The Indian fashion retail industry is considered as one of the fastest developing sectors of the country as it continues to take giant steps towards becoming organised. However, the success of the fashion retail market is completely dependent on retail brands, then be it large players or the smaller ones, older or new brands, start-ups, shopping malls, brick-and-mortar stores, warehouses, e-tailers, franchise models, etc. It is very important that these brands to be successful so that they can contribute to the success of fashion retail fraternity. The success of these brands and companies depend on one individual, who is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the company. He determines the vision of the brand and leads the company on the path to growth.
Indiaretailing Bureau spoke to many prominent names in the Indian Fashion Retail Industry to get their insights on the future of fashion retail in India.
For more indepth insights, visit 20th India Fashion Forum.
AKHIL SRIVASTAVA, MANAGING DIRECTOR, PARFAIT INDIA
The plus size fashion industry is growing at a rapid pace and it is estimated to grow by more than 35 percent in the coming years. The increase in GDP, population, increase in the purchasing power and higher standard of living especially plays a vital role in giving a boost to this sector. The industry is expected to enter the category segment from sub-category sector and the under-served sector will see tremendous growth in the coming years.
HETAL KOTAK, CEO, LEE COOPER
The casual wear category has been growing at 15 percent annually for the last five years and is expected to be worth Rs 54,600 crore by 2023. I see ‘Fluidity’ as being the strongest watermark of success, in the near future for our industry. Fluid fashion can be occasion fluid, age fluid, etc. and in my opinion, it will continue to emerge as an even stronger consumer trend in the days to come. Our aim is to leverage the well-balanced portfolio of our lines and thereby emerge as an effective enabler of expressions, for our consumers. I see this sector growing at roughly 15 percent every year with ‘Denim’ witnessing one of the fastest growing rates in the apparel segment.
INDRANATH SENGUPTA, CO-FOUNDER, KOMPANERO
The demand for bags and luggage is highly correlated with the growth of travel and tourism in the country. Bags and luggage form a vital part of travelling, and hence, boost in travel will aid the growth in sales of bags and luggage. Bags dominate overall luggage industry, supported by the strong performance from backpacks and handbags, where value sales of bags doubled and will increase progressively in the future. The market in India is still in the nascent stage. With the per capita income and spending power increasing, the usage of premium leather bags and accessories is going to increase exponentially.
JP SHUKLA, CO- FOUNDER & CEO, 1-INDIA FAMILY MART
In coming ten years, the retail industry is expected to grow with an immense pace, on grounds on technology, innovation and digitalisation. We will be seeing a much more advance level of convenient and seamless experience across all platforms. As far as 1- India Family Mart is considered, we aim to reach to an overall turnover of Rs 5000 crore, covering almost all the major states and catering the demands and needs of 75 percent of the overall population.
MAYANK LAKHANI, MANAGING DIRECTOR, LAKHANI INFINITY FOOTCARE PRIVATE LIMITED
Business visionaries in India are reforming the footwear business in the country, which is currently dominated by men’s footwear, which contributes close to 58 percent of the total Indian footwear retail market and is expected grow at a CAGR of 10 percent by 2020. According to a recent Indian footwear industry report, footwear production is over 22 billion pairs annually, accounting for approximately 9.6 percent of the total global footwear output per year.
PANKAJ VERMANI, FOUNDER AND CEO, CLOVIA
Lingerie for the longest time was a staple product with hardly any innovation. The last few years have seen unprecedented growth in awareness – both from sizing/hygiene as well as fashion perspective. While the overall apparel category is growing at 8-9 percent CAGR, lingerie is pegged to grow anywhere between 15-22 percent annually.
The currently $4 billion market (and 8 billion by 2020) is still so nascent that the top 10 brands put together are not even addressing 8 percent of the overall market. Innerwear shopping online is estimated to be growing at 50-65 percent annually. The lingerie market has just started to scratch the surface and is all set to bloom in the coming years.
RAHUL VIRA, CEO, SKECHERS SOUTH ASIA PRIVATE LIMITED
The coming ten years for the Leather and Shoe industry are going to be very innovative and exciting. They are going to be very impactful for the retail industry. Footwear industry will be one of the leaders in the retail industry with a variety of innovative range.
RICHA KALRA, FOUNDER, CANDYSKIN
There’s a lot of scope in the lingerie market, as most of it is unorganised (especially in India). I hope that in the next 10 years the market will get converted to the organised sector.
RAJESH JAIN, MANAGING DIRECTOR & CEO, LACOSTE INDIA
Like other growing economies, India is experiencing major transformations in the retail sector. The market is maturing as most retailers are now focusing on profitable growth. In coming years, the advancement in mobile technologies, AI, VR and easy availability of the internet will give impetus to fast and smart retail. Things to watch out in future retail are Ultra-Fast Delivery, Digital Dressing Rooms and Curated Experiences and Robot Customer Service
SAMIR MISRA, COO, V MART RETAIL LTD
India’s retail market is expected to reach US$ 1.6 trillion by 2026. Online retail sales are forecasted to grow at a rate of 31 percent year-on-year to reach US$ 32.70 billion in 2018. The fashion sector is expected to be buoyed by women’s top wear category owing to generic inclination for western wear.
VINAY CHATLANI, CO FOUNDER AND CEO, SOCH
We are confident that the ethnic wear market will witness a rising demand in the next decade. This is going to be backed by the rise in disposable income from a growing middle class, the influence of social media and celebrities in buying decision as well as easy accessibility with e-com and Omnichannel routes.
VASANTH KUMAR, MANAGING DIRECTOR, LIFESTYLE INTERNATIONAL PRIVATE LIMITED
In the next ten years, the retail sector will grow at an immense pace and will offer a highly intuitive, personalised shopping experience to discerning customers.
VISHWAS SHRINGI, CEO & FOUNDER, VOYLLA
There is tremendous potential in the jewellery segment which is set to grow exponentially as women are becoming the decision-makers and are moving towards an evolved sense of style. We expect this sector to do very well in the coming ten years. Government controlled policies are stemming the surge in Chinese cheap imports and the industry is immensely benefitting from these policies. Fashion jewelry is growing at 20 percent+ CAGR YoY. At this rate, it will be more than a $10 billion category in the next 10 years. We at Voylla, have been the leaders in creating and owning this category – branding fashion jewellery with an Omnichannel presence. We hope to consolidate our lead and keep growing the category as well.
VINEET GAUTAM, CEO, BESTSELLER INDIA
In the next 10 years, the retail sector will be more organised and refined. With a greater number of retailers adopting the Omnichannel strategy, the retail sector will offer much more convenient and seamless shopping experience to the customer.
Increased adoption of retail technology and innovation concepts will help the sector keep up with the constantly changing purchase patterns and help understand the consumer’s buying behaviour to the extent of even helping predict consumer shopping trends. While the increasing disposable incomes coupled with the influx of foreign players, as well as local players, is set to make the sector more competitive and cluttered.
