Women shoppers across metros and smaller cities are
increasingly opting for western wear, helping boost sales for branded clothing,
making it one of the fastest growing categories in the apparel segment.
Traditionally an under-serviced market, women’s western wear is getting
traction and wider acceptance owing to an increase in disposable incomes, and
more women joining the workforce and dressing smart.
Estimates by other companies operating in the
category peg the growth rate at between 40% and 50% a year. “Women’s western
wear is growing much faster than menswear.
The growth may be on a lower base but the entry of
organized retailers in the segment is fuelling latent demand. “The women’s
category in the past was largely under-serviced. Now women’s wear is getting
organized and offering a wider collection,” he said.
Women’s western wear accounts for 25% of the
Rs.78,500 crore women’s wear market, as per a 2012 report by consulting firm
Technopak Advisors. With an eye on this growing market, Swedish brand H&M
will invest Rs.700 crore in India. American brand Forever 21 will also add
six-eight stores to its existing six over the next 12 months.
The women’s western clothing market has a big
potential in India as the number of brands in the category is still small
compared to those in the West. Patri said sales growth in western clothes for
women is surging ahead of men’s clothing. “It also has to do with the fact that
there are more working women and higher disposable incomes plus the need to
look better which is driving sales,” said Lumba.
Western wear may have been slow-moving but it’s
definitely the next big future category, The growth rate of sales for western
wear is much higher than other categories. Mix-and-match ethnic and western
wear in tier 2 cities does exceptionally well for the affordable fashion wear
chain that has 28 standalone stores and 165 shop-in-shops.
Online retail, too, is opening up doors for
consumers in smaller towns,Younger girls in the
non-metros are experimenting a lot with western outfits,
There are new brands entering this market and the
existing players are also adding to their range. The most popular price point
for women’s clothing is Rs.800-Rs.1200 which is significantly lower than that
for menswear. “It’s because women simply tend to buy more products as they like
variety compared with men who buy fewer but more expensive products.
With surge in demand for western apparel retailers
across the board are seeking to expand their collections. Ethnic wear retailer
Fab-India, will start selling western wear for both men and women sometime this
year, according to a an Economic Times report .
Even as the retail sector continues to face the
headwinds of slower growth rates, where consumers across metros have been
cutting back on discretionary spending, women’s western wear is one of the
categories that is working for retailers, showing a steady growth on a low
base. According to a 24 January note by India Ratings on India’s retail sector,
FY13 was possibly the weakest period since FY10 for the sector with margins
falling by 110 basis points from FY12. A basis point is a hundredth of a
percentage point. Mouli at Arrow added that despite a slower rate of growth
over the past few quarters, demand for women’s wear as a category was intact
for the brand. So if you are looking to buy western wear and dresses for women
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