Fibre2Fashion Magazine June 2018 June 2018 | Page 52

Intimate Goes Indian
Intimatewear is an integral segment of apparel manufacturing; it also lies at the core of
any individual’s set of garment requirements. Even conservative estimates put the share of
intimatewear in the average consumer’s garment expenditure to be as much as ten per cent.
Although—globally speaking—intimatewear manufacturing is consistently scaling new heights,
Indian intimatewear manufacturing is arguably still in a nascent stage. India is a long way off from
realising its—well—potential.
The current state of affairs is not a State secret—the Indian intimatewear market has been
growing rapidly over the last few years. The current market size is estimated to be $4.8 billion, which
marks an 11 per cent increase over 2014; and, the share of intimatewear is roughly 8 per cent of the
total domestic apparel market. The segment is expected to grow at a healthy pace in the coming
years—by 2025, the market will be worth a whopping $13 billion.
Very broadly speaking—in terms of product segmentation at least, intimatewear in India can
be safely categorised into three major segments: women’s innerwear, men’s innerwear and kids’
innerwear. The market is dominated and also being driven by women’s innerwear which holds
sway over 50 per cent of the landscape. The value of women’s innerwear alone is estimated to be
around $2.4 billion. Men’s innerwear accounts for 38 per cent with an estimated market value of
$1.8 billion, and the kids’ constituent is surprisingly low in terms of value ($0.5 billion). The women’s
innerwear component is the fastest-growing among the three and is expected to wrap up 60 per
cent of the market share by 2025.
Growth of Innerwear Segments in India Till 2025 ($billion )
2025 (P)
2016
7.5
2.4
1.8
3.9
1.3
0.5
Womenswear
Menswear
Kidswear
Source: Wazir Analysis
The mark