Top global clothing and fast fashion businesses appear to have found a strong chord with youthful customers, with sales increasing by 40 per cent to 60 per cent in FY ’23, defying the current trend in a market where general demand for discretionary items has slowed.
For instance, Swedish fashion shop H&M and competitor Zara claimed a 40 per cent gain in revenue, while Japanese brand Uniqlo recorded a 60 per cent increase in sales. According to the Registrar of Companies, Levi’s and Marks & Spencer increased by 54 per cent. Lifestyle International, also witnessed a 46 per cent increase in income on a huge basis. These brands generated over US $ 2.6 billion in yearly revenue, more than doubling from FY ’21.
Devangshu Dutta, founder of strategic consulting firm Third Eyesight said, “Global brands have a natural edge as customers become more brand savvy. International brands have a specific aspirational energy that propels them forward. They can also handle holding insufficient sales and pricing better than lesser others. These companies are still far from the point of saturation in terms of distribution and hence may invest more to broaden their influence.”
Due to inflationary pressures, the fashion retail category has been experiencing a decrease in demand since January ‘23. Overall retail growth dropped to 6 per cent in March and April, then increased to 9 per cent in August and September until dropping back to 7 per cent in October and November.
In 2023, Levi’s stated that India is now their largest market inside Asia and sixth largest internationally, while M&S stated that it is establishing a store in India every month, which is now its largest foreign market outside of its own nation regardless of store network.
