Apparel Retailing in India: Opportunities for Foreign Firms

PRLog (Press Release) – Feb 13, 2007 – India is well known as a competitive manufacturer of apparel. Many foreign companies have been sourcing large quantities of garments regularly from India for a number of years. But less well known is the fact that India has huge potential as a market for foreign clothing, given its large population and growing household incomes. A few significant foreign players—such as Levi Strauss, Benetton and Lacoste—have been selling their branded apparel in India for a number of years. But most foreign companies have yet to enter the Indian market.

Under government liberalisation policies, there has been a sharp increase in the availability and variety of Indian and foreign branded consumer goods on the market. Department stores have been expanding, franchising has grown in popularity, and malls have proliferated. But in 1997 the government banned foreign direct investment (FDI) in the Indian retailing sector, which means that direct foreign involvement in retailing remains restricted to franchising.

Foreign companies looking to tap the potential of the Indian market also need to understand that the Indian retailing system is very different from that which prevails in their home countries. These factors need to be taken into account when devising retailing strategies.

Summary
Size of the Indian clothing market
Government policy on inward foreign investment in Indian retailing
Retail location in India
Mumbai and the National Capital Region (NCR)
Chennai, Bangalore and Hyderabad
Kolkata
Other centres of development
Structure of retailing in India
Small traditional retailers
Organised modern retailers
Malls
Structure of organised apparel retailing
Multi-brand clothing stores
Department stores
Profiles of leading department store chains
Shoppers' Stop
Pantaloon Retail
LifeStyle International
Ebony Retail Holdings
Other major department store chains
Strategies for boosting sales and profitability
Loyalty schemes
Retail technology
Threat of private labels
Exclusive outlets
Franchising
Support to franchisees
Shortcomings of franchising
Conclusions

List of tables
Table 1: India: consumption expenditure on clothing, 1996/97-2002/03
Table 2: India: Shoppers' Stop: trends in the number of outlets and sales, 1999/2000-2002/03
Table 3: India: Pantaloons: trends in the number of outlets and sales, 1999/2000-2002/03
Table 4: India: Big Bazaar: trends in the number of outlets and sales, 2000/01-2002/03
Table 5: India: LifeStyle International: trends in the number of outlets and sales, 2000/01-2002/03
Table 6: India: Ebony Retail Holdings: trends in the number of outlets and sales, 1999/2000-2002/03

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