By 2025 India will be one of the best clothing markets with a total value of 93 billion dollars and a growth rate of 14% per year: data that make the sector far more attractive than China and the United States.
This is what emerged from a research conducted by ICE – Italian Trade and Investment Agency – and Pwc – a multinational network of professional services companies that helps organisations and individuals create the value they are looking for, by delivering quality in Assurance, Tax and Advisory services – on the fashion sector in India and the prospects for the Italian fashion industry, presented during the “Italy and India in the future of fashion” event held last month.
During the webinar, broadcast on the Facebook page of the Embassy of Italy in India, with the collaboration of the ICE Agency, the National Chamber of Fashion, Pwc and Assocalzaturifici, it was pointed out that in 2019 women’s clothing had a value of 22 billion dollars which could grow to 28 billion by 2025, while men’s clothing of 26 billion dollars aiming to rise to 34 billion by 2025. The men’s clothing sector, in particular, contributes 60% of the online market for brands and fashion from the West.
“The Indian market is dynamic, there is growth potential for Italian companies and for this we need to understand the consumer market” said Alessandro Liberatori, director of the ICE office in New Delhi.
In 2020, the online clothing market in India was worth 8 billion dollars, 60% for Western fashion, and it is estimated that e-commerce should increase from 7.9% in 2019 to 41% in 2025. In addition to the increase in the female working population, an increase in the availability of spending, the spread of Western fashion, a widespread knowledge of local brands and new local brands with unique design innovations, the growth rate is mainly influenced by young people, “the millennials, representing 34% of the Indian population, and generation Z ” explained Erika Andreetta, Consumer Market consulting leader Pwc.
An important point is also the growth of the so-called fast-fashion and the attention to sustainability. According to the Ambassador of Italy, Vincenzo De Luca, “[…] fashion is adapting to the so-called new normal and in this new phase of experimentation India and Italy can come together, share experiences on how to build a new sustainable ecosystem in world of fashion and in the contamination between cultures, in the sharing of knowledge and artisan skills, can give birth to the best ideas “.
As for the arrival on the Indian market, Pwc suggests an action plan that aims at investment in e-commerce platforms, the franchising model, the development of partnerships and joint ventures with local operators and stores managed directly for brands with more resources and already known in the local market.
After the discovery of new opportunities for Italian start-ups in the agritech, foodtech and industry 4.0 fields, it is now the turn of the clothing sector. India, therefore, appears to be a market with great potential for Italian investments.
