Market for apparel and footwear booms

The men’s apparel and footwear industry in India has shown stupendous progress from 2006 to 2012. It is

expected to grow further at a compound annual growth rate of more than 43,000 million dollars by 2017. These are some of the findings by Ken Research in its study, ‘India Men’s Apparel and Footwear Market Outlook to 2017’.

The growth of the apparel and footwear market in India has been driven by a rising awareness of international brands and increasing trends of fashion among the male segment of the population. The urban middle class of India has been the largest buyer of men’s apparel and footwear with increasing spending capacity due to rising disposable income in recent years.

Traditionally, men used to wear suits, sherwanis and traditional long coats during special festive occasions and celebrations. These have been replaced with western style jackets and collared shirts. The organized market for men’s shirts in the country has seen a revamp with the arrival of leading global apparel manufacturers and joint ventures with domestic players in the apparel space. It was traditionally dominated by local players.

Individuals have become more conscious about their outerwear and are willing to spend more on apparel. The Indian footwear market showed phenomenal growth of 17.7 percent during the period 2003 to 2009.