A division bench of the Delhi High Court, which hears appeals filed by Amazon and Future Retail against two orders by separate single-judge benches has rescheduled the hearings to May 27. Future Retail had appealed against an interim order by Justice JR Midha who in February put on hold a proposed deal to sell Future Group’s retail assets to Reliance Retail.

In its interim ruling, the court stated that the emergency award passed by the Singapore International Arbitration Centre was enforceable in India. The division bench is also scheduled to hear Amazon’s appeal against Justice Mukta Gupta’s December order in which she had directed the statutory authorities, including the Competition Commission of India and Sebi, to act as per law in dealing with Amazon’s representations on the order by a Singapore arbitration court.

The buyout deal between Kishore Biyani-led Future Group and Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries is pending before the country's apex court. The Future Group had in August 2020 entered into an agreement with Reliance Retail, a subsidiary of Reliance Industries, to sell its retail, wholesale, logistics and warehousing business for nearly Rs 26,000 crore.

As a part of the deal, Future Retail is supposed to sell its supermarket chain Big Bazaar and sister chain of retail outlets like Brand Factory, Home Town, Central, eZone and others to Reliance Retail.

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Not wishing to be governed by structures and definitions, the new generation is rewriting old rules of dressing. The generation is unpretentious in its clothing choices and prefers to dress in casual and unstructured clothing. As per a Wazir Advisors study ‘The swing towards casual wear’, the category accounted for 36 per cent of the total apparel market in India in FY 2019 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 16 per cent from Rs 1.37 lakh crore in FY 2019 to touch Rs 2.84 lakh crore in FY 2024. Most of this growth will be driven by brands like Zara, H&M, etc with start-ups like Ola, Flipkart, Zomato, Swiggy, Policy Bazaar, etc further contributing to this growth by employing a large number of Gen Y population. Noticing consumers’ preference for casual wear, many formal wear brands including Louis Philippe, Van Heusen, Arrow, etc, are also launching their sports/casual wear lines.

Utility, comfort drives athlesiure growth

Another emerging category is athleisure clothing that combines utility, comfort and sporty style. Worth Rs 0.42 lakh crore in FY 2019, the athlesiure segment is expected to grow at a CAGR of 25 per cent in coming years. The segment is ideal for customers in the age group of 20-40 years as it enables them to effortlessly switch from gym to casual meets and parties. Some popular brands in this segment are: Benetton, Levis, Tommy etc.

More inclined towards health and well-being, Indian millennial is working towards building a healthy lifestyle, creating a huge demand for active wear in the country. Another factor driving the growth of athleisure in India is its endorsement by popular celebrities. Many Indian celebrities have made athlesiure styles viral through their airport and gym looks. Some celebrities are also launching their own athlesiure brands like actors Tiger Shroff and Jacqueline Fernandez who have partnered Mojostar to launch their private labels Prowl and Just F respectively.

Other celebs like Virat Kohli, Hrithik Roshan, Shahid Kapoor etc, have also launched their own athlesiure brands named Wrogn, OneX, HRX, Skult respectively. Hrithik Roshan’s brand HRX has recorded 110 per cent growth in its sales since its launch in FY 2016. Many non-sports brands too have entered the atheisure segment lately like Van Heusen which offers premium and innovative athleisure ranges for men.

International brands fuel market competitiveness

Thus, an impressive future awaits the casual wear market in India. The entry of international brands and retailers is likely to make the market more competitive, compelling Indian brands to upgrade their fashion quotient and trendiness. They will need to infuse their garments with qualities like convenience, affordability, innovation and sustainability. Only brands that align their fashion trends with their customers’ preferences will survive in the growing market.

Fashion and retail business Bella Casa plans to open its third production plant in India with an investment of Rs 65 crore.

As per Fashion Network, the brand’s its manufacturing facility in Jaipur spans 550,000 sq ft. The unit has expanded the brand’s annual production from six million units to 12 million units. Besides boosting production further, it’s third factory will employment opportunities for around 1,000 people in the area.

The brand is equally optimistic about its distribution network and aims to expand its operations to over 400 districts from the current 300.

Bella Casa will fund its next phase of expansion through internal accruals. The business currently holds a Rs 500 crore capacity for producing both apparels and home furnishings The business, which recently onboarded Bollywood celebrity Shraddha Kapoor as brand ambassador, is currently, in [the] process of executing many innovative marketing plans for the growth of the brand.

Lockdowns continue to spell doom for clothing companies that witnessed business upsurge in January and February owing to ‘end of season sales’ and declining COVID cases. However, a report by ICICI Securities expects rising COVID cases and subsequent restrictions to again delay recovery. The report estimates, apparel brands and retail companies will report low single digit revenue growth year-on-year in Q4FY21 despite low base implying 80-85 per cent pre-COVID recovery. Sales drop by half during festival season Retail sales are expected to fall by 20-25 per cent in April, reports Live Mint. Sales of non-essential goods are likely to be affected more, it adds. According to Siddharth Bindra, Managing Director, Biba, apparel sales had started recovering last year, when lockdown restrictions were eased. However, he now expects sales to drop by 50 per cent around festivals like Gudi Padwa, Ugadi and other spring festivals. The brand has temporarily closed 35 stores in Maharashtra in line with the state government’s orders. Bindra believes, there is a direct correlation between surge in cases and the apparel business. A surge in COVID cases and partial lockdowns dampens consumer spirit, resulting in low sales. People hesitate to step out impacting footfalls at malls and high streets, he adds.

Lockdowns affecting summer sales

Akhil Jain, Managing Director, Jain Amar Clothing and owner brand Madame, says, night curfews are affecting footfalls as shoppers avoid visiting malls after 8 pm. They are also not upgrading their summer wardrobes owing to full lockdowns on weekends. Jain expects his brand’s sales to drop by 20 per cent in April 2021 as compared to March 2021.

Consumers’ growing preference for casual wear is further adding to the woes of apparel retailers. Owing to the second COVID-19 wave, consumers are cutting back on discretionary purchases, restricting apparel sales to 85 per cent of 2019 instead of the expected 95 per cent, says Sundeep Chugh, Managing Director and CEO, Benetton India. The company had planned its inventory assuming a second COVID wave. However, it could face a potential inventory challenge if sales drop lower than expected, adds Chugh.

Most retailers have welcomed the current vaccination drive in the country. Chugh says, this will help speed up recovery in the apparel sector. He expects the sector to start recovering from the third quarter of current financial year.

Rationalizing fixed costs helps strengthen balance sheets

The ICICI Securities report expects temporary shutdown of malls and stores in Maharashtra and various restrictions imposed by different state governments to impact near-term growth and profitability of companies. However, it says, over the last 12 months, many companies have been able to rationalize their fixed costs and strengthen balance sheets. These companies are currently in a much better position, the report concludes.

Cricketer Rishab Pant has been signed as the brand ambassador by The Pant Project, a customized e-tailor brand.

As per Fashion Network, the Pant Project is looking to make deeper inroads in the custom wear market in India and banking on Pant’s popularity to drive sales across the country. It is a homegrown brand and its PanT20 collection is named after Rohit Pant.

Rishabh Pants says, the Pant Project’s new collection helps consumers move around comfortably while looking dapper at the same time. The brand was launched in India in October 2020 during COVID and offers a full-service e-tailor solution for custom-made pants for men across India.

The brand’s ambition to be India’s #1 Direct-to-Consumer Clothing Brand and the world’s leading new-age E-Tailor comes at a time when people are preferring an online shopping experience from the comfort and safety of their homes.

Fashion and lifestyle retailer Good Earth has launched womenswear brand ThePlavate in its New Delhi store with its spring/ summer 2021 collection of handloom cotton dresses and separates.

As per Fashion Network, shoppers can also browse the new collection with the help of Good Earth’s personal shopping service. Stylists will showcase pieces from the collection and make recommendations then ship pieces to customers.

Good Earth also recently launched Aneeth Arora’s brand Pero’s new collection ‘Locked in Love’ at its Khan Market store. The pastel hued collection was inspired by lockdown last year and how it brought many people together.

While Good Earth’s Khan Market store is continuing to hold brand launches, rising COVID-19 cases in Maharashtra have caused the business to announce that its Mumbai stores in Juhu, Raghuvanshi Mills, and Colaba will remain closed until April 30.

Nykaa Fashion, a multi-brand fashion e-commerce platform has acquired online jewellery brand Pipa Bella to expand its jewellery category to offer fashion jewellery and accessories.

As per Economic Times, Pipa Bella will continue to offer its services on its own website and also extend this functionality as a consumer brand under the Nykaa Fashion portfolio.

Pipa Bella's jewellery line includes over 1,500 styles and the brand targets the 22-35-year-old urban women. It reflects Nykaa's vision to always stand for good quality and well-curated designs at accessible prices.

Pipa Bella's founder Shuchi Pandya said Pipa Bella has always been a customer-centric brand, focusing on premium design at reasonable prices.

The brand has found strong synergies with Nykaa Fashion's positioning within the e-commerce fashion landscape and its manner of engagement with its wide network of customers around the country. This association will allow Pipa Bella to reach a larger customer base and leverage the massive number of users visiting Nykaa Fashion every month, she added.

Puducherry-headquartered leather brand Hidesign plans to focus on e-commerce exports through the Amazon Global Selling platform particularly in developed markets. The decision to use the Amazon platform in markets like the UK, US, Germany and Australia among others was taken following the twin squeeze of high overheads in global markets and sales disruption due to the pandemic.

As per Economic Times, the brand’s switch to the Amazon platform will complement its brick-and-mortar strategy for neighborhood export markets. Hidesign is sticking to the store-led approach in markets like Sri Lanka where it has a ‘three-store tie up’ and in Nepal where it has a ‘similar arrangement. The company has a tieup with Noon for e-commerce presence in Middle East and Egypt.

With profitability taking a hit, the brand is also cutting back it's presence in airport retail which suffered as air travel was down drastically due to the pandemic.

It closed 20 stores, many in airports, and have opened 6 new ones and tied up with Fabindia to have a more comprehensive high street presence.

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Amazon India has witnessed a strong growth in its sellers and rise in number of 'crorepati' businesses on the platform even during the pandemic-hit year, reports Economic Times.

As per Amit Agarwal, Senior Vice President and Country Head, Amazon India, more than 2.5 lakh new sellers have joined since last year, and that the rate at which sellers have come online has gone by 50 per cent post COVID-19.

Amazon, Reliance Industries and Walmart Inc's Flipkart are locked in a battle to gain market share in India, where millions of middle-class customers are newly adopting online purchases of food and groceries due to the pandemic. The booming e-commerce market in the country is expected to touch $86 billion by 2024, according to research firm Forrester.

E-commerce companies have pumped in billions of dollars in setting up infrastructure like warehouses and logistics as well as marketing and promotions to woo users to their platforms, especially from tier II cities and beyond.