Industry leaders in the sectors outline their 2025 strategies, highlighting key priorities, expansion plans, and growth projections
Bengaluru: After a year marked by noticeable upheavals—a sluggish first half of 2024 followed by a strong rebound fueled by festive season demand, the fashion and lifestyle sector remains far from stable, but continues to exude optimism as we begin a brand-new year.
The year 2025 is set to usher in further transformation and growth in the sector, fuelled by brands embracing omnichannel strategies, focusing on conscious pricing and value, deepening their reach into tier-2 and smaller cities, leveraging AI and machine learning, and attracting increasing global interest in Indian brands.
Data from analytics platform Statista projects that the Indian fashion market’s revenue will grow from $14.68 billion in 2024 to $17.24 billion in 2025. Similarly, the beauty and personal care market in India is expected to see revenue rise from $31.51 billion in 2024 to $32.53 billion in 2025.
Let’s delve into the aspirations and predictions of industry leaders as they chart their course for 2025, focusing on their top priorities, expansion strategies, and growth forecasts that will shape their future direction.
Key focus areas
Going forward, fashion brands must adapt to shifting consumer preferences and purchasing habits, keep pace with rapid technological advancements, and efficiently manage inventory to reduce waste, while steering the industry towards a more sustainable future.
Digital-first lingerie brand Clovia ventured into general trade last year to ensure its products reach every corner of the country. This year, the company is expanding aggressively into tier-2 and tier-3 cities, opening more exclusive brand outlets and partnering with franchises.
“By March 2025, we aim to be available in 4,000 multi-brand outlets and 2,000 large-format stores, making it easier for women to find us in their neighbourhoods,” said Neha Kant, Founder of Clovia.
Six-year-old cosmetic brand Renee plans to continuously scale its multi-channel strategy in 2025.
“This year, we will enhance shop-in-shop presence and continue to strengthen our e-commerce platform,” said Ashutosh Valani, co-founder, Renee Cosmetics. “Geographically, we are looking to expand into new regions within India and internationally, so that more people can have access to our products.”
B2B apparel sourcing and clothing manufacturing platform ZYOD is also aiming to expand its services globally. “Geographically, we are targeting key markets in North America, Europe, and the Middle East, increasing our footprint from 18 to over 40 countries,” said its founder, Ankit Jaipuria.
Considering Indian consumers’ unending appetite for global brands, tech-native company Ace Turtle is preparing to launch another global brand in India this year while expanding its existing portfolio of six brands, including Lee, Wrangler, Dockers, Toys”R”Us, and Babies”R”Us.
Meanwhile, womenswear brand Latin Quarters will prioritise sustainability and embrace influencer marketing.
“We understand the power of social media and influencer marketing and are planning to collaborate with influencers to offer collections that our audience will love,” said Rahul Bhalla, Co-Founder and CEO of Latin Quarters. “Given that nearly 70% of our target audience is active online, we believe this will help us connect with them in a more meaningful way.”
Value fashion retailer V2 Retail’s primary objective is to increase the share of private-label products to enhance margins and attract more value-conscious customers.
“Private labels enable us to control costs, improve margins, and offer products that distinguish us from competitors. Currently contributing 80% of our portfolio, we intend to achieve 100% private-label products,” said Akash Agarwal, Whole Time Director of V2 Retail.
Scaling Retail Footprint
This year, established offline or omnichannel retailers are set to expand into tier-2 and beyond cities to capitalise on growing demand, while newer direct-to-consumer (D2C) brands are focusing on becoming omnichannel, primarily targeting metro cities.
Ace Turtle is planning to double the retail footprint for Lee and Wrangler in 2025, expanding from the current 110 stores to nearly 200. “We are seeing stronger growth offline compared to online. Based on rising demand for our brands online, we are identifying emerging tier-2 and tier-3 markets and opening stores there,” said Berry Singh, Co-Founder and COO of Ace Turtle.
In a similar vein, menswear brand The Indian Garage Company (TIGC), which ventured into the offline market in 2024 after 12 successful years online, aims to open 10-15 stores by March this year, with plans to expand to approximately 80 to 100 stores across India in the next three to five years.
“In 2025, our retail expansion strategy focuses on opening new stores in key markets, with a strong emphasis on tier-2 and beyond cities across Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Orissa,” said Alka Dembla, Head of Retail at TIGC.
Reinforcing this sentiment, Jignesh Mehta, Founder of the solitaire jewellery brand Divine Solitaires said, “Our primary focus will be on omnichannel integration and expanding our reach in tier-2 and tier-3 cities.” The brand is also expanding globally, with shop-in-shop outlets already launched in Dubai and plans for aggressive growth in the UAE and Middle East.
Lab-grown diamond jewellery brand Solitario, which has expanded to over 21 Indian cities across seven countries in less than a year since its offline launch, is laser-focused on metro cities as key markets in 2025.
“Domestically, we are strengthening our presence in cities like Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai and Pune. Internationally, our focus is on Europe and Latin America, where the demand for lab-grown diamonds is rapidly growing. Spain is a major priority, with plans for shop-in-shops,” said Ricky Vasandani, CEO of Solitario.
On a similar note, D2C skincare brand SCINQ Neurocosmetics is focusing on securing prime shelf placements in key metro cities, including Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chandigarh, Pune, Kolkata, Chennai, and Ahmedabad, to boost brand exposure.
Over three-decade-old menswear Blackberrys, which operates over 1,250 retail touch-points including 400 exclusive stores across all Indian states is looking forward to adding a minimum of 50 doors in this year, as stated by Nitin Mohan, Director and Co-Founder, Blackberrys
D2C menswear brand The Bear House will foray into offline space this year with a shop-in-shop store at Broadway, Ambience Mall, Delhi. “By the end of 2025, we plan to open six new stores across India,” said its Co-Founder Harsh Somaiya.
Additionally, V2 Retail plans to launch 100-150 new stores and expand into new markets, including Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh, while Bagzone Lifestyles, the parent company of Lavie, aims to open approximately 50 new stores in 2025.
Expectations for 2025
By implementing their well-planned growth strategies, these retailers are confident about achieving a substantial boost in sales and revenue in 2025.
Renee Cosmetics is expecting to double its revenue to Rs 350-400 crore by the end of the current fiscal year (FY). In FY24, the brand managed to double its revenue from operations to Rs 191.7 crore, compared to Rs 97.15 crore in FY23, as per media reports.
“With increased demand for natural beauty products and our advanced product offerings, strong revenue growth in 2025 will be seen. With an emphasis on expansion into new markets locally and internationally, we are sure that there would be a considerable rise in sales,” said Valani of Renee.
Meanwhile, Bengaluru-based Ace Turtle is projecting Rs 500 crore sales for the current fiscal year with plans to double this revenue to Rs 1,000 crore by FY 2027-2028.
“We turned EBITDA positive in the September quarter of FY 2025. We are expecting faster growth in the calendar year 2025 compared to 2024,” added Singh of Ace Turtle.
Latin Quarters is targeting approximately 15% revenue growth in 2025, Blackberrys is aiming for 25%, while The Bear House and V2 Retail are striving for 50% year-on-year revenue growth.
Solitario closed with Rs 120 crore in revenue in 2024 and has set a target of Rs 250 crore for 2025. After successfully completing its first seed funding round, the company is now preparing for an IPO.
Culture Circle, a streetwear brand that appeared on the television reality show Shark Tank and received the highest-ever investment offer of Rs 8 crore, is projecting a revenue run rate of Rs 120 crore by FY25, fueled by its omnichannel expansion and an expanding luxury portfolio.
“Our marketplace for authentic sneakers and streetwear expects 300% growth in user base and 250% increase in average order value, reinforcing our position as Asia’s largest curator of luxury streetwear,” said Ackshay Jain, Co-Founder and CEO, Culture Circle.
