Indian event management industry

The current size of the event management industry in India is about Rs 800 crore.

This industry caters to events in four broad categories: Leisure, cultural, personal and organisational.

At present, the industry is at a nascent stage and extremely unorganised, comprising mainly homemakers and self-employed businessmen.

Rising household as well as company incomes, growing number of corporate awards and conferences, television and sports events, reality shows and so on are helping this sector grow.

With rising incomes, people are also spending more on weddings, parties and other personal functions.

Few institutes offer specialised training for this industry, but with growing awareness on the opportunities, the number is likely to grow.

External storage drives market in India

The Indian external data storage market is estimated at roughly Rs 900 crore, growing at over 20 per cent since 2007. The mid-tier segment occupies almost one-third of the total market.

Growth in internet surfing and content building has contributed to an increasing demand for high-storage external devices. External hard disks of 250 GB and 320 GB capacities capture 75 per cent of the market demand, followed by portable pen drives, MP3 players and flash drives.

Storage capacity, speed of transfer, reduction in noise and portability are the main drivers for the demand for external storage devices. Of late, many companies have been able to cater to this demand, with storage capacities going higher (above 250 GB in a pen drive) and the devices becoming smaller in size.

A recent trend witnessed is that these devices have become commodity products sold through regular retail channels apart from specialised outlets.

Jewellery export market

The Indian export market for gems and jewellery grew by 1.45 per cent in fiscal year 2009 over the previous year.

The growth in the sector was primarily driven by gold jewellery exports. Exports of cut and polished diamonds saw a decrease.

The UAE is the largest export destination, followed by Hong Kong and the United States.

The Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council is the apex body for this industry involved in promoting Indian gems and jewellery internationally.

School uniform market in India

The Rs 172,000-crore private education market in India is estimated to be growing at 11 per cent a year — this segment represents 51 per cent of this market. Thus, the market for school uniforms is huge and growing at a fast pace. At present, uniforms are almost 40 per cent of the Rs 32,000-crore kidswear market, with growth of 15 per cent over last year.

A large portion of the school uniform retail market is unorganised and fragmented compared to the uniform market internationally where organised retail brands have a strong presence.

Brands such as S Kumars and Mafatlal have shown interest in the school uniform market.

PLUS size apparel market

With an obesity rate of 5 per cent in India, the plus-size population in the country is in excess of 150 million, creating a huge scope for plus-size clothing.

Currently, plus-size clothing has a share of 0.15 per cent of the total Indian apparel market.

Earlier, plus-size apparel was essentially lingerie and maternity wear, but, of late, western apparel in womenswear and menswear has gained prominence.

Larger sizes, exposure to western culture and awareness about fashion trends have accelerated the demand for fashionable plus-size apparel in India.

Popular international brands specialising in this segment are Evans, Lane Bryant, Igigi and so on, while brands like Next, Marks and Spencer and JC Penney have a special line of plus-size clothing.

Indian brands such as Revolution, Mustard and Royal Classic Polo have also forayed into the segment.