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.

India: Shopping with the family

Indians devote roughly the same share of their income to apparel as do Chinese and Brazilians. But the country’s lower per capita income levels mean overall spending on apparel is significantly lower, and the habits of Indian shoppers present intriguing challenges for multinationals eyeing the market. For starters, nearly 40 percent of the mass-market Indian shoppers surveyed said that their most important shopping occasions revolved around special events, such as weddings and annual religious festivals—a figure dramatically higher than the one for shoppers in the other emerging markets we studied. Furthermore, to a greater extent than elsewhere, shopping is a family activity in India: nearly 70 percent of its shoppers always go to stores with family, and 74 percent—more than twice the average of Brazil, China, and Russia—view shopping as the best way to spend time with family. The preference for family-oriented shopping is consistent across age groups, income segments, regions, and city sizes.


As in many markets, in India women are the primary decision makers in apparel purchases for the entire family. But India’s men also have an important role: indeed, half of our survey respondents said that their husbands had a major influence on which stores they frequented—a proportion far higher than the one for Brazil (3 percent), China (8 percent), and Russia (18 percent). What’s more, India is unusual in that the market for men’s apparel is larger than the women’s market, where traditional Indian apparel still dominates. Mass-market apparel retailers must therefore find formats and merchandising approaches that will attract shoppers seeking apparel not only for special occasions but also appealing to the entire family.

THE INDIAN SILK MARKET

World silk production is estimated to be 95,000 metric tonnes (MT). The world market for silk and silk products has grown by a mere 4 per cent in the past few years.

China and India together produce more than 80 per cent of the world’s raw silk.

Although India is the second-largest producer of silk in the world after China, it accounts for just 5 per cent of the global silk market — the bulk of Indian silk thread and silk cloth is consumed domestically.

The sericulture industry is land-based as silkworm rearing involves over 700,000 farm families and is concentrated in the three southern states of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh.

The US (3 per cent) and the EU (2 per cent) are the largest markets for silk outside Asia, but with minuscule growth rates.

US imports of silk bed linen have almost doubled in the past two years, India commands a 40 per cent market share in the US silk bed linen market.

Over 90 per cent of the silk produced in India is multi-voltine in nature, while in the US and EU markets, the demand is mainly for bivoltine silk.

Of the 300,000 looms in the Indian silk weaving sector, only 10 per cent are powerloom; the rest are in the handloom sector.

THE JEANSWEAR MARKET IN INDIA

The branded jeanswear market in India was worth approximately Rs 2,100 crore in 2006, with about 35 million consumers in India purchasing over 44 million pairs of jeans.

Men account for the bulk of consumption at 76 per cent, followed by women (17 per cent) and children (7 per cent).

About 80 per cent of the jeanswear in India is branded.

The primary consumer group is the 16 to 25 age group, which buys denims largely for emotional connectivity.

The secondary target’s — 25 years and above — purchase decisions are also influenced by emotional appeal, but largely by the functional purpose of jeans.

The domestic jeanswear market is growing at 10 per cent a year. Moreover, domestic demand for denim is better than international demand.

The super-premium subset (Rs 2,000 and above) is strengthening with increased brand presence. It is currently dominated by non-Indian and domestic “designer wear” labels.

The potential of the under-Rs 300 jeanswear segment is massive and largely untapped. The estimated valuation is about Rs 2,300 crore, which is greater than the size of the total branded jeanswear market.

The Indian apparel market

The apparel market in India is estimated at Rs 1,17,300 crore*. It is growing at CAGR 13 per cent and is expected to reach Rs 2,17,000 crore by 2012.

The apparel market is divided into four categories: men's wear, women's wear, unisex wear and kids' wear.

The men's wear market accounts for 35.5 per cent of the total apparel market and is valued at Rs 41,700 crore.

The women's wear market is 32.3 per cent of the total apparel market and is valued at Rs 37,900 crore.

The unisex-wear market, valued at Rs 8,900 crore, is 7.5 per cent of the total apparel market.

The kids' wear market is estimated at Rs 28,800 crore. It makes up 24.5 per cent of the total apparel market.