Apparel April 2019 Apparel May 2019 issue | Page 63

APPAREL
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2022. The growing penetration of the Internet,
social media and e-commerce is now reaching
consumers in tier II cities and below, thereby
increasing access to brands and products. New
operating models such as omnichannel and
assisted e-commerce could further fuel growth
and adoption of online commerce,” says Tanvi
Malik, Co-founder, FabAlley and Indya.
According to expert reports, about 25 per
cent of the volume of the garment production
goes into export markets, leaving 75 per cent
for domestic consumption. “As this specific
industry is intensively labour-oriented, especially
the activity in production and marketing has
now shifted to India and China being leading
suppliers as well as markets for garments, it is
expected that the robust growth in this segment
can be attributed to the rising income levels
and job opportunities in the country,” says R
P Yadav, Chairman and Managing Director,
Genius Consultants Ltd. The future for the Indian
textile industry looks promising, buoyed by both
strong domestic consumption as well as export
demand. With consumerism, disposable income,
and penetration of organised retail rising and
the demographics being favourable, the retail
sector has experienced rapid growth in the past
decade and has witnessed the entry of several
international players. High economic growth has
resulted in higher disposable income.
NUMBER CRUNCHING
India’s garment industry is one of the biggest in
the world—a whopping US$1 trillion business.
Fabric-wise, 80 per cent is cotton, 15 per cent is
synthetic and mixed, the rest being silk and wool.
Out of the entire business, a mammoth 75 per cent
is consumed by domestic consumers, while the
remaining 25 per cent is set for exports. The apparel
industry employs more than six million people directly
and indirectly, from fabric manufacturing to sewing/
embroidery thread, buttons, buckles, zipper making,
etc. “The Indian apparel industry has emerged as
one of the world’s fastest growing markets over the
past few years and is projected to grow at 15 per
cent CAGR till 2022 and become a US$102 billion
market, as per a recent report. Mobile platforms
are expected to influence more than two thirds of
both apparel and fashion accessory purchases by
reasonable price range. The middle income group
of India, which is the biggest buyer of textiles/fabrics,
is shifting its loyalties to the ready-to-wear brands
which are very affordable and are manufactured
keeping in mind the taste and affordability of
this segment.”
Counterfeiting is holding back the apparel industry
from making significant strides as the counterfeit
market continues to thrive at an alarming pace.
With each fake product sold as a genuine branded
product, thousands of brands are affected. “Apart
from dented revenues, big brands also suffer from
damaged image and reputation because of the
fake product’s poor quality. So, there is a need
to obstruct counterfeit players if we are moving
towards organised clothing and apparel retail. Also,
all brands, be it a start-up or a well-established
fashion player, are concerned with costly returns
due to sizing and fitting issues. The problem is more
disturbing in the e-commerce landscape as there’s
no standardised sizing chart in India that all brands
follow or that shoppers are aware of. Despite having
size measurement charts available online, shoppers
are not able to choose a dress that would fit them
best,” says Nidhi Yadav, Creative Head and Founder,
AKS Clothings.
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INDUSTRY INSIGHTS
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May 2019
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