With summers posing negative returns during the past few years has shown some postive trend. The apparel retailers are expecting to register better sales in summer season considered to last year. It has overall grown by 10-12 per cent over last year. The bigger contributor is the online apparel retail sales which has grown by 30-40 per cent during the season.
Look at these examples. Kewal Kiran Clothing Limited, which owns apparel brands such as Killer, Integriti, Easies and Lawman, this year debuted at e-commerce platforms such as Flipkart and Jabong. They have registered a double digits growth rate as compared to last year. As Ashish Barodia, Brand Head, Easies at KKCL says, “As compared to last year, the growth rate has so far been better despite KKCL not being so aggressive. The growth in sales can be attributed to both better market sentiments as well as increased presence online”.
While the online apparel retail sales is registering a higher growth rate this summer, the share of online retail is still estimated to be around 5 per cent of the total Rs 50000 crore organised apparel retail in the country. As explained by Rahul Mehta, President, Clothing Manufacturers’ Association of India (CMAI), “The online apparel retail segment is still only 5 per cent of the total branded apparel retail industry. Overall, the apparel retail sales growth this summer season has been around 10-12 per cent as compared to last year’s season. This may get better by the end of the summer season”.
Industry experts also attribute the growth to increased expectations of improved economy. Adding to the growth story Prashant Agarwal, Joint Managing Director, Wazir Advisors says, “Today it is not so much about launch of new products. The growth in apparel sales is driven more by sentiments. There is a lot of purchase happening due to increased confidence in economy”.
