Gap manages to close in on Zara, in its debut month

Fast fashion brand Zara is said to be witnessing sales of about Rs 9 crore a month from its stores located at south Delhi's Select City Walk mall. Meanwhile American clothing brand Gap which debuted last month is said to have sold apparel and accessories worth Rs 23 lakh daily on an average during its first month of operations in India, surpassing every other retailer in the country in terms of per square foot sales, slightly behind Zara.

The company entered the country through a partnership with Arvind. Arvind aims to invest Rs 400 crores to spread Gap’s presence with almost 40 stores over the next five years. To begin with, the company would launch stores in top three cities of Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore, with about 10 store opening planned by mid-next year, with an investment of around Rs 8-10 crore for each. The company has decided to keep the prices of women's denims from Rs 2,000 onward and tops will begin from Rs 799. This pricing suggests that the company has kept the price sensitive Indian consumers in mind.

Having a presence in 45 markets, Gap finds enormous opportunity to achieve Rs 1,000 crores, by establishing the brand in India. As per the Technopak study, Indian apparel market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 9 percent, from 41 billion dollars (over Rs 26,200 crores) in 2013 to 102 billion dollars (over Rs 6,52,000 crores) in 2023.