CMAI Q1 Apparel Index: Growth bounces back as small brands do better

CMAI’s Apparel Index for Q1 April-June FY 2016-17 indicates the industry has managed better growth with overall Index Value at 5.45 points compared to previous quarter (Q4) where the overall Index Value was 3.79 points. Giant and Large brands, like always have maintained their growth trajectory which is still much higher than Small and Mid brands. In fact, growth this quarter for Giant and Large brands is higher than last quarter but lower than the same quarter previous year. The trend is similar for Mid brands however, it’s the Small brands that have performed much better this quarter compared to other quarters, touching 4.45 points. Perhaps, what made Small brands improve performance this quarter was the unusually low increase in Inventory Holding at 1.78 indicating Small brands didn’t hold inventories long enough. Index value bouncing back to 5.45 points, is mainly on account of restricted increase in Inventory Holding at 1.72, most often this figure is much higher in other quarters.