In the years 2022 to 2023, India’s garment market expanded by 15 per cent. According to a report by the Economic Times, price increases rather than sales growth drove the rise of the garment sector. According to information provided by the Clothing Manufacturers Association of India (CMAI), sales actually decreased by 3 per cent.
Growth in sales is above pre-pandemic levels, but this growth came about only during Diwali last year. Rahul Mehta, Chief Mentor at CMAI, was quoted in the report as saying, “There was an upswing in sales after lockdowns after consumers rushed to malls and stores, but that has normalised now. We see large branded and organised chains performing well despite price increases, but a large chunk of smaller retailers and apparel makers operating out of multi-brand outlets in smaller towns are feeling the pressure due to inflation.”
The garment market has historically increased between 10 and 12 per cent annually, although this growth was mostly fueled by higher sales.
According to the report, the cost of cotton has climbed by 50 per cent in the last two years, and the majority of producers have increased prices by 15 per cent to 20 per cent. Consumer demand has decreased as a result of the price increase. This is especially true for unorganised small-town firms.
The report said that there has been a substantial change in customer desire, with consumers now preferring branded products, further elaborating on the industry’s developments. Five years ago, the branded apparel category only made up 25 per cent of the market; today, it represents 30 per cent.
The report quoted Dinesh Taluja, Chief Financial Officer at Reliance Retail, who said, “Fashion and lifestyle business continues to grow pretty strongly. We continue to improve our average bill values and conversion rates as our price-value proposition in this space is very strong as you are aware of, there’s a share of our own brands in our offline business.”
