THE NEXT THREE YEARS OF FASHION RETAIL

IN HER ADDRESS ON DAY ONE OF INDIA FASHION FORUM 2022, SALONI NANGIA, PRESIDENT, TECHNOPAK ADVISORS, SHARED A COMPREHENSIVE OUTLOOK OF THE INDIAN ECONOMY APROPOS OF THE COUNTRY'S FASHION INDUSTRY OVER THE PAST YEAR, WHILE SHARING MORE DETAILS ON YEARS TO COME AND HOW THE INDUSTRY IS EXPECTED TO SHAPE UP BY 2025. NANGIA ALSO SPOKE ABOUT TRENDS AND IMPERATIVES THAT THE SENIOR MANAGEMENT NEEDED TO FOCUS ON OVER THE NEXT 12 TO 18 MONTHS THAT WOULD HAVE A SERIOUS IMPACT ON THEIR BUSINESS.

In 2021, India's GDP de-grew because of COVID-19 from the $2.7 trillion mark that it stood at in 2020. But, according to a Technopak analysis, the industry would be back in terms of performance of GDP at 10-10.2% every year between 2020 and 2025. "We would also become the fifth largest economy on a nominal basis and would cross the UK by 2025 as far as our GDP is concerned. Per capita income, too, would continue to grow. Over the next five years, it will remain stable at about a growth of 10% every year, and that would be one of the key factors influencing consumption and therefore, the retail market. This will also have a direct implication on the fashion segment," shared Saloni Nangia, President, Technopak Advisor, as she addressed the audience at India Fashion Forum 2022.

The Consumption Spectrum

Private consumption forms the largest share of GDP in India; at about 60%, India is amongst the largest countries in the world in that regard. And of that private consumption, about 49% is merchandise retail, while services stand slightly higher at 51% and shall continue to grow, according to Nangia. "Between 2015 and 2020, when the economy was evolving at a natural pace, we grew from about $1.6 trillion in GDP to about $2.7 trillion, but in 2021, when the industry and GDP de-grew, the retail consumption of about $800 billion came down by $50 billion and reached $750 billion. But, we think we would cross $1 trillion by 2025 as direct merchandise consumption," she added.