Market sentiments are not positive for the Indian fashion industry and consequently the sector which grew 12-13% in FY23 is predicted to see a dip in the present fiscal, mentioned Devarajan Iyer, Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer, Lifestyle, a fashion retail model owned by the Dubai-based Landmark Group.
“For FY24, sentiments are not positive, some kind of stress is already felt by all players. Last year the industry grew in a 12% to 13% range and this fiscal it will slide to 10% to 11% levels,” he instructed The Hindu.
When the tech sector was in dangerous form, fashion gross sales dropped in Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Pune immediately, nonetheless, such robust correlation between tech and fashion gross sales was not seen in Chennai, Mumbai, and Delhi NCR, he noticed.
According to him, the primary quarter of FY23 had introduced in progress of 25% to 30% for Lifestyle manufacturers whereas the remainder of the industry grew 18% to twenty%. “Overall FY23 was a fantastic year. We grew 14% over pre pandemic levels and seen great resurgence of wedding and other categories this year.”
Targets to forkout a key share in non metro markets
Lifestyle, being a mid to premium model, at the moment accounts for over 30% of the nation’s fashion industry which can be dominated by different manufacturers reminiscent of Shoppers Stop, Westside, Centro (previously Central), Zara and H&M. The Landmark Group-promoted fashion chain gained a big share in most metros, besides Kolkata, whereas it has been having fun with a dominant place in Chennai and Bengaluru in the final over 20 years, as per Mr. Iyer.
“We have been a player in metros and tier-1 cities for several years. We have realised that we have to grow beyond, as the bulk of India is in non-metros. But a cut and paste model won’t work and we have to innovate the box (retail format) itself,” Mr. Iyer defined.
To cater to the newer buyer segments, Lifestyle has elevated its non-public labels, chosen distinctive manufacturers that may work in the catchment market and explored workable fashions by opening small retail codecs.
“Our expansion to tier-2 and tier-3 markets has opened up a new set of growth engines for us. Look at markets like Trichy, Salem and other small cities that are brimming with enthusiasm to grow. Younger women, mostly, here are moving from ethnic wear to western wear. This is a big shift we see in the fashion industry,” he famous.
Commenting on Lifestyle’s on-line focus, Mr. Iyer mentioned the model’s on-line gross sales had been rising 30-35% year-over-year and on-line at the moment accounts for 5.5% of its whole gross sales, as towards 1.5% pre-pandemic.
“The online chunk has been growing faster and is expected to be a large part of our business. The online share will be 10 to 12% in the next two years,” he additional added.
