The diversity of India makes the Indian fashion retail unique, in more ways than one. Hence, the requirements of Indian brands are also in sync - to cater to the uniqueness of Indian consumers. Two such unique aspects of domestic brands are ‘Requirement of smaller MOQs (Minimum Order Quantity)’ and ‘Opportunity Buying’. Indian brands demand more designs in smaller order runs at a faster pace from their suppliers. Fusionwear has become a big trend in India and new product categories have evolved in fashion in... Read More

The latest buzzwords in manufacturing supply chain are Industry 4.0 and Automation. What is Industry 4.0 and how is it impacting apparel value chain? The key impact on the apparel value chain comes through effective use of PLM software for concept initiation, integrating it with Time and Action calendars, costing, merchandising and order processing, creating transparency in supply chain, etc. It’s important to understand how such tools can be implemented in the fashion supply chains to simplify the processes and bring in higher transparency with... Read More

In the fashion context, the circular economy is usually achieved by designing long-lasting, timeless pieces (versus fast fashion’s seasonality) and many ‘REs’ such as Repair, Reuse, Recycle and Refurbish to extend the lifetime of an item i.e. from single use to multiple uses. There is however a catch in this process - some of these lead to a disruption in the human angle. For example, if we were to reuse extensively, there is a pressure on producing less which in tun will lead to loss of jobs. So, the ideal situation... Read More

Changing consumer shopping preferences, digitally transforming businesses, on-demand approach, rise of millennials as consumers, more technology integration and customers’ shifting loyalty towards brands are key factors which will further pose great challenges to the retailers in the upcoming decade. In short, Technology; E-commerce; Sustainability; Millennials; Omnichannel; Value Fashion; Emerging Market Segments, are expected to be some of the biggest influencers for the Indian fashion retail. While consumers will play a major role in deciding when and what should be produced, technologies like artificial intelligence, chatbots,... Read More

Casualisation has been a key trend over the last few years. Consumers have been shifting from formal clothing to occasion-based clothing primarily for comfort. In the recent past, various other parameters got added like staying fit, staying healthy, wearing active clothing which is sharp and comfortable, leading to a whole new category of business – Athleisure. There has also been an increase in lifestyle-oriented products leading way to Smart garments. Athleisure has rocked the fashion world in recent years by taking stretchy leggings out of... Read More

The top 24 cities (Metros, Mini-Metros and Tier-1) account for 60-70 per cent of sales for most of the major fashion retailers and brands. Going forward, the growth will be led by Tier-2, Tier-3 and maybe Tier-4 cities and towns. This is evident from the faster growth of some of the value brands in fashion, which have stronger presence in Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities already. However, the nuances of consumers and retail market are different in Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities. The consumers are aspirational and... Read More