Fast Fashion: Indian brands foray cautiously

With higher purchasing power Indian’s appetite for fashion has increased. A sizeable amount of money is being spent on clothes, often, on clothes that are now referred to as “fast fashion”. Some experts say this genre of fashion

is equivalent to fast food: it’s quick, cheap and changes fast some even say it’s harmful to the environment. In the west, retailers like H&M, Zara and Primark have made a mark with their fast fashion lines. While in India the concept is yet to take off. Indeed, a few western brands have opened their outlets in India and they are providing fast fashion but most domestic brands still follow the two-season format. Now, some domestic brands have taken their first step towards fast fashion. Most of them are in the women’s wear space. They serve young women who are fashion forward and want to buy trendy clothes at affordable prices. Shorter product life cycles mean that newer products are in stores more often and there is a lot of variety to choose from.

“Brands like Biba, AND, Remanika have tried the fast fashion model, but they still have a long way to go. It is the fashionable Indian with western tastes who are fuelling the success of Zara and Forever 21 in India. Indian consumers are yet to fully absorb the concept of fast fashion. There is a definite need for trendy yet affordable home-grown fast fashion brands, which can cater to the Indian fashion sensibilities better,” says Arindam Saha, VP-Fashion & Textiles, Technopak Advisors. The key to success lies in the execution of the Quick Response business model. Industry leaders like Zara and H&M have a much shorter lead time than the industry average. This is mainly achieved by vertical integration of manufacturing, design, distribution, logistics and retailing. Product design plays a major role and the brand needs to be up to date with the prevailing fashion and constantly churn out new, exciting products that respond to customer desires. And since timely delivery forms the core essence of the fast fashion business, brands have to pay extra attention to their logistics and distribution function.

Among the domestic brands, Remanika a women’s wear brand started fast fashion about 12 years ago, when there were hardly any fashion brands for the masses. “We are constantly updating ourselves with current trends, we forecast one season ahead to deliver the perfect up-to-date style at the right time. We are constantly brain storming, analyzing new trends and trying to interpret them for our customers,” elucidates Jalaj Kakkar, CEO.

Derby Jeans Community another domestic fast fashion brand believes in the motto: Ramp to Rack. “Our team works on this concept of bringing the latest and the trends from international fashion capitals to our customers in the shortest possible time. We have been successful in making this possible through our innovative and system-based functions. A lot of research is done to ensure that the designs are adapted wherever required to the lifestyle and climatic conditions of our country,” explains Vijay Kapoor, MD, Derby Clothing. The brand operates through exclusive stores and has recently tied up with some leading distribution houses in various regions. Kapoor believes there is a big opportunity for brands that can innovate and offer original designs and concepts. “The cut, copy and paste brands might not survive in the long run. We have taken a very cautious call on leading this revolution in the country and are happy with the industry and customer response so far,” he avers.

Experts say, the fast fashion model delivers higher return on capital, higher inventory turns and better same store sales growth figures. To work well, the model requires a close collaboration between the retailers and suppliers. As the supply chain gets shorter and the roles evolve, the challenge for all the stakeholders is to add value, while improving the responsiveness and efficiency of the entire chain at the same time. Saha sums up, “Fast fashion is a relatively new concept in India and most retailers in this category are big international brands. They are creating a trend for more frequent shopping amongst Indians, who are culturally not accustomed to changing their wardrobes often. Also, since most fast fashion derives its inspiration from local and international trends, Indians will become more global and experimental in their approach to fashion clothing.” Most fast fashion brands today are focused on women’s western wear. There is a significant opportunity in other categories with much larger market sizes in India like menswear and ethnic wear have not yet being tapped into. But adapting these categories to fast fashion would also mean a different challenge in the Indian context.