Yahoo Finance Did you know Nita Ambani flew her private jet to Sri Lanka to buy cups and saucers?
When she was decorating Antilia, Nita reportedly bought 25,000 pieces of crockery and loaded it all on her jet.
She lives in the second most expensive house in the world after Buckingham Palace and is married to one of the richest men in the world. Her home accommodates nearly 170 cars and is 40 stories high. But when Nita Ambani had to buy kitchenware for her recently completed home Antilia back in 2010, she decided to fly over to Sri Lanka to save money. But her thrifty behaviour may have well saved Ambani a better part of a million dollars.
The kitchenware brand that Nita Ambani chose to buy for her house and also as Diwali gifts for her guests, was the century-old Japanese brand called Noritake. Named after the village in Japan where it originated, Noritake has been a popular brand in the US where it landed several decades ago. The brand itself is a favourite with hotel chains, airlines, and private homes. Noritake’s technologically superior and diverse product range as well as a chic aesthetic is appealing to the mass market as well as the world’s elite who spend thousands of dollars on their products.
Interestingly, Noritake has presence in India and has an outlet not very far from Ambanis’ Antilia. Yet Nita Ambani chose to fly over 1500 km, to another country altogether, and buy her wares. Sometime in the autumn of 2010, Nita Ambani got on to her private jet and flew over to Sri Lanka and reportedly bought 25,000 pieces of kitchenware from Noritake there.
The reason Ambani chose to fly to Sri Lanka and buy Noritake over the outlet in her neighbourhood is because of the price difference. According to an Economic Times report, a single Noritake dinner set with 22 carat gold trimmings could cost somewhere between $800 and $2,000 in India, it would cost somewhere between $300 and $500 in Sri Lanka. Reports estimated that even if one were to count the fuel required to fly in and out, Ambani would still be able to save a decent amount given the massive size of the order. Noritake in Sri Lanka is cheaper than India because the country has a Noritake factory that manufactures all the products from the line. Sans the duty, taxes etc, the prices of Noritake products in SL is considerably lower than in India.
While a Reliance spokesperson refused to comment on the matter, the trip made news all over India and Sri Lanka. Even Noritake itself isn’t used to receiving such large orders from private clients. An Economic Times report estimated that an order of this size would typically come from a 500-room five-star hotel with five restaurants.
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