25 August 2022, Mumbai

In a funding round led by Singlurity Growth Opportunities Fund, D2C menswear brand XYXX Apparels raised around $11 million (Rs 90 crore). The funding also includes a debt infusion of around $2 million (Rs 15 crore) from Trifecta Capital.

The brand’s existing investors including Sauce Venture Capital and DSG Consumer Partners also participated in the funding round. Including the latest round of funding, XYXX has raised around $17 million so far.

XYXX’s last funding round was conducted in June 2021, when it raised Rs30 crore in its Series A round of funding. The D2C brand is also backed by Indian cricketer KL Rahul, who is also its brand ambassador since April 2022.

XYXX will use the incoming cash to expand its geographical reach and bolster its presence in existing markets with a new range of products. Further, XYXX will deploy the incoming funds to enter into modern retail, large-format stores, and exclusive brand stores.

Founded in 2017 by YogeshKabra, XYXX is a menswear brand that produces and sells products across multiple categories including innerwear, loungewear, comfort wear, activewear, and winter wear.

The D2C brand currently sells across 14,000 multi-brand outlets across 100 cities. XYXX also has a presence across major e-commerce players such as Amazon, Myntra, and Flipkart, while having its own website.

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24 August 2022, Mumbai

IMARC Group's latest report, titled ‘India Lingerie Market: Industry Trends, Share, Size, Growth, Opportunity and Forecast 2022-2027,’ projects, that the Indian lingerie market will grow at 13.13 percent CAGR during 2022-2027.

The lingerie market in India is primarily driven by the increasing preference for personal hygiene. Other factors driving the market include the rising number of female workforce participation across the country, along with consumer preference shifting towards trendy intimate wear, bridal, sports, and regular lingerie products.

In recent years, social and cultural movements, such as inclusivity, diversity, positivity, and sustainability, are significantly supporting the demand for lingerie in India.

Apart from this, the proliferation of organized retail channels across the country is positively influencing the Indian lingerie market. This is attributed to the emergence of numerous stores in specialty formats, hypermarkets/supermarkets, and online lingerie retail stores.

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27 August 2022, Mumbai

‘Being Human Clothing’ has launched a new collection inspired by the theme of gender fluidity. Aptly titled ‘Blur,’ the range celebrates individuality and inclusivity.

It offers casualwear garments – fashioned in trendy and gender-diffused styles. The collection is available in unrestricted sizes.

Sanjeev Rao, CEO of ‘Being Human Clothing’ says, the collection enables the brand to be featured among the progressive labels of India that have embraced the concept of gender-fluid fashion. It diffuses all fashion boundaries.

Being Human is a fashion brand by Mandhani Industries. The company was established under Being Human –The Salman Khan Foundation dedicated to the cause of providing education and healthcare to the underprivileged section of society.

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25 August 2022, Mumbai

Indian fashion exhibition Sutraa, which recently completed 11 years of operations, organized a two-day fair in Chennai.

The event was attended by over 80 exhibitors, best in their respective products, displaying their collections. From ethnic Indian apparel to international western wear, from smart casuals to trendy chic, from prêt lines to couture, from accessories to garments/apparel, and from home décor to lifestyle products, there will be something for every disposition

Sutraa exhibits the dynamic accumulation of high-quality originator attire, home-stylistic themes, couture embellishments, adornments, footwear, and more. This way-of-life show in Chennai offers the best fashion brands from all over the nation.

Sutraa aims to promote fashion throughout all the B-cities. It has accomplished itself in cities like Lucknow, Nagpur, Ranchi, Hyderabad, Indore, Raipur, Guwahati, Patna, Bengaluru, Ahmedabad, Surat, Kanpur, Bhubaneswar, etc, and has successfully held over 400 shows.

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27 August 2022, Mumbai

The foreign direct investment (FDI) policy in the e-commerce space needs to be clarified and the sector promoted by plugging loopholes, said industry body PHDCCI in the letter to Anurag Jain, Secretary, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT).

The chamber said online retailers are exploring loopholes in the current policy to conduct inventory-based e-commerce/multi-brand retail trade in the garb of running marketplace platforms.

The present policy allows 100 percent FDI in marketplace e-commerce platforms and prohibits foreign direct investment in inventory-based models of e-commerce.

A report of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Commerce has made some key observations and recommendations in the interest of the Indian consumer and other stakeholders who not only influence the consumers' choices in e-commerce but also shape the e-commerce ecosystem, it added.

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24 August 2022, Mumbai

Posting its highest ever sales in the last quarter, footwear major Bata India continues to focus on casualization, premiumization, and its strategy of introducing good quality products.

Besides opening select stores across metros, the company is expanding across Tier II and III cities, explains Vidhya Srinivasan, CFO.

The rise in demand across channels, and geographies.

As per Srinivasan, Bata India is witnessing a surge in demand across all sales channels. The brand is seeing increased demand across multiple geographies with Tier II, and III cities driving most of the demand. The rise in input costs and GST tax rates have impacted the brand’s profit margins.

However, it is adopting a cautious approach and trying to absorb the price rise. Srinivasan says the demand for footwear has stabilized after an initial sugar-rush post lockdown. With more people going back to offices and schools reopening, demand across Tier II and III cities has grown.

Expanding retail footprint in smaller cities

Exploring this demand, Bata India opened many franchise stores in Tier II and III cities and is seeing their sales grow. Encouraged by this, the brand aims to boost the total store count in these cities as awareness about branded products grows. Bata India is also setting up franchise outlets across India, adds Srinivasan.

Though recent inflationary pressures and a hike in GST rates caused the brand to increase product prices, it did not see any major dip in demand. The brand is present across price brands and aims to introduce new products within this range.

Adopting the franchise route, Bata India is opening 20-30 stores quarter to quarter and has over 320 stores at the moment. It aims to increase its store count to 500 besides expanding its product portfolio.

Ensuring the right product mix for the festive season

Bata India continues to focus on its strategy of casualization, premiumization, introducing new products, and opening new stores. During the pandemic, the increased focus on sneakers amid rising demand from young consumers.

The casual wear range was enhanced while new floaters, flip flops, sandals, and sliders were introduced. Bata India also launched a one-stop solution called ‘Sneaker Studio’ during the pandemic.

Consumers reacted positively to this move and demand for sneakers increased by 40 percent, Srinivasan informs. Looking forward to the upcoming festive season, Bata India aims to ensure it has the right inventory mix to cater to consumers’ diverse needs.

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22 August 2022, Mumbai

Women’s traditional wear brand Kalki has forayed into the New Delhi market by opening its largest store to date in South Extension featuring a dedicated bridal segment.

Kalki’s new flagship store opened with an array of ornate occasion wear ranging from ombre lehengas to sarees and gowns. The store also has a bridal section to offer a dedicated service to brides-to-be. The store’s interior mixes antique gold hardware and fittings with an industrial ceiling for a fusion effect, designed to reflect the fusion style aesthetic of the label.

Kalki launched in Mumbai in 2007 and works with a team of 500 artisans to produce its womenswear designs. The brand also has a flagship store in Mumbai and has a customer base in India, as well as in countries including the US, UK, Canada, and Australia among others.

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26 August 2022, Mumbai

With its management focusing on retail expansion along with balance sheet discipline, Aditya Birla Fashion Retail (ABFRL) saw a partial recovery in the business in FY22.

As per a BQ Prime report, hit by the second COVID wave, the company’s consolidated revenue remained 7 per cent below pre-COVID levels (FY20). Its EBITDA margin remained stable at 13.5per cent on strong cost control.

ABFRL’s revenue from the lifestyle segment remained resilient, reaching pre-COVID levels.Revenue from Pantaloons remained 25 per cent below pre-COVID levels as its large format stores and its higher presence in malls was severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

ABFRL’s EBITDA contribution from ethnic wear and other segments grew to 4 per cent from -5 per cent, led by a recovery in fast fashion, innerwear, and recent ethnic wear foray.

24 August 2022, Mumbai

Garment exporters of Rajasthan are seeking an amendment in the structure of the Rebate of State and Central Taxes and Levies (RoSCTL) owing to the loss of 15 percent in their profit margins.

Exporters also fear a decline in export competitiveness, like their other counterparts across the country. The garment/apparel manufacturing sector in the state is worth Rs 2,500 crore.

Vimal Shah, President of Garment Exporters Association of Rajasthan (GEAR) says, the textile industry wants the government to restart cash reimbursement instead of these tradable scrips, as these scrips are trading at a 20 percent discount.

These scripts are sold by exporters to importers, who in turn can pay their import duty with these purchased scrips as an alternative to cash import duty payments. This is resulting in substantial cash transfer from exporters to importers, said Shah in a statement.

Vijay Jindal, Member, Export Promotion, AEPC & President, GEMA adds, that the RoSCTL scheme provides rebates against the taxes, levies, etc. already paid by the exporters on the inputs. This rebate has been converted into scrips that are tradable i.e. exporters can sell scrips to the importers and importers, in turn, can pay import duty with these purchased scrips as an alternative to cash import duty payments.

RoSCTL was launched with the intention to make India’s textile industry competitive and strengthen its exports. However, certain changes were made to the scheme in September 2021 and its current form is eroding the export margins of the domestic textile industry.

Based on estimated calculations, of the total $16 billion in apparel exports, around 5 percent is reimbursement, which is roughly Rs 6,000 crore.

At a broad level, given a discount of 20-25 percent on this, there is a direct hit of around Rs 1,500 crore on the feeble margins of companies operating in the apparel sector.

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22 August 2022, Mumbai

New dimensions are pushing brands to open physical stores. Iron Tailor aims to take the same route by opening an outlet in Raipur by the end of this year. The brand plans to open more outlets next year in Tier I cities like Mumbai, Bangalore, and Delhi.

The brand also plans to expand its product portfolio with a new collection of belts and wallets. It had begun selling leather bags for men. But, the product's publicity increased, and consumers started buying from them through Instagram, other social media sites, and even exhibitions.

However, digital media will stay the first marketplace for Iron Tailor and its team. It looks forward to creating an exceptional presence in the digital media, making sales through their website, and becoming available on almost all e-commerce platforms.

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