Apparel September 2019 Apparel September 2019 issue | Page 77

INDUSTRY INSIGHTS
(IReC) 2019, attributed this retail boom to the
transformation of airports in India. He went on to
say that the sprawling infrastructure of airports
and their accessibility among travellers in prime
cities of India has made them a hub for modern
Indian trade. This, combined with the unique and
diverse nature of the offline Indian retail realm,
makes India strive ahead of the other countries.
TALKING BUSINESS
If we take a closer look at the Indian retail space,
then we will see that it is dominated by apparel,
which is in the second position, following food
and grocery. The industry, with its plethora of
retailers, distributors, manufacturers, and of
course, consumers, has become a historical
segment of growth in India. Going by the old retail
business model, it is easy to spot that affordability
ruled the game. Even though this model has
stayed on to appease the crowd, much more has
happened within the space to contribute to the
retail big bang!
Moving away from conventional retail outlets
that house multiple brands or collections under
one roof, we are witnessing a spurt of significant
revolutions in this arena. Single-brand outlets,
the arrival of international brands onto Indian
shores, and the modernisation of retail formats,
all have started making way for a bigger change.
Moreover, with digitisation making a vocal impact,
a shift in the gear in the retail sector is quite
visible. As of 2017, 6,000 shopping malls were
fully operational and over 800 malls were under
construction in India. This boom further opened
up space for brands and retailers to find their
niche within the Indian market. While reports claim
that unorganised display, unavailability of card
WITH DIGITISATION
MAKING A VOCAL IMPACT,
A SHIFT IN THE GEAR
WITHIN THE RETAIL
SECTOR IS QUITE VISIBLE.