THE GREAT PROMISE IN INDIA'S FASHION MARKET

India has taken over China as the most populous country and its economy is fifth largest in the world. It's believed that it could become the third largest by 2032. What does it mean for the country's fashion industry which has grown phenomenally over the years?

Today, India is one of the fastest-growing economies in the world and the fifth-largest economy. It's expected to be in the top 3 global economies by the year 2032. The economy is roughly about $3.75 trillion dollars. It's believed that it will cross $5 trillion in 2027, and will touch about $7.6 trillion in a decade or closer to $8 trillion, if all factors work in its favour. In 2022, out of $3.5 trillion, about $2 trillion was private consumption, and the economy remains stable as it's driven by private consumption, says Technopak India. "Of which, about $1trillion is the current merchandise retail and the balance is about services retail. Services are expected to gain a faster share over the next few years, but merchandise will also grow, adding another trillion dollars of merchandise in the next 10 years, and therefore doubling the consumption."

In this backdrop, the Indian apparel market was $ 65.3 billion in the year 2022 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 12.3%, reaching $ 168 billion by FY 2031, it says. The market opened up, it notes, after a low 2021 to increased optimism and pent up demand, to reach pre-covid levels.

In comparison with other economies, China's private consumption stands at about 30 percent, three times of India's. However, India's consumption is pretty close to developed economies such as Japan. As retail market goes, India is larger than the UK and close to Germany, in terms of numbers. But the huge difference is, we are talking about a market of four billion people which is going to change the game as the per-capita income of Indians rises. Fashion will grow, at least it would become three times of what it is today, Technopak maintains.

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