Apparel Online India Magazine August 1st Issue 2018 | Page 48

DOMESTIC UPDATE
Athlos activewear
Turmswear stain resistant denim
Playing with Performance: Sportswear’s New Landscape in Indian Retail
Sportswear has become
something of a saviour for
the fashion industry in the
last decade. The appetite for
sportswear’s sub-trends like
athleisure, streetwear, athluxury
and now performancewear has
come to be seen as absolutely
insatiable. There was a time
when you walked into a store
with an intention of buying a
T-shirt and knew there was not
much beyond the basic colour
and neckline choices to make.
Nowadays, often people aren’t
even walking into stores and
shopping has not just shifted
online, but there are also a
wide range of options which
are both fashionable and heavy
on performance qualities
to choose from. This notion
proves to be completely true
in the sportswear sector where
brands are constantly proposing
innovative fabric developments
to target an ever-evolving
customer demand.
A
ccording to a research report on
the Global Sportswear Market, the
projections suggest a robust growth
represented by a CAGR of 5.80% during
the period from 2018-2023. It is clear
that sportswear isn’t just big business,
but practically it’s the crutch for fashion
industry’s speedy growth. Looming
closer home, this wellness trend is not
wasted on the Indian market either.
Capitalising on an enormous population
base, growing disposable income, more
casual workplace as well as a rising
consciousness for health, sportswear
giants have built a strong base in the
country. Adding to this the popularity of
activities like trekking, hiking and yoga
amongst the youth, there is a market for
every type of activewear brand in the
country right now.
Take the example of Alcis Sportswear,
the biggest homegrown sportswear
brand, which is expecting a 7X jump in
revenue from last year to reach Rs. 28
crore (approx. US $ 4.3 million) by the
end of 2018. While Alcis’ goes head to
head with the likes of Nike and Adidas,
there are plenty of younger sports and
performancewear brands experimenting
with everything from risqué sports bras
to workout apparel made from bamboo
shoots to quench India’s growing thirst
for functional fashion.
MEET THE NEW KIDS
ON THE BLOCK!
Taking up the multi-faceted
role of inspiring and helping
women to work out better is
48 Apparel Online India | AUGUST 1-15, 2018 | www.apparelresources.com
Aneesha Labroo’s women’s
activewear brand Kica. Identifying a
gap in the market for stylish and high
quality affordable products, Labroo
launched the work-out essentials brand
a year ago and sells everything from
sports bras, tank tops to joggers and
jackets in form-enhancing, moisture
wicking fabrics.
Labroo initially launched online with a
pop-up kiosk in Delhi’s Select Citywalk
for 6 months and recently opened her
first store in the nearby shopping centre,
DLF Promenade. However, she says her
expansion model still focuses more on
the online presence, adding, “We have
very promising sales reach all over
the country through our e-store, with
a pretty big average basket size.” Up
next for Kica will be furthering offline
expansion through different gyms/
studios, already an important part of the
brand’s marketing strategy.
Operating on a somewhat opposite
end of the spectrum is Mumbai-based
Athlos that steers clear of trends and
heavy styling. Athlos’ assortment
consists of basics for both men and
women with a range of T-shirts, training
shorts and work-out towels. The brand
uses materials made from bamboo or
eucalyptus fibres for benefits such as
skin-tight softness, 4-way stretch, quick
drying and odour prevention.
Co-Founder and Creative Director
of Athlos, Shruti Kamath says, “Our
initial launch was a single T-shirt for
men and women and every launch since
then has been a lot of repeated R&D. So