Fashion Wars

 

Nandita Sanker Individual Project 2

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Global Women’s Wear Market

The Indian womon is changing. She is no longer satisfied satisfied with the traditional saree saree , embroidered salwarkameez and lehga cholis. She is ready to experiment. Shake trends. trends. Risk standing out. Be comfortable in her own skin and style. style. Go to any mall and see the hordes of women standing ever so patiently in never ending queues in front of the trial rooms. From Indian wear to Indo-western to western, there is choice as never before. And the Indian lady is not shying away from trying new things –  looking  looking different different and with with more money in her hands- spending. New clothes, new accessories, the total experience of the global woman of the world. Though  Europe is the larges t market of women’s wear followed by North America  , Asia Pacific is expected to be Though Europe the fastest growing market for women’s wear as it comprises some of the emerging economies with a very high  proportion of middle-class with with significant disposable income. income.

An overview of the women’s wear market in India 

There was a time when the Indian market market was fragmented sharply divided into three - the expensive expensive stores , local cheap markets and the small  boutiques who had in-house tailors who stitched for the in between. The small local shops copied the latest bollywood trends and made them in three or four regular sizes –  sizes  –  with   with virtually no customization. The boutiques did customized work but depended on ‘ sample design books for patterns. And, of course, the high end shops which which were inaccessible to the middle class which formed the bulk of the buyers. Things have changed now. Big brands , cheaper better material, higher awareness of global fashion trends have have brought down the walls between the different segments segments of the industry. The distribution chains of large fashion house –  house  –  both  both couture and prêt have made it possible for it to reach urban urban as well as towns with the same styles. Smaller tailors have reduced greatly greatly in numbers and instead of designing, designing, their focus has shifted more to altering ready made clothes. Because of these trends, India has become the fastest growing economies with a projected CAGR of 10 per cent making it a lucrative market. In comparison to India, the developed markets of the US, Europe and Japan are expected to grow at a meagre rate of 2-3 per cent. Contributing 38 per cent to the total apparel market of the country, the women’s wear segment is ready is ready for a boom.  

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Key Categories in Women’s Wear in India  India  

Women’s wear in India can be broadly classified into four into  four categories: > Ethnic Wear > Western Wear > Indo Western Wear > Innerwear

Ethnic Wear

The women’s ethnic wear can be further sub divided into three major categories: sarees, salwar kameez and blouse-petticoats. The saree is  perhaps the quintessential Indian dress for women’s and has a market of Rs 36,035 crore. It is the most widely accepted women’s wear in India. It is expected to grow at a CAGR of 6 per cent to reach Rs 61,553 crore in 2025. Though a market shift is expected from saree to salwar kameez or western wear in urban and semi-urban markets, saree will still remain as the predominant category among elderly and middle-aged women across urban and rural India.

Indo-Western Wear  

With time consuming task of wearing a saree and increased income in the hands of working women, a new trend has taken birth in the Indian urban scene. –  scene.  –  The   The Indo Western. It is a blend of both ethnic and western. It appeals to the Indian woman who is proud of her heritage and yet wants to be part of the global trends in fashion. She is an innovator and willing to try different looks. She might choose to wear western clothes but enjoys the comfort and the options which Indian western gives.

Basically, attiressuit, come as full stitched orwith semi-stitched. A with quintessential of designs Indo-western ensemble isthese the trouser which is a short kurta straight pants or withoutclothing a dupatta.item Newer often

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feature sleeveless tops, short dupattas and pants with slits. Additional examples of the fusion that Indo-western clothing represents include wearing jeans with a kurta, adding a dupatta to a western-style outfit and wearing a lehenga (long skirt) with a tank top or halter top.

Innerwear

The women’s innerwear category is another promising category in the women’s wear market. The innerwear market is growing at a CAGR of 15 per cent and is expected to reach Rs 58,211 crore in 2025 from the current market size of Rs 14,389 crore. Brassieres, panties and camisoles, etc., are the key sub categor ies ies of women’s inner wear category. Branded innerwear contributes to 35 to 40 per cent of the total women’s inner wear market and is expected that branded share will account for 40 to 45 per cent in 2020.

Women’s Western Wear 

Women’s western wear can be further classified into casual western wear and formal western wear. Denims are the most popular casual wear product among women. They have demonstrated a promising growth at a CAGR of 18.5 per cent. Initially, the denim brands used to focus primarily on the men consumers, but with the change in the demand and preferences of women, they started catering to women consumers as well. Of late, stretch denims have seen a huge demand among women. Women’s t-shirts t-shirts and tops categories are also growing fast owing to increasing participation of women in workforce and a generic inclination for western wear categories. The women tops and shirts market is now pegged at Rs 1,979 crore and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 14 per cent to Rs 7,337 crore by 2025. The women’s t-shirts market of Rs 797 crore is witnessing growth in tandem with the growth of all other casual wear categories and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 17.5 per cent to reach Rs 3,999 crore by 2025.Another  promising segment in western wear is formal wear. The increasing number of working women has led to the demand of formal attire. The companies have started realising the need of the hour and have shifted their focus on tapping this segment. Today’s working woman is very much concerned with her image. She is ready to experiment and does not want to lag behind in this fashion era. Ranging from business formals to smart casuals to friday dressing, women are concerned how they look at their workplace. This has provided sufficient market space to companies to explore several options in this segment. Western formal attire is one of the fastest growing segments.The emergence of e-commerce has given a  boost to the fashion retail market. This market platform pl atform has provided an easy and less time consuming option in the th e hustle bustle of today’s world. The increasing number of working women, with less time to shop has found an easy mode of purchasing

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The brands which I have chosen for this project are

1.  Allen Solly 2. Fabindia 3. Global Desi, 4. Biba 5. Shoppers Stop 4|Page 

 

Background SWOT ANALYSIS Brand Attributes – Functional & Emotional Segment

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Target Positioning

 

Background Parent company  company 

Madura Fashion & Lifestyle (Aditya Birla group)  group)  

Category  Category 

Apparel and accessories

Sector  Sector 

Lifestyle and retail

Tagline/ slogan  slogan 

Friday Dressing; Why so serious

Usp  Usp 

Stylish office wear

Allen Solly SWOT Analysis  Analysis  

1. The brand  is present in more than 50 countries brand is 2. In-house and experienced experienced design and product teams are available with A Allen llen Solly. 3. Premium fashion and international fashion also available 4. Work casuals in bold colours, innovative fabric and young fits

Strengths

5. Strong Management team also is strength to the company 1.Global penetration is limited as compared to a few other international brands 2.  Presence of Indian and international brands offers more offering to customers therefore high brand switching 3.  The styles are repetitive . Same designs lose lose their charm. 4.  Focusses on your crowd - tends to alienate older generation generation and towns.

Weaknesses

5.  Perceived as too western

1.  Digital initiatives and plans to spend significantly on it over the next few years

Opportunities

2.  The brand can diversify into emerging markets and also consider of expanding into other countries or sectors. 3.  Can expand into more indo western

1. New technology coming in might pose threat

Threats

2. Similar patterns and verity available at lesser price with other brands pose a threat. 3. Local market may offer similar patterns at a lesser price although discounting on the quality.

1.Raymond Limited  Limited  2.Arrow 3.Belmonte Belmonte  

Competitors  6|Page 

 

Brand Attributes

Functional  Trendy, young fashion for women for regular officewaer.Vsriety officewaer.Vsriety of fabrics which need little maintenanc maintenance. e. . Not too expensive. Can mix and match

Emotional. Appeals to the young, dynamic individuals who see themselves as being fun loving, innovative –  innovative  –  in  in touch with westernized global trends. They feel part of a global culture of working working women who are smart, believe in their individuality and are not afraid to ex express press themselves. They avoid being being boring and aspire aspire to achiev achievee their dreams in the corporate world.

Allen Solly STP  Segment 

Young fashion conscious women

Target group 

Urban women Upper class and upper middle class

Positioning 

Lighten up the workplace –  workplace –  no  no need to be blue , black, gray and  boring

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Background SWOT ANALYSIS Brand Attributes – Functional & Emotional Segment Target Positioning

 

FabIndia  FabIndia 

Parent Company  Company 

Fabindia Overseas Pvt. Ltd

Category  Category 

Apparel and Accessories

Sector  Sector 

Lifestyle and Retail

Tagline/ Slogan  Slogan 

Celebrate India

USP  USP 

Completely Indian products

 

FabIndia SWOT Analysis  Analysis  

1.The brand has maintained its Indianness with with the authenticity of hand-woven hand-woven fabric over years 2. The brand has provided sustainable employment for the skilled artisans in rural areas 3. The autonomy given to employees employees has helped induce accountability among them 4. The fact that the brand strongly believes in word of mouth marketing which has proved very effective as the brand does not advertise. Strengths  Strengths 

5. Designs are great for the Indian figures

1. The brand is losing out on attracting new customers customers as it hugely depends on repeat purchases purchases 2. Not enough experienced personnel to push FABINDIA towards growth in the retail sector 3. Limited global penetration despite huge potential in NRI market. 4. The patterns are not innovative and there is enough new brands with similar and better  products. 5. Over priced as compared to newer brands. Weaknesses

1.The brand needs to tap the potential of organic foods by creating awareness about their merits. 2. Display of FABINDIA products in MBO’s and collaborating and  collaborating with various construction groups would give greater visibility to the brand 3. Geographic expansion in US and UK with huge Indian population. Opportunities

 Newer designs and more aggressive marketing will attract new customers

Competition

1. Cotton Emporium 2. Khadi Gram Udyog 3. Good Earth 

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Brand Attributes

Functional Cotton fabric, high quality and designed by top level level designers in latest cuts and fashion. fashion. With its focus on young as well as middle aged Indian women, it gives them the guarantee of high quality fabrics with no danger of leaking colurs and fabrics shrinking or becoming shapeless shapeless after a few washes. The designs are such that they fit the Indian figures well.

Emotional. Appeals to both young as well as the middle aged crowd conscious but like to wear Indian style dressing. eell. Evokes the pride in Indian fabrics and de designs signs in the target audience audience.. Feel good wearing it to work as w well ell in day to day living. With the rise in feeling of Indian pride, the array of unique Fabindia products which include salwar kameez, sarees  jewelry etc, have become a hall mark of fashion and class.

FabIndia STP  STP 

Segment 

Men, women who want to buy complete Indian products.

Target Group 

Urban upper and middle class families.

Positioning 

Wearing Indian pride –  pride –  with  with class.

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Background SWOT ANALYSIS Brand Attributes – Functional & Emotional Segment Target Positioning

 

-.Global Desi Background  Background 

Parent Company  Company 

AND Design India Ltd  Ltd  

Category  Category 

Apparel and Accessories

Sector  Sector 

Lifestyle and Retail

Tagline/ Slogan  Slogan 

Global Style Indian Threads

USP  USP 

Creates your unique style mantra

 

SWOT ANALYSIS OF GLOBAL DESI 1. Anita Dongre’s reputation as successful designer behind brand 2. New collections every season maintains the vibrancy of the brand 3. Brand’s social work through Aseema an Ngo to protect the human rights of underprivileged children Strengths

Weaknesses

4. Stores located in over 20 Indian cities 1.  Presence of strong competition means high brand switching and low customer loyalty 2. Presence only in a few Indian cities & limited brand recall due to lesser advertising compared to leading apparel brands. 2.  Great designs and cloth often interspersed with very average quality and material. Confusing the buyer.

1. Growing spending on lifestyle brands. 2. Promotion of Indian wear in foreign countries. Opportunities

3.Can tap new forms of retailing like online stores to cater to a larger customer  base

1. Competition from other premium designer brands 2. Govt Tax policies on apparel

Threats

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3.Highly fragmented fashion industry can be a serious threat

 

Brand Attributes

Functional Ready to wear fashion fashion which is midpriced bu butt extremely trendy. Offers both Indian western we wear ar as well as indo western. Appeals more to younger generation… of the middle and upper middle class  class  

Emotional. Appeal young upwardly mobile w women omen who like to m mix ix and match, favor Indo western attire. Enjoy different types of clothes like lehngas with tube tops, funky jewelry etc.

Global Desi STP  Segment 

Women looking for Indian and casual apparel

Target Group 

Urban young women form the middle and upper-middle class

Positioning 

Perfect high quality ethnic ethnic wear for young upwardly mobile mobile women who like to look different different..

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Background SWOT ANALYSIS Brand Attributes – Functional & Emotional Segment Target Positioning

 

Background of BIBA Parent Company

BIBA Apparels Private Ltd

Category

Apparel and Accessories

Sector

Lifestyle and Retail

Tagline/ Slogan

Fashion at affordable prices

USP

Affordable Designer Ethnic Wear

 

BIBA SWOT Analysis  1.Emergence of a successful brand in the ethnic w wear ear category with several awards like the Golden Seale trophy and consistently rated as the most admired ethnic wear  brand 2. of Bollywood India film projects 3. Pioneer Strong presence in overmerchandising 40 cities with in over 90 with storesseveral and insuccessful several MBO’s like Shopper’s Stop, Pantaloon, Lifestyle, Central etc.  etc.  

Strengths  Strengths 

4. Strong product mix which includes mix-match and unstitched fabrics 5. Done effective youth marketing on social media with campaigns like Quirky closet, guess the look

1, Strategic alliance with Future group is unstable due to financial concerns.. 2 Lack of sewing and effective su supply pply chain of raw material whichother organizations are doing would be a problem in the long run. Weaknesses

3.Limited global reach where NRIs stay.

1. Along with effective onlineismarketing campaigns, BIBA can think of selling merchandise online, which the current trend. Opportunities

2. It can also get into exports and showcase the merchandise in international markets to earn greater visibility abroad. .

Threats

1. Entry of several Indian designers in the Indian ethnic r segment poses a serious threat. 2. Highly fragmented fashion industry would lead to low brand loyalty. 3. The recent govt tax policies would lead to a price rise

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Brand Attributes

Functional  Trendy, young fashion for women for officewear as well as evening wear. ..Variety Variety of fabrics which are dressy yet reasonably priced. Unlike the Indo western brands, BIBA uses Indian style embroidery and prints along with modern designs and fabrics.

Emotional Appeals to the young and old , dynamic dyna mic individuals who see themselves themselves as being elegant , smart and stick to the traditional mindset with the latest designs.

BIBA STP  Segment 

Women looking for classy ethnic Indian wear.

Target Group 

Women in the urban upper middle class.

Positioning 

Traditional fashionable ethnic wear.

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Background SWOT ANALYSIS Brand Attributes – Functional & Emotional Segment Target Positioning

 

Background Shoppers Stop Parent Company  Company 

K. Raheja Group

Category  Category 

Retail

Sector  Sector 

Lifestyle and Retail

Tagline/ Slogan  Slogan 

Start Something New

USP  USP 

 New styles and presence in all major metros

 

Shoppers Stop SWOT Analysis  Analysis  1. It has strong domestic presence with 50+ stores in India 2. Shoppers stop has become highest benchmark for retail industry 3. Loyal customer base with more than 750,000 first citizen members 4.Increasing footfalls and conversion rates 5. Management team is strongly established as well as skilled labor force.

Strengths

Quick turnover for designs.

Weaknesses

1.  It has less promotional strategies on both ATL and BT Llevel compared to global leaders. 2.  It always follows a low risk strategy in business or entering into new segments 3.  Has lots of designs but not enough innovation.

Opportunities

1.  Big opportunities to enter into new geographies internationally. 2.  Foreign players see it as a preferred parner for making investments in India. 3.  It could enter into hypercity –  hypercity  –  high  high retail value category

Threats

1.  Due to global slowdown, the t he consumers spending power has reduced for top high value brands. 2.  Increase in brand awareness among consumers across all economic classes.

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Brand Attributes

Functional  Classy wear for every age group  –  one  one stop shop high fashion westerns as well as for Indian . Variety of fabrics which are dressy as well as moderately priced. Wide range. . Has something for every woman woman –   –  with  with mid range to slightly higher priced but not luxury . .

Emotional Trendy, smart with the latest designs for both work and play..

Shoppers Stop STP  STP 

Segment  Segment 

Style and status cautious group

Target Group Group  

Upper Middle class group

Positioning  Positioning 

Styles and quality all under one roof . .Mo .More re traditional in appeal

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Conclusion 

The women’s wear market in India is emerging as a high growth potential market. International players are showing interest and it is becoming more organised. It is also estimated that it will grow at a higher rate than men’s wear in the country. The dangers of the Indian fashion industry are

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the number of me too brands which have come up  –  young  young designers with great ideas and multiple finance and etailing options for selling their products…. Can bring the cost down and give give these huge set ups a run for their money.

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The increasing penetration of Internet, the increasing purchasing power of the women, high brand consciousness and fashion sense has made e-commerce an important medium of shopping. The online market will also help the branded and premium inner wear in semi-urban and rural market.

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Lower brand loyalty with equally good options available.

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Lower quality products will get washed out with better quality being available at lower rates online and mass marketing through internet

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Better distribution chains ( like amazon) better banking services ( online payment) better feedback mechanisms ( internet ) will allow good brands to maintain better quality and trust to grow.

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The unorganized sector will gradually fall in line by either becoming more professional and quality/ consistency conscious or help in supporting the bigger brands by customizing their products.

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