Festivals and special occasions including weddings provide a huge opportunity for ethnicwear segment but for decades, corporate retailers have focused on westernwear and associated with overseas brands. However, in the last 4-5 years, they have increased their focus on Indian ethnicwear also. Like Reliance has a majority stake in couture brands Abu Jani Sandeep Khosla, Satya Paul, Raghavendra Rathore, Abraham & Thakore, Ritu Kumar, Manish Malhotra, Anamika Khanna’s prêt line AK-OK, a label that marries Indian silhouettes with streetwear. Similarly, ABRFL has strategic partnerships with designers Shantanu & Nikhil, Tarun Tahiliani, Sabyasachi and House of Masaba. Marigold Lane is an ethnic fusion brand by ABRFL. With all these developments, ethnicwear portfolio of ABRFL is expected to reach Rs. 5,000 crore in the next three years. Tasva, a joint venture of ABFRL-Tarun Tahiliani, had opened its first store in Bengaluru in December 2021 and now it has around 45 stores across India. Even e-commerce leader like Myntra have thrust on this segment as it has observed double growth in its premium ethnicwear category, largely driven by metros and Tier-1 cities in India. Leading ethnicwear retailer Vedant Fashions (having brands Manyavar, Twamev, Manthan, Mohey and Mebaz) is also continuously growing. Emerging ethnicwear D2C brand Shobitam has marked its first acquisition with apparel brand House of Blouse. These multiple developments indicate that this niche product category is now becoming more organised and its market is evolving. As per a report of Edelweiss, a leading brokerage firm, the ethnicwear market in India is pegged at US $ 20 billion, of which 70 per cent is unorganised.
Rather than creating their own brands in this segment, majority of the retail leaders took the path of investing in designer brands as there are various talented Indian ethnicwear designers offering a variety of ethnicwear. While designers are able to focus mainly on design development, retail house takes care of the rest. Designers are able to move beyond couture and are able to get a customer base which are not keen to pay for couture but buy similar branded products in the stores. It is also significant to mention here that none of the designers have sold off their business 100 per cent and the average stake sold is around 51 per cent. With the growth of the market, designers’ remaining part is going to be hugely valuable in next 5 to 7 years.
Though Trent (Tata Group) has taken a separate route and launched a new ethnicwear brand Samoh. Samoh debuts with its first-ever store in Lucknow and will cater to people who appreciate luxurious and modern take on cherished designs and motifs from the Indian hinterland.
These partnership are like a tool for extending the presence of the brand. And companies like Reliance Brands and ABFRL are picking brands with a keen eye and are in the process of building a diverse set of brands which can be long-term players.
Designers are also well aware that couture is no longer enough; they need to expand their customer base by offering more accessible price points, extensive distribution and a wider range of products. And all this is not possible by themselves. So funding and expertise of the corporate houses support them at this critical juncture. Corporate retailers play a significant role in areas where designers are lacking like scientific approach to supply chain, sourcing and manufacturing strategy for products and so on.
The partnership between designers and leading retailers aims to highlight India’s re-emerging role in the international couture industry, through parallel tracks of sustenance and innovation, continuing to build business through the patronage of Indian craftspeople.
Together these partnerships are building a robust platform and customer ecosystem for native textiles and crafts – both in India and across the world – so that crafts receive the honour and recognition they deserve in international couture.
| Leading players in Ethicwear |
| FabIndia |
| Mina Bazaar |
| BIBA |
| Indya |
| Sabhyata |
| Raw Mango |
| GLOBAL DESI |
| AMPM |
| Soch |
| Rangriti |
Other players too emerging strongly in this niche category
Apart from corporates and designers, there are other strongly emerging players also in ethnicwear who are not only giving an organised form to this segment but also growing. They are a part of the growth trajectory.
Experts do believe that ethnicwear is the largest apparel category in India at 30 per cent of the domestic apparel market. While 80-85 per cent of this market is dominated by the unorganised segment, the branded or organised end of the market at 15-20 per cent is growing at around 20 per cent per annum. In organised ethnicwear market, 40 per cent belongs to brands in the mid and value segment while 30 per cent each is occupied by premium, super-premium and luxury brands.
Mensa Brands of India has decided to bet on ethnic clusters for growth and it is expecting to grow to US $ 80 million revenue this fiscal (FY ’23), while it is gearing up to grow to US $ 200-250 million revenue over the next 4-5 years. It has acquired brands such as Karagiri, Priyaasi, Ishin and Anubhutee.
Libas, an ethnicwear brand, has expanded its offline presence, having as of now 12 stores. It has plans to open 300 EBOs in the next four years. It recorded gross merchandise revenue of Rs. 600 crore in FY 2021-22. Rajasthan’s leading D2C ethnicwear brand Aachho is now focusing on opening stores too. Indya, the ethnicwear retailer, has launched a new premium occasionwear line named ‘Indya Luxe’.
