India’s lingerie market witnessing a huge fillip

India is one of the most lucrative global retail markets, like any other industry, it is offering a huge fillip to the lingerie industry. Valued at 3 billion dollar, lingerie business holds the largest pie of market share in India with high margins in returns. This segment has carved a niche for itself in garment manufacturing business – From being a market worth Rs 780 crores (175.9 million dollars) in 2003, the organised lingerie market has almost doubled to Rs 1645 crores (370.3 million dollars) bustling business in the last five years.

Apart from the domestic players, a large number of international brands are entering this attractive market. Lingerie players like Amante, Enamor, Zivame, Lovable and Pretty Secrets are providing stiff competition to age long basic players such as Rupa, Jockey, VIP, Hanes and Lux, with consumers being at the profitable. While earlier, major share of the lingerie market was being held by the mid-market and economy segments, the super-premium and premium segments although smaller, yet are growing by leaps and bounds. Sales channels that are capitalising on the growing Indian lingerie market are the MBOs and online portals. The concept of online lingerie stores has enhanced the growth prospects of the lingerie market as it offers a wide range of international and private labels on a single platform. The convenience of shopping from home comforts with a host of Indian and international brands in vicinity add the required allure to online shopping.

Distribution channel

A wide gap in the market has presented immense opportunities for online players to capitalise on strong supply chains, offering depth and breadth of inventory and already established understanding of client buying behaviour and demographics. Use of AI and CRM helps plays get intuitive knowledge about consumer behaviour, helping them craft innovative ways to attract attention. Online portals run on a steady stream of delivery and logistic bodies, to implement their operations to an efficient level. Some online retailers have their own delivery channels, optimising on the reliability and in-turn, sanctions on the larger share of the pie.

Omnipresence is the essence

Currently, only one per cent in this segment is online, and in coming years growth is expected to be manifold. Although physical stores have own set of advantages, online business of lingerie is slowly gaining an edge over it. It is a well- known fact that up a retail store in a mall or a high-street adds to the final mark price, while restricting the geographic reach, affecting flexibility. On the other hand, online model provides per-mediated scalability and allows the brands to pass on the cost savings to consumers. Physical stores may bring in the bulk of the sales but the unavailability of sizes, lack of privacy and shortage of trained personnel has paved the way for online lingerie portals to emerge as well-favoured. New-fangled services such as real-time trials, loyalty programs and easy return schemes, ensure that online shopping of intimates turn out to be a personal, engaging affair. Like all the other fashion formats, lingerie companies should also have omni-channel presence rather than just focussing on one retail platform to reap greater benefits.