During the pandemic, when people have been faced with extraordinary circumstances and are working from home, a lot of customers have felt the need for good quality loungewear sets. Keeping healthy and exercising at home also requires a functional wardrobe.
Two basic factors that a customer looks for when buying a high-quality lingerie product is that it should be comfortable and should fit like a second skin. Activewear and loungewear are two categories that require the same level of comfort and quality. Keeping these similarities in mind, many an intimate wear brand is branching out into the activewear and loungewear categories.
“We understand the kind of comfort that women are always looking for since we are in the business of lingerie which is like a second skin, and hence we understand the category and the need well. Catering loungewear to our audience is therefore not very challenging because it complements intimate wear. Since ‘stay at home’ is the new ‘going out’, loungewear is growing extremely well, and hence a good extension to tap into,” says Richa V Kalra, Co-founder, Candyskin.
Impact of Pandemic on Sale of Activewear/ Loungewear
There is an increased focus on health and wellness with consumers seeking to ensure that they include some form of exercise in their daily routines to stay fit and healthy while they are cooped at home. This has led to a demand for activewear.
“There has been a significant spike in sales of both loungewear and activewear during the pandemic. Since people are spending their time mostly at home and wearing more of loungewear, it becomes more logical for them to shop in higher numbers because more frequent changes are required,” says Suman Chowdhury, Co-founder & COO, Clovia.
“It’s a brand-new category for us so I would say 100 percent there is a growth here,” adds Richa Kalra.
USP of Products
Zivame’s activewear range offers consumers products that are suited for different types of work-outs. From high impact sports bra and high compression leggings for high intensity work-outs like running to low-compression joggers and sports bra for medium/ low intensity work-outs like yoga and walking, the brand has the right gear to suit consumer needs across different exercise forms.
“Zivame’s activewear range offers the best combination of functionality, fashion and comfort. Our products offer functional benefits like bounce control, insta-dry fabrics and seamless garments that aid and improve the quality of one’s choice of work-out. Our range is built for different intensities of work-outs with products that are customized for high/ medium/ low intensity exercises,” says Kiruba Devi, Head Category & Sourcing, Zivame.
“Along with functionality, our range brings the best of the fashion trends to activewear gear, from racer back styles, scooped backs, contoured tees to attractive verbiage prints and colours. Our range also scores high on comfort on account of fabrics that enable stretch while providing optimal compression with fits that go from snug to relaxed,” she adds.
Clovia, which gets 20-25 percent of its revenue from activewear and loungewear, claims the USP of its products is that they have high fashion style and comfort and are available at affordable prices.
“The mix of price, product and fabric quality, design and comfort and other features like it being anti-bacterial, as stylish as it can get and as comfortable as it can get, makes our products stand apart from other brands. They are absolutely suitable for laying around, working and relaxing all day long,” Richa Kalra states.
Best Selling Products
The sale of sports bras and cotton sleep tops with pyjamas and shorts has increased manifolds for the intimate wear brands.
“Our high impact sports bras are ideal for high intensity work-outs like Zumba and running is a crowd favourite on account of benefits like 360 degree high compression that minimises bounce, insta-dry fabric for moisture wicking and quick evaporation, rib movement band that allows hindrance free movement for deep/ heavy breathing and no-poke flexible wires for support and comfort,” explains Kiruba Devi.
“The demand for our matching bra-tights set has increased and it has always been a bestseller as it is the perfect combo of must-have garments for a workout,” says Suman Chowdury.
“Our cotton spandex sports bras are really comfortable, and one can wear it all day long, do yoga in them and run grocery errands in them as well, so they are multi-functional,” states Richa Kalra.
Future of Activewear/ Loungewear
For now, the pandemic is stretching on and till we are all forced to stay indoors, the focus on loungewear will remain strong. Aside from this, the emphasis on health and wellness – which were already focal points in consumers’ lives – have also increased with consumers making sure they have an active lifestyle even when indoors.
“There is also increasing awareness of the importance of wearing the right gear while working which will lead to a surge in demand,” says Kiruba Devi.
“I think we are going to touch to a good 25 percent of our total overall sales from this particular category,” concludes Kalra.
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