Womenswear make a potential market

Apparel makers are going all out to woo women. Reliance Brands, the newly formed subsidiary of Reliance Retail, believes womenswear and lingerie as categories that can be explored and plans to introduce brands in these two segments. Raymond has made a foray into the womenswear segment with its flagship brand Park Avenue and casualwear label Color Plus.

While several branded apparel players have traditionally catered to men, they are gradually paying more attention to formalwear for women. With more women now working, they are looking to dress well and are also able to afford branded clothing.

Says Darshan Mehta, CMD, Reliance Brands,"Women-oriented brands have ample growth opportunity, as there are only a handful of labels available and most of them are brand extensions. The premium westernwear and fusionwear market is expected to grow as the number of working women increases."

The Indian apparel space has seen a womenswear offering from labels such as Esprit, Allen Solly and Mango. Besides, denim brands such as Lee, Wrangler and Levi's are also tapping this growing segment. Raymond is eyeing a 25% market share in the womenswear segment with estimated revenue of Rs 400 crore (Rs 4 billion) in next three years. It has opened separate stores for Park Avenue's womenswear range. Recently

Westside, the apparel, furnishings and home linen retail format of Trent, also rolled out a womenswear store in Delhi.

Another category that is witnessing the entry of new players is the Rs 1,700 crore (Rs 17 billion) branded lingerie segment.

French lingerie brand, Etam, entered India through a joint venture with Pantaloons Retail, while the Italian brand La Perla has also made its Indian debut. Sanjeev Mohanty, managing director, Benetton India, stated that the company will focus on the premium lingerie label Under Colours in India.

During the first half of this financial year, Page Industries, promoters of innerwear brand Jockey, registered a 50% growth in the womenswear segment, as against 30% in menswear. Nischal Puri, general manager marketing, Jockey, said, "The brand has become a market leader in the premium womenswear category. Organised retail is maturing and therefore playing a significant role with the brand getting almost 60% conversion rates in large format stores."

Mehta says that a conducive retail environment needs to be developed for lingerie because women prefer to shop in privacy.