MARKET WATCH
PE Firms Invest in Ethnic
Wear Brands in India
Arvind Fashions to Offer
Personalised Shopping
Experience
Arvind Fashions, a licensee of numerous
international fashion brands, has signed a MoU
with Nucleus Vision, an IoT and blockchain
company, for a pilot project to offer a personalised
experience to their shoppers.
Following this partnership, Arvind will implement
Nucleus Vision's proprietary sensor technology in
their Gap, Unlimited and U. S. Polo Assn. stores
to strengthen customer analytics. Nucleus Vision
technology will provide valuable insights into
customer behaviour at Arvind Fashions, which will
help the brand to improve customer satisfaction and
increase revisits.
Through this association, Arvind Fashions intends
to offer consumers a more personalised retail
shopping experience, and therefore tap into
new opportunities.
A number of leading ethnic wear brands in
India have seen an increase in private equity
investments in their companies with diluting
minority stakes in the last few years. Fabindia,
one of the largest ethnic wear brands in India,
received investments from PremjiInvest and
L Capital—PE arm of leading luxury goods
conglomerate Louis Vuitton Moët
Hennessy (LVMH).
Private equity firm Kedaara Capital had
acquired about 10 per cent stake in Vedant
Fashions, which owns ethnic brand Manyavar,
for R400-450 crore in 2017. PE fund Everstone
Capital also owns a minority stake by investing
R100 crore ($16.6 million) in fashion label Ritu
Kumar. US-based PE fund TA Associates also
owns a significant minority stake in women wear
brand W.
Mumbai based Alpha Capital has made
investments in InCred Finance, Foodlink Services,
CredAble and Hero Electric. SHR Lifestyles,
owner of women ethnic wear brand Shree, has
raised R80 crore of equity capital from Alpha
Capital Advisors. The funding will be utilised
to further deepen its reach in existing markets
and opening up new geographies. The brand is
currently in the process of building up a national
footprint. It plans to expand its store network
to over 300 stores in the states of Kerala, Tamil
Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Punjab,
Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, and
Madhya Pradesh.
Woodland Expects Business to Grow as Demand for T-shirts
Increases
Major outdoor gear, footwear, and apparel brand, Woodland, expects its business to grow at a good rate in the
forthcoming season. Well-established in the knitwear segment, the brand offers t-shirts in polo, round and V-neck styles.
“Currently estimated to be worth R23,211 crore, the t-shirts market in India is expected to grow at a promising CAGR
of 10 per cent to reach R61,954 crore by 2027,” says Harkirat Singh, Managing Director. As per industry statistics, men’s
segment holds a major share followed by women’s and kids’. However, the women’s segment is growing at a rapid pace
due to the comparatively lower base of its size, and increasing acceptance of casual clothing amongst women. “Comfort,
design, affordability, etc. are propelling the growth of the T-shirt market in India,” Singh observes.
“Its popularity is further augmented due to the easy availability and affordability of T-shirts. The category is likely to
witness immense growth in the next five years,” he informs.
Singh also refutes the allegation that the branded segment is overpriced. “In India, we have brands for every category
of consumers; there are expensive as well as affordable brands, so one cannot say it is overpriced. Branded products are
more expensive compared to non-branded because of their quality,” he adds.
Moreover, brand awareness has increased tremendously in the last eight to ten years, and people are seeking out
products from well-known brands.
26
I APPAREL I
June 2019