In women’s segment, ethnic wear holds bigger share

Ethnic wear currently constitutes 50 per cent of the total women apparel sales. Arun Sirdeshmukh, Business Head of Amazon India, says women’s ethnic wear is the most popular category on Amazon Fashion. The company is witnessing a shift in demand from saris and dress materials to size categories like kurtas at a much higher pace compared to size-free categories.

Women’s ethnic wear market in India is booming with brands like BIBA, TCNS Clothing and FabIndia emerging as giant players in the segment. With the entry of new players, it would be interesting to see whether the new players take over the segment or the present giants retain their position and grow bigger.

Amazon has witnessed an overall growth of over 80 per cent in women’s wear, out of which women’s ethnic segment contributes over 50 per cent. Under ethnic category, the online platform is also focusing on building handloom selection. A division of Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail, Pantaloons, echoes a similar trend in the offline space. The women’s wear segment in Pantaloons has shown a robust growth rate of around 25 per cent over the past couple of years; with both ethnic and western wear performing equally well. Currently, women’s wear contributes around 45 per cent to Pantaloons’ business.

The ethnic wear market’s worth is around Rs 70,000 crores currently, out of which 70 per cent is dominated by the unorganized players. It is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9 per cent to reach Rs 1, 26,210 crore in 2019.