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

Zara is said to have witnessed sales of about Rs 9 crore a month from its store located at south Delhi's Select City Walk Mall. It’s the same mall where American clothing brand Gap debuted last month. As per sources, Gap sold apparel and accessories worth Rs 23 lakh daily on an average during its first month of operations in India. It has surpassed every other retailer in the country in terms of per sq. ft. sales, slightly behind Zara.

The company has 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 the top three Indian cities of Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru, with about 10 store opening planned by mid-next year, with an investment of around Rs 8-10 crore for each. Gap decided to keep the prices of women's denims from Rs 2,000 onward and tops will begin from Rs 799. This pricing range suggests that the company has kept the price sensitive Indian consumers in mind.

Bullish on India, the company having presence in 45 markets, finds enormous opportunity to achieve Rs 1,000 crores, by establishing Gap 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.