As the 12th annual India Fashion Forum kick-started its three-day conference at Bombay Exhibition Centre, Mumbai today, businessmen and professionals from fashion retail industry were heard discussing about the growth potential and the key growing trends of the Indian apparel, footwear, and accessories market. With around 250 brands showcasing at the event, the first day saw Amit Gugnani, Sr. VP- Fashion (Textile and Apparel) of Technopak Advisors and Amit Mahajan, Associate VP of IRIS discuss the emerging trends of the Indian fashion market.
Along with the India Fashion Forum; Infashion 2012, an international textile and an ingredient innovation show; India Shop Expo, an exhibition for shop-fit, retail design and visual merchandising; and Shoes and Accessories, a forum to discuss about the market for footwear and accessories were also organized.
Throwing light on the major trends of the Indian fashion market, Gugnani said that it is the affordability of good fashion for Indian customers that works well. Although, fashion needs to be in a budget, it should also redefine basic needs of the consumers, especially when it comes to quality and design innovation. Talking about the accessibility of fashion to all cities in India, Gugnani said, “Only the top 30 cities of the country have an access to fashion. The brands now really need to penetrate to the other cities that include tier II and III cities. “
With various changes happening in one’s lifestyle, the Indian fashion market has also seen a steady rise in sales of niche segments like innerwear, loungewear, and active wear. “Apart from new category entrants, the international brands too have been playing a major role in increasing competition. Such competition is sure to rise even more in few years time,” added Gugnani.
Giving the audience a glance of the Indian fashion market that is growing at a rate of 12 percent per annually, Mahajan pointed that the Northern and the Western parts of the country generated maximum revenue to this sector. With the organized sector growing at a pace of 26-36 percent, the apparel industry holds 75 percent of share, whereas footwear and jewellery covers 15 percent to 5 percent respectively. He also added that the maximum amount of sales was incurred from menswear that accounts to 42 percent of sales. Women’s wear, on the other hand accounted to less than 40 percent of sale, whereas kidswear sells for around 20 percent and is estimated to grow in future.
The Indian fashion market also saw a huge rise in sales through e-commerce in the last few years. Even though organized modern retail has given the industry a new shape and identity, e-tailing has not only expanded retail space online but has also resulted in growth of the Indian e-commerce in a much better way than that of other developed countries.
Talking about the future of the Indian fashion market, Mahajan added, “The brands need to penetrate into the tier II and III cities as the market there is seeing a huge rise in demand. Design and innovativeness needs to be put into much focus. There should also be a bridge that should bridge the gap between the middle class and high end fashion brands. More emphasis should be given on womenswear, kidswear, lingerie, and sportswear as they are going to major players of the market in future.”
-Tista Sengupta
