Fibre2Fashion Magazine June 2018 June 2018 | Page 58

The Indian consumer is still evolving. So, the onus of educating customers about their latent needs and new product innovation lies completely with the brands.
Key Challenges
Indian consumers
are becoming
increasingly aware of
ensembles that they
want to buy for any
specific occasion or
a particular purpose.
This has led to an
increase in demand
for special categories
such as shapewear,
sleepwear, swimwear
and athleisure. Among
these, sleepwear
has already seen
unprecedented growth
in both branded
and unbranded
segments. However,
other categories such
as shapewear and
swimwear still present
a lot of possibilities.
58  | FIBRE 2 FASHION JUNE 2018
Yes, the market is booming, and the potential is phenomenal. But that doesn’t mean that there are
no hitches or drawbacks. In fact, there are one too many. A snapshot:
  Lack of economies of scale;
  Lack of skilled manpower;
  Lack of sophistication to manufacture high-end women’s intimatewear;
  Unavailability of quality inputs within the country;
  Intense competition and low margins in economy to mid-segment;
  Lack of professional fashion and design schools that impart training specifically in intimatewear;
  Lack of R&D focus unlike countries such as Sri Lanka.
There’s, of course, a context here. The intimatewear demand is moving from plain cotton white
sets to designer sets with advanced fabrics. Product development in terms of design is also gaining
ground with products like weighted vests, biker vests, and cowboy vests becoming popular among
customers. As a spin-off, the focus on product development and innovation becomes key to sustain
in this market. Joint venture options can also be explored by the industry to bring in the requisite
technology to the country. Such collaborations will help industry upgrade in terms of skillsets,
manufacturing capacities, and design and operational efficiencies as they gain access to the
partner company’s invaluable resources.
True, the Indian consumer is still evolving. Hence, the onus of educating customers about their
latent needs and new product innovation lies completely with the brands. They need to invest in
marketing and communications to realise long-term gains of the potential Indian intimatewear
market. Manufacturers, for their part, should invest in large plants to reap the benefits of
economies of scale.
Organised retailers should grant due consideration to the intimatewear category in their
merchandise mi x. Retailers should focus on building a comprehensive range of right brands
and products around the needs of their target consumers. Emphasis should be given on visual
merchandising, as this will help in maximising the per square foot yield from the promising
intimatewear category.
A complete shopping experience should be offered to customers entering a shop to buy
intimatewear. The elements should ideally include some of the following:
  Ambience that enhances the privacy and pleasure in shopping of this category;
  Aesthetic display of products in a way which facilitates easy browsing;
  Clean and well-lit trial rooms;
  Female staff and privacy for the women’s section;
  Personal counselling on correct size measurement, selection of correct styles based on usage
and body types, trousseau collection and gifting.
It is noteworthy that the Indian intimatewear industry has reached a tipping point and is geared
to take its next leap of growth. The time is ripe to reap the benefits of the massive growth potential
in the sector. Manufacturers can adopt a mix of strategies such as product diversification, strategic
tie-ups among domestic brands or with international brands. Also, the focus should be on better
product designs and increased functionalities to make Indian products globally competitive and
catapult Indian exports of intimatewear towards the top. Both organised and online retailers who
have not yet included intimatewear in their merchandise assortment could well consider doing so
to provide an all-inclusive shopping experience to customers as well as maximise their own profits.