Knowledge Series: Fashion Intelligence

The retail industry in India is almost a USD 500 billion market today and is expected to double in the next four years, with apparel being a key growth driver of the segment. The fashion category (that includes apparel and footwear) currently holds a market share of 14 percent and going forward, it is expected to increase to a 25 percent share of the total retail market.

- Shivam Gautom

Outlining the forces that are believed to shape the future of the fashion as well as the entire retail industry, Vineet Satija, Associate Director, PWC, began his presentation by accentuating the four main growth drivers by a term— PLGT, an acronym for population, lifestyle, government, and technology.

POPULATION: India’s population is growing rapidly due to which the demand for products has increased. It is seen that most of this population is comprised of millennials who are inclined towards fashion. “What’s happening is India is growing. The country’s population is expected to increase by 6.5 crores in the next four years, which is almost the size of UK’s population. Another very important factor is that 65 percent of India’s population is under 35 years of age. And third, obviously, the rapid urbanisation that country is witnessing along with a massive rise in the participation of women in workforce,” Satija highlighted.

LIFESTYLE: The lifestyle of Indians has undergone a massive change in the last few years. In today’s fast paced environment, everyone is time starved. This inherently has also impacted the fashion industry, and has called for a total facelift of the erstwhile template of fashion. Brands, variants, points of sale and other allied options are also exploding in an attempt to keep pace with consumers’ changing lifestyles.