Indian Lingerie Industry: Unleashing the Growth Potential

by Ritu Sharma, Research Editor, Koncept Analytics

The lingerie industry has covered a long distance from its initial days where the purpose of intimate apparel wastotally different from what it is today. The credit of this metamorphosis of the entire industry indeed goes totechnology and innovations.

At present, lingerie as a product category has a wide product base to offer, while innovative developments serving asits backbone. Modern consumers have an array of products to choose from that cover all possible aspects of fashionand styling to fabric and high finishing.

The fact that womens dresses have always reflected the dynamic changes in society can not be negated easily. And asthe Indian women are coming of age, the statement holds special significance when talking of their attire.

Financial freedom is one of the top priorities of Indian women, especially in the urban cities and with financialfreedom comes the choice of leading a lifestyle that suits ones tastes and preferences. Women like to wear expensivejewellery, carry high-end gadgets and buy apparel and footwear that make them look good, feel comfortable and alsoexude their style statement in a subtle way.

When it comes to enquire about innerwear or lingerie, the faces that use to give a shy and do not cross your limitlooks have turned less aggressive and more argumentative. Like all Indians who love to argue on any issue, as AmartyaSen says in his book The Argumentative Indian, Indian women now prefer to talk about their innerwear to peoplewho can help offer them the products they are looking for.

However, the scene was extremely different few years back when women were in the sole discretion of salesmen whoused to decide about the piece of lingerie size, fit and brand that are suitable for them.

Indian women consumers are still very shy when it comes to the purchase of lingerie. But slowly and steadily, theyare getting bolder in terms of selection of their lingerie and as a result they have started demanding lingerie of theirchoice, which is in effect helping the growth of branded lingerie in India, according to Mr. Rajnish Bansal who ownstwo exclusive lingerie shop in Ghaziabad and who has already found a place of honor in the Indian Limca Book ofWorld Records for a whopping collection of 22,300 undergarment items.

Times have changed now and for the good. With factors like growing number of working women, changing fashiontrends, rising information level and media exposure, and the foray of famous foreign brands in the Indian market,Indian women have become more conscious about the range of brands that should fill their wardrobes. The old practiceof stacking lingerie in a corner of wardrobe no longer exists in the modern age. Rather, the taste of women related totheir undergarments has reached new heights and it will not be a hyperbole to say that it has become a fashionstatement.

An investigation of the reasons behind this metamorphosis signals towards the following trends, the main among thembeing the changing attitude of women towards their innerwear:

First, the outerwear for women have undergone a tremendous change in the recent past from salwar-kameez andsaris to denims and t-shirts and feminine tops, especially in the urban areas.

An increasing number of female demography is entering professional lives where they need different outerwear foroffice, parties and recreation, as a result of which, they opt for innerwear that matches the outerwear.

Third, women are getting more conscious of their health and physique a phenomenon increasingly witnessed withthe sprawling gymnasiums in the neighborhood basements. It is the fitness factor which has given rise to the sales of

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sports brassieres and briefs that suit the sporting activities of women.

Last, but not the least, special occasions like a marriage ceremony or social gathering calls for a different outerwearand a matching innerwear.

Size and growth of Indian lingerie industry

All the mentioned factors have increased the growth rate of the Indian lingerie industry in the last five years. Frombeing a market worth Rs. 870 crores (US$196 million) in 2003, the organized lingerie market has almost doubled toRs. 1645 crore (US$370.3 million) bustling business in the last five years, according to the findings of the report titledIndian Lingerie Industry: Trends and Opportunities by Koncept Analytics, a research and consulting firm.

Figure 1: Value of lingerie market in India: 2003-2007

Source: Koncept Analytics

Trade analysts and industry insiders are of the view that the notable rate at which the overall industry is growingresults from the beyond recognition improvement of the Indian market during the last five years after the advent ofmultinational brands in the country and the growth of organized retail. Perhaps this is the reason why the premium andsuper-premium segment of the lingerie industry, with brassieres priced above Rs. 200 (US$5) and mostly characterizedby the presence of international brands, are witnessing higher growth compared to mid-market and low/economysegments.

The current situation of the Indian market signals towards the premium and super-premium segments of the industry asthe major growth segments. Despite of being the smallest segment in the overall lingerie industry, the premiumsegment has been growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 35% in the last five years and is advancingfollowing a consumer shift from economy and mid-market segments to the premium segment.

The low and economy segment, however, is growing in terms of volume and value from the industry being moreorganized.

The premium segment is characterized either by international brands or joint venture of Indian manufacturers withinternational companies. Brands like Lovable, Enamor and Triumph have successfully made place for themselves inthe premium lingerie segments, while other premium lingerie brands like Etam, Benetton, La Perla and About U are onan expansion spree.

Indian women: Looking for a perfect shopping ambience

Growth of the organized retail sector has fueled growth of the lingerie industry as the share of the former has increased

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from 3% in 2004 to 5.9 percent in 2007 in the Indian market. The South India-based lingerie manufacturers gainedmore in this scenario as organized retail has existed in the region for a long period of time compared to other regions.The deep penetration of branded regional players like Angelform and Naidu Hall in the South is mostly because ofthe fact that the retail sector has been more organized there, according to Mr. Sachin Gupta, Director, BodyCareInternational.

Besides a strong preference for the premium lingerie brands, especially by the upper middle class and higher classwomen, the majority of women look for specific features in an outlet where they can comfortably shop for theirinnerwear.

Among the common set of features that women in the urban centers look for in a lingerie shop include:

Availability of multiple brands under one roof

Convenience of shopping for female consumers

Trial rooms

Comparison of different brands in terms of price, quality and fitting

More choices of colors, fits and prices

Personalized shopping experience

With technology driving each industry today, a category like lingerie can not be far behind in delving into the latesttrends and innovations that meet the needs and desire of a woman.

Innovative fabrics providing comfort and fit

Gone are the days when lingerie came in simple and plain forms of cotton. A pure luxury like lingerie is the end-product of a number of fabrics and embellishments woven together to create that marvelous effect, be it the fabric, thelinen, the thread, the foam, the moulds or the elastic.

In the current market place, there are several technically developed fabrics that include lycra, satin, hosiery, net, etc.Viscose fiber is one of the main achievements of the lingerie industry in developing a fabric which offers greatcomfort and perfect fit.

In India, the cities of Mumbai, Bangalore, Delhi and Tripur house the majority of manufacturing units forlingerie/underwear with multinational units having their manufacturing base at Bangalore and Mumbai.

The foreign brands like Enamor (joint venture with Gokaldas Images) and Jockey (licensed by Page Industries) haveestablished their manufacturing facilities in Bangalore.

Lovable, a lingerie brand bought by Maxwell Industries from Sara Lee, also has its operations in Bangalore.

Groversons and BodyCare are based in Delhi whereas Maxwell Industries (Vanity Fair, Daisy Dee and other brands)is based in Mumbai and has units at Bangalore and Coimbatore.

These manufacturers generally source lingerie fabric from South East Asian countries like China and Thailand orEuropean countries. Chinese imports are cost effective for Indian manufacturers as Chinese imports are 30%-40%cheaper compared to European imports, but it requires the Indian companies to compromise in terms of quality andcreativity. It is also marred by damaged or defective fabric.

High-quality fabric for lingerie and innerwear in India comes from European countries. European companies like theItalian firm Carvico SpA is known for its warp knit fabrics whereas Jersey Lomalina, another Italian company, is oneof the best producers of circular knit fabrics. Similarly Simplex Knitting, a UK-based company is one of the worlds

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largest producers of simplex fabrics and Wiley Hermann, an Austrian company is known for manufacturing circularknit fabrics.

Accessories gaining significance

Likewise, the accessories used in the manufacturing of this highly sensitive piece of womens clothing have alsowitnessed a tremendous change in the recent past. Earlier in 1952, there was no elastic used in lingerie in India, but ahard non-stretch material acted as straps. However, the invention of rubber provided an alternative to the traditionalstrap in the form of the elasticity it offers.

Lingerie no more remains the same plain thing it used to be years ago. Now, it comes infused with technicallydeveloped accessories that include plastic and metal rings & slides, cutting, underwire, side bones, hook and eye tapes,lyrca elastics and laces, knitted fabric, crochet elastics, velvet ribbons, transparent straps etc.

Another factor adding to the business is that of the prints and patterns lingerie comes in. From the age old fashion ofplain lingerie, manufacturers have come to offer lingerie in different patterns like camouflage, polka dots, floral,checks, and several other patterns that appeal the modern consumers, decked with laces, bows, beads and jeweledembellishments, in some cases.

Embroidery machines adding glamour quotient

One of the main innovations in the field of lingerie manufacturing is of embroidered lingerie. As embroidered lingeriecame into the limelight, manufacturers realized the need to develop the kind of technology which not only serves thepurpose of decorating the product but which is capable of avoiding puckering and pulling of the delicate fabric of alingerie piece.

The R&D efforts resulted in the development of shuttle embroidery machines (like the ones developed by Schifflis,Tajima, Saurer and Lasser).

These multi-head embroidery machines offer automatic multi-color embroidery and achieve the highest degree ofprecision and performance.

Following the highly developed embroidery machines, another technology which has undergone development is thesteam press system. The machines work on the lingerie, pressing, steaming and heating them so as to create a finefinish that will leave an impression on the end user.

Rivet machines have also become popular in India due to their innovative technology and unbeatable performance.These machines are virtually noise free as they do not make use of a motor or compressor and the equipment includesand inbuilt device that ensures safety of the persons operating the machines.

Steam boilers represent another age of technically developed machinery that offer the highest quality of pressure andoperating switches. Such machines are made of stainless steel and in turn minimize corrosion and reduce the need formaintenance, while also being insulated with ceramic wool contributing towards saving energy.

Fusing machines have also garnered much praise and demand in the lingerie industry for offering high qualityfinishing.

Apart from all this, the market also registers the presence of computerized and production-enhancing features inmachines, like automatic color change and thread trimming. Frames too have been developed to handle almost everytype of embroidered item.

The continuous thirst for innovation has driven the industry to discover more; do the unimaginable and invest heavilyin research and development. As a matter of fact, if successful, the technology receives grand welcome from the entireindustry.

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October 2008

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