Sweatshirts demand grows as winter becomes milder

In the face of an unpredictable winter this year, one category of winter wear has consistently done well, and that is sweatshirts. It has made inroads into menswear, women’s wear and kid’s wear. Along with it, what has caught the fancy of many consumers is a new concept called ‘Swajackets’, which is a mix of sweatshirts and jackets. Brands/manufacturers are cashing in on this growing demand by bringing in new products.

The fact that sweatshirts are value for money is reiterated by Nikhil Jain, Director, Miss Grace as h says, “Apart from being versatile, sweatshirts are value for money in terms of purchase and easy to maintain. Winters these days are not that harsh and for the mild winter sweatshirts solve the purpose. Moreover, the cost of jackets are high compared to sweatshirts which are more durable with added comfort.”

Innovative designs adds to popularity

Sweatshirts are no longer simple and casual. On offer are a wide variety of sweatshirts in different fabrics and a variety of colours as well as embellishments. The variety of fabrics include: leather, snow fleece and grindle fleece. The latter is a mix of colours with dots and spots. Says Arshdeep Singh Baweja, Proprietor, Punjabi Heritage, “We have brought in unique colours and fabrics. Earthy shades such as dark brown, khaki and olives and bright colours such as black blue and red are in trend. This year sweatshirts are starkly different and include wool as well as jacket material such as cotton and other fabrics with printed and washed leather. Since we are using leather in sweatshirts, the look automatically changes into sweatshirt-jacket.”

Kids’ wear, women’s wear do well this winter

Most parents prefer sweatshirts for children who outgrow clothes fast every year. Also, parents find sweatshirts easy to maintain and long-lasting, and prefer it over high-maintenance jackets and expensive sweaters. As a result, kids segment has been growing well. The same is the case with women’s wear where women nowadays prefer the trendy sweatshirts over bulky, unfashionable sweaters. TMO is one brand which is also into kids winter wear. Vipan Verma, director, TMO, says, “Last year we witnessed 10 to 15 per cent growth and inventory of around 10 per cent, which we consider normal.” The brand makes reversible sweatshirts in smart fits and fashion and basic sweatshirts along with heavy weight sweatshirts which has good demand.

A recent Technopak study pegged the winter wear market in India at Rs 15,670 crores in 2014 and expected to grow at a CAGR of 8 per cent to reach Rs 33,590 crores by 2024. Since sales in this category is seasonal and depends on the duration of the winter, hence brands need to work on their marketing and production strategy to avoid inventory issues.