India has a hole where its middle class should be
The article is slightly inflating it's claim. There is a middle class. But, there are two things which drive markets in India - one is mentioned in the article, the price and second is utility. Frequent discussions in offices are about - What is the point of a Starbucks coffee when a "similar" thing can be had for much less. Phones tend to be measured on music volume or camera.I have seen Domnios in a tier 3 city. The opening night had a huge crowd and continued to do so for next 6 months. Then the novelty wore off. Now there are barely 4-5 people even on a weekend night. People fail to see the point of a "costly" pizza when 2-3 meals can be had for same price. But, if there is a grand occasion like birthday, anniversaries people still land up there.