12 October 2022, Mumbai:

Pandemic restrictions lifted, people are out and about, making up for the lost time of 2020 and 2021. Yes, they are thronging at malls like they did before and malls couldn’t be happier. As new brands enter the market, they are tapping in on people’s rekindled exuberance of going out for a spot of “malling”. Diwali and the big winter wedding season are going to be bumper harvest as people are pulling all stops to celebrate in style.

The 2021 festive season was lukewarm because retailers were partially open and there was still some apprehension about going to public places, but this year looks very promising. More specifically, the fashion, personal care, and electronics verticals are expected to generate a lot of demand in the coming months as people revel in the festive celebration.

Customer engagement

Whilst people have returned to malls, they have come with more expectations. The two years of lockdown has given consumers a taste for online shopping and brands have picked up on that and most are now omnichannel. The customer of the future does not shop merely for functional purposes but also for the experience, which starts much before the actual purchase transaction. Needless to say, malls are trying their best to resonate with their customers by reflecting attitudinal change in shopping and current trends.

Malls today try to create enriching experiences for customers by creating engaging decor/ selfie points, curating tech-based games involving AI, VR, offering various deals, announcing contests on social media platforms, inviting influencers to showcase latest fashion and trends, conducting DIY workshops and masterclasses with beauty experts, chefs etc., organising events for kids and families that offer a wholesome entertaining experience, arranging concerts and performances.

Corporations jumping in to cash in on the wedding season

The celebration-wear category is super excited about the upcoming festive and wedding season. As this Diwali and the wedding season are set to break all records, malls are decked up in the finest customer experiences to capture every rupee of what customers are expected to spend.

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07 October 2022, Mumbai:

Consumers have turned to ethnic wear in a big way. They are upgrading their wardrobes for the festivities and the wedding season. So demand for ethnic and occasion wear has picked up at Indian malls and retailers. Sales of jewelry and occasion wear, which saw a tough time, have picked up. This time the wedding season is going to be long and people are going back to big-ticket weddings.

Consumers are looking for differentiated products and are willing to pay the price as long as they see value in the products. While inflation remains a concern for a large cohort of shoppers, those celebrating significant occasions after a gap of two years are not holding back on spending.

Fashion goods contributed 20 per cent to the gross merchandise value during the ongoing online festive sales. Fashion, as a category, grew three times compared to business-as-usual days, or non-sale days, during the first leg of the festive sales. Sales at few malls had surpassed 2019 levels in September.

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30 September 2022, Mumbai:

In a few days Uniqlo will open a high street store in New Delhi. This will be the Japanese retailer’s ninth store in India.

The store will introduce a brand new shopping experience for customers with its thoughtful designs, and high-quality and functional products that are made for all. The store measures close to 8000 sq. ft. of sales area across three levels.

The store will feature Uniqlo LifeWear, available in a variety of colors and styles for people of all ages. This apparel comes from the Japanese values of simplicity, quality, and longevity.It will also offer an entire range of fall and winter products for men, women, and children. Customers can also find easy care rayon, denim, fine cloth shirts, and smart ankle pants.

For the first time since it came to India three years ago Uniqlo has made a profit. As an international brand, it is able to get good locations and is a preferred tenant, which helps in generating sales, especially in top cities. To date, Uniqlo operates stores in Indian cities including New Delhi and Bangalore. The fast fashion retailer aims to continue its growth trajectory by continuing to expand its brick-and-mortar presence in the country.

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12 October 2022, Mumbai:

Royal Enfield has launched an exciting merchandise of jeans extending its iconic brand into the fashion.

Royal Enfield’s Carapace riding jeans look and feel like a regular pair of jeans. They offer D30 L2 armour at the knee and hip. They look like a regular pair of jeans that can be worn anywhere and everywhere. The fit at the waist is a bit snug. That is probably down to the hip armour. The other options in the segment are the Bikeratti jeans and the Korda riding jeans.

Bikeratti Jeans

Bikeratti Jeans offer a base (L1 armour) and a pro version (L2 armour) of blue and black jeans and are lined with Dupont Kevlar. Korda Riding Jeans

Korda Riding Jeans have safe-tech Level 2 armour for knees, Kevlar lining in the knee and buttock region, stretch panel at the groin area of a different colour, which potentially makes these pants unusable for regular use and the hip armour has to be upgraded to Level 2.

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10 October 2022, Mumbai:

VaraMahalakshmi Silks has opened a store in Tamil Nadu. This is VaraMahalakshmi’s third store in Tamil Nadu. The store spread over 4000 sqft offers premium product offerings, including a variety of saris such as Banarasi, Patola, Kota, Kanchipuram, Paithani, Organza, Kuppadam etc., with a major focus on handlooms such as Kanchipuram silk sarees.

VaraMahalakshmi is run by ethnic apparel retailer Sai Silks which derives most of its revenue from women’s garments, contributing around 80 per cent of sales. VaraMahalakshmi Silks opens third store in Tamil Nadu

Sai Silks is present in four major states of South India-- Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. Sai Silks Kalamandir, a Hyderabad based company, began its retail journey in 2005 and redefined the fashion retailing industry in India with four major brands, namely Kalamandir, Kancheepuram Varamahalakshmi Silks, Mandir, KLM Fashion mall. Kalamandir is a family store with apparels for women, men and children. Kancheepuram Varamahalakshmi Silks has a wide collection of silk saris direct from weavers and multiple designs. Mandir is an exclusive sari store with exquisitely designed silk saris and lehengas. KLM Fashion mall is a mall with a value format and a great experience for men, women and children with a wide variety of choices.

In February 2013, the company attempted to enter the primary market by providing a safety net scheme for retail investors but had to withdraw from the IPO.

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28 September 2022, Mumbai:

The sari market in India is growing at eight percent a year.

In the total Indian textile and apparel market, the sari has a market share of 42 percent. Adaptability has been ingrained in the warp and weft of the sari, which hasn't lost its relevance pan-India despite the western onslaught.

Today, the sari has seen many innovative and artisanal renditions to woo the modern, thinking woman in a youthful way. New dimensions are being curated out of the existing template of the sari to make it culturally emblematic. These resemble a sari but are in fact a stitched dress with a long piece of fabric that can be styled in a number of ways to resemble the draped garment

Among the other textile products that are growing in double digits in the Indian apparel market are jeans (13 percent), underwear/panties (13 percent), T-shirts (12 percent), brassieres (12 percent), frocks (11 percent), and salwar kameez (ten percent).

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09 October 2022, Mumbai:

With the only thing constant in life being change, there’s a brand new trend in the Indian fashion industry that is changing the dynamics of business houses. Fashion designers are now tying up with big corporate houses, as just designing and selling couture is no longer enough and they desperately need to expand their customer base with more accessible price points supported by a wider product portfolio and distribution network. Currently, Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Ltd (ABFRL) and Reliance Brands Ltd (RBL), are betting huge on Indian designers with a number of tie-ups with renowned designers, and legacy brands to jumpstart their global and domestic marketing and distribution networks by joining forces with leading retail companies.

RBI and ABFRL ties up with various design houses

Earlier in 2022, RBL had bought a 51 percent majority stake in couture brand Abu Jani Sandeep Khosla and all their supplementary offerings, which included GULABO by Abu Sandeep, ASAL by Abu Sandeep and MARD by Abu Sandeep. After that Jani and Khosla have become the newest additions to an impressive line-up for Reliance who have tied up with renowned designers such as Satya Paul, Raghavendra Rathore, Ritu Kumar, Anamika Khanna, Manish Malhotra, Rahul Mishra, and Abraham & Thakore among others. Around six of these partnerships took place in just the past year proving that this trend is here to stay in the long run. RBL has entered into a partnership with Rahul Mishra into a 60:40 joint venture to create a new ready-to-wear brand.

The collaboration trend was started by ABFRL when in 2019 it acquired a 51 percent stake in designers Shantanu & Nikhil’s company Finesse International Design. It has quickly followed this with tie-ups last year that includes a 51 percent stake in designer Sabyasachi Mukherjee’s fashion house as well as establishing a new company with designer Tarun Tahiliani which launched a contemporary men’s ethnic wear brand called Tasva, and together they have a goal of selling Rs 500 crore worth of men’s ethnic clothes and accessories in five years. Now ABFRL’s latest is, its 51percent stake in House of Masaba Lifestyle, owned by designer Masaba Gupta. This brand is planning to achieve annual revenues of around Rs 500 crore in the next five years with a product portfolio that will include everything from garments and accessories to lifestyle products while focusing on building a huge domestic brand for the new generation of digital-first customers.

Smooth transition from western to Indian designer brands

Although ABFRL and RBL have specialized in western wear brands for many years, they are now interested in Indian designers mainly due to the affordability factor. ABFRL owns and markets huge brand names such as Louis Philippe, Van Heusen, and Allen Solly while RBL, as part of Reliance Industries, has partnered with more than 60 global brands including Burberry, Coach, Jimmy Choo, Diesel, and Michael Kors, among others. But unlike the men’s western wear market, there are various Indian designers who have a versatile product portfolio, and since these brands are reasonably priced, it makes sense to enter into a partnership or even acquire them

As per Edelweiss, the ethnic wear market in India is pegged at $20 billion, of which 70 percent is unorganized and this is the segment that the big retailers are tapping. Industry experts are of the opinion that may be after 10-20 years, some of the big corporate houses will acquire the smaller design companies fully or tie up with the bigger names. As the corporates continue their tie-ups with design house and create a bridge between high-end luxury and pret-a-port lines, more Indians will be wearing designer brands.

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30 September 2022, Mumbai:

Indian women usually wear baggy outfits during pregnancy rather than clothing especially suited for maternity use. So says Mylo, a leading full-stack solution for expecting and new mothers. The salwar kameez, with its give and forgiving silhouette, has been the go-to option for pregnant women in the country for generations.

However, 76 percent of Indian women believe one should invest in maternity wear. The most popular purchase platforms for maternity wear are general e-commerce sites, followed by maternity-specific D2C portals.

Maternity tops are donned by 13 percent of women while maternity bottoms (leggings and trousers) are used by less than ten percent. Almost every woman prioritizes comfort when selecting maternity clothing with a preference for breathable yet structured options that can provide adequate support.

Word-of-mouth is the strongest guiding factor for making a purchase, with the majority of women relying on friends and family for advice, followed by 20 percent depending on recommendations from online influencers. But celebrities are not really influencers for maternity wear. Just two percent of Indian women take their cue from celebrities.

Women across the country are still looking for the right maternity wear option that not only provides optimal comfort but does not compromise on style and is available in every budget.

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27 September 2022, Mumbai:

Internally nicknamed Regalia, the fast fashion label from Reliance Retail is gearing up to take on international fast fashion brands like Zara and H&M.

In India, fast fashion is the fastest growing segment in the apparel and lifestyle sector, the proof being the enormous success Zara, H&M, and other international brands have profited from.

Devangshu Dutta, founder of retail consulting firm Third Eyesight said, "International brands have the advantage of a certain cachet, which has allowed them to gain disproportionate visibility, both in terms of share of mind and share of space in prime locations in the larger cities, which has allowed them to grow rapidly.

However, the market can certainly accommodate more fashion brands. Reliance will need to not only create a viable product-retail mix but connect with the aspirational aspects in the consumer's mind to compete with the international brands."

Biggest retailer hunts for suitable space, positioning for the new model

Taking on this challenge, Reliance Retail is confident of making its presence felt. It is currently the largest fashion and lifestyle retailer in the country with a network of nearly 4,000 stores across segments from ethnic and values fashion to luxury brands. It also runs Marks & Spencer stores in India and recently partnered with Gap. Additionally, talks are underway with LVMH for its beauty chain Sephora.

The label hasn’t been officially named yet as its brick-and-mortar presence is being finalized. Finishing touches are on at the selected outlets in Mumbai and Gurugram in High Street Phoenix and Airia Mall respectively. Delhi, Hyderabad, and Bengaluru are also a part of the initial launch with 20,000 to 30,000 square feet planned for the debut.

It has been acknowledged by Reliance Retail that it is finding the availability of large retail spaces at shopping destinations a bit challenging with malls running at full capacity.

The new brand is expected to have mid-premium pricing and will bank on the young consumer segment. Zudio, the partnership between Tata and Zara has already been launched and will be the direct local competitor. Perhaps Zudio’s success was the inspiration Reliance Retail was looking for.

Since the announcement that Reliance Retail was entering the tough FMCG market earlier this year, it is not a surprise that the retail giant would enter the fast fashion market. And why not as the market value of textile and apparel across India in the financial year 2021 was USD 80 billion and this value was estimated to reach USD 190 billion by 2026.

Gold Collar defines India’s new high-income group

In the world of fast fashion, India is increasingly a focal point for the industry. A rapidly growing middle class and an increasingly powerful manufacturing sector are two key elements that combined together with strong economic fundamentals and growing tech-savvy, make India too important for international brands to ignore.

According to Sanjay Kapoor, founder of Genesis Luxury, an Indian luxury retail conglomerate, higher incomes are likely to create a whole new class of consumers: “We are moving on toward the ‘gold collar worker. It’s a term that defines the well-paid, highly paid professionals, who are happy to look good, happy to feel good, and are expanding the consumption of today.”

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