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Wednesday, 06 October 2010 |
 The uber cool Indian male has come of age when it comes to fashion. Keeping track of the latest global trends he is now willing to experiment and spend to sport the right look. With the confident Indian male not wanting to hide behind the
‘blue and white shirt’ anymore, the action in the apparel market has shifted to the ‘lifestyle sportswear’ category. And brands are going all out to tap this market. Brands like Celio, Woodland, Beverly Hills Polo Club, Arvind and Madura Garments are tapping this fast growing segment, considered a bridge between formal and casual wear.
 “We have three lines in our collection – casual, sports and business wear. Sportswear is our line which has a lot of denims, bermudas, fashion polos, heavy cargos and trendy shirts. These are more relaxed and suited for occasions like a weekend trek or a sports outing. Though we have been having healthy sales from our casual segment, our growth in the sportswear line has been remarkable. Sportswear accounted for majority of our season’s turnover. We have started anticipating this trend for our future collections also,” says Rajat Luthra, CEO, Celio Future Fashion.
Indeed, while formal wear forms about half of the apparel market today, lifestyle sportswear (not to be mistaken with active sportswear from brands like Nike and Reebok) accounts for 30 per cent and the balance comes from casual wear. The category has seen good growth across brands and price segments. Alok Dubey, Vice-President and Business Head, Arvind agrees. He says sports lifestyle is the fastest growing category today, growing at nearly 100 per cent year-on-year. In fact, Arrow, the premium menswear brand from Arvind, sees almost one-third of its revenue coming from its sportswear extension ‘Arrow Sport’. While the brand has been growing at a CAGR of 35 per cent in the last three years, Arrow Sport has outshone Arrow with a 50 per cent growth. Their product line includes Arrow Sport, which has lines inspired from marine sports and rugby, shirts, T-shirts, polos, sweaters, sweatshirts and trousers priced between Rs 1,400 and Rs 2,000.
Similarly, Woodland, the well known adventure brand is set to dole out its autumn/winter collection with functionality as its backbone. The outerwear range will showcase its best ever line of outdoor adventure apparel and gear. Riding high on the sportswear segment, Woodland had recently launched its Yoga collection. “We successfully entered in the Yoga market and in the young explorers category (4-14years) and have received an encouraging response from all the markets. The product range would be further expanded in the coming season,” says Amol Dhillon, VP-Strategic Planning, Aero Group.
Indian Terrain, the premium men’s brand too is tapping the golf wear segment. “We believe sports and clothing has a good link. We feel golf is the right sport to be associated with. For one, fashion is an integral part of golf. It’s becoming one of the fastest growing aspiration sports for young Indians. And we are targeting the premium customer in urban cities. Our line of shorts and some of our khakis and T-shirts are already a fashionable range as well as a well-fitted range for the golf course,” says Charath Narasimhan, CEO, Celebrity Fashions makers of Indian Terrain.
Arvind on the other hand had launched the mid-premium American brand US Polo and the brand is all set to clock revenues of Rs 50 crore this year. Dubey says, “While, in general, consumers come back to an apparel store once a quarter, for US Polo we are seeing them back come almost every month. About 70 cent of the brand’s business comes from repeat customers. We are eyeing a turnover of Rs 100 crores in the third year through aggressive retail expansion.” They are looking at brand opening 100 stores in two years. US Polo has also tied up with the 61st Cavalry polo team as its apparel partner. |
