 track in Noida.

"I have never had the opportunity to drive this super car on a racing track. The experience is simply exhilarating," says 25-year-old Arvind Bafna who came for the event from Mumbai. 

"Being invited for something like this makes me more brand loyal," adds the young director of Bafna Motors who has seven highend cars, including the machine he drove on the F1 track. Wines and spirits maker Pernod Ricard plans to provide exclusive relationship managers to entertain top Indian customers by holding special events within and outside the country. 

"Asia is our primary target and India will be an important part of this. We have understood that HNIs (high net worth individuals) need to be approached differently as it's difficult to get their confidence just by exchanging business cards," says Eric Benoist, global marketing director at Chivas Brothers, a subsidiary of Pernod Ricard. 

"These high net worth individuals are key targets for us and for these people one to one relationship is very important which is why our managers look after them exclusively," he adds. The French owner of Royal Salute and Chivas Regal whiskies last month took a group of rich Chinese on a weeklong trip to Dubai for the Royal Salute-sponsored Nations Cup polo championship. The activities included dune bashing, polo clinic and dining at the most expensive restaurants complete with exquisite champagne. 

They were accompanied by a relationship manager who talked in Mandarin, took them to shopping malls and clicked their pictures. Pernod Ricard will now introduce this concept in India. Abhay Gupta, founder and CEO of luxury consulting firm Luxury Connect, says initiatives like these help brands build customer loyalty. 

"It's a way to get customers excited about a brand and results in incremental sales. The trend is catching up in India in line with developed global luxury markets," he says.