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Sharing his point of view on the current dynamics with regards to space, Vicky Ahuja says, “While the space for women’s clothing has now become segregated across floors into western and Indian at multi-retail outlets, the accessories placed around are mostly complimentary to the style portrayed on the floor. The space has increased from just a shelf shared by multiple brands to an entire wall. The store layout, placement and shelf design along with the visual look and feel of it, play a huge impact on the sale of accessories. Most of the larger retailers have gotten this down to a science and they understand the influence a well-placed accessory can have on a consumer’s buying impulses.”

Anything that stretches and helps absorb sweat yet keeps the fabric dry is the most preferred fabric when it comes to performance wear. Reiterating the same, Pallavi Burman says, “The fabric we use is always stretchable “wicking” blend made up of polyester and lycra. We also use a breathable mesh fabric as design and utility elements and several other performance enhancing features like anti-microbial layering, UV protection, rapid dry etc.”

According to Neha Shah, AGM – Marketing, Pepe Jeans, every innovation in retail is now about designing an experience that’s remarkable and creates value that keep bringing the ‘discerning’ customers back. Shoppers are critical influencers thanks to the incredible growth of social media networks and mobile commerce. To turn the ‘increasingly digitally connected’ customer into a brand advocate and to drive sales, retailers recognise the need to be five steps ahead at all times.

He said the Government is trying to complete the ‘sizeable’ project as soon as possible, so that a standardised size chart can be prepared for the ready-to-wear industry, based on body measurements of the domestic population.

“I hereby present the central government’s resolve that ‘Size India’ project will soon be rolled out for the entire country, the first-of-its-kind project in the Indian history,” she was further quoted by PTI as saying, adding that a study will be undertaken for the project.

No regulatory approvals were required for the acquisition of shares and the investment does not fall within related party transaction, it added.

Raisin was clearly launched to keep up with trends and create a range of apparel that successfully reflects the essence of a modern woman. Keeping this in mind, our overarching objective is to give the consumer a chance to connect with the manufacturer. With Parvati Fabrics Ltd., providing a strong backbone, Raisin fearlessly ventured into the fashion retail space,representing a perfect blend of Indian culture and modern influences. Oneof Raisin’s visions is also to position itself as a brand that provides modern women contemporary fusion wear that is not only exceptionally comfortable, but also stylish! The clothing line comes in a variety of styles including dresses, kurtas, tunics and more – making Raisin an ideal choice for the women of today.

“Social media has become a huge part of a customer’s journey. In fact it is the first step towards a brand when a customer keeps updated via social media for trends. Even for our brand, we have started focus on social media by creating relevant content and promoting to the right set of audience. Influencer marketing has also become a major wave in these times. We have collaborated with a few top influencers to promote our collections. With efforts to organically grow our social media we have seen new followers joining our community everyday,” says Asha Esther Jaikishan, Head of Marketing, Numero Uno.

“But this isn’t enough if the exercise routine includes more than walking. While almost 50 percent of Indians still prefer traditional ways of staying active like walking and running, the other 50 percent are inclined to swimming, cycling and other sports and training means. For targeting this kind of segmentation one needs to delve deeper into sub categories.”

Aside from main metros and mini metros, Fila has set its sights on the North Indian market with a focus across Delhi, Gurgaon, Noida, and the entire region of Punjab; followed by South India.

While most brands and companies think of product or process innovations, a slew of brands have been successful in cashing in on the prediction of the future trends. Hyderabad based Sygnal, an Al based firm that is creating ripples across the globe with its blend of technology-infused fashion, is one such name. The brand aims to enhance the utility of clothing by innovating smart clothing for safety, health and fitness or to simply make a fashion statements.

Celebrating the unique organic inclusion in Indian lifestyle through their exclusive men’s shoes, Taran Chhabra, Founder, Neeman’s explains that it was his own personal struggle to find a shoe that could truly provide all-day comfort.

Sharing his point of view on the current dynamics with regards to space, Vicky Ahuja says, “While the space for women’s clothing has now become segregated across floors into western and Indian at multi-retail outlets, the accessories placed around are mostly complimentary to the style portrayed on the floor. The space has increased from just a shelf shared by multiple brands to an entire wall. The store layout, placement and shelf design along with the visual look and feel of it, play a huge impact on the sale of accessories. Most of the larger retailers have gotten this down to a science and they understand the influence a well-placed accessory can have on a consumer’s buying impulses.”

Whether or not one shows dedication in maintaining their gym routine is debatable, but it is an undeniable fact that gyms are doing well when it comes to their membership registers being filled. India’s waking up to being healthy and this means tons of gym memberships. This also means that when one takes a gym membership, the very next thing they do is head off to stores that deal in gym wear. Or they just log on and buy gym clothes and accessories. The demand for gym and active wear is growing in India because of a desire to stay fit and healthy. IMAGES Business of Fashion takes a look at the market dynamics…The emphasis is more on offering men’s gym wear than having something specialized for women and unfortunately in India, gym wear still consists of mostly leggings and sports brassieres, although bigger brands have started innovating for women as well now

“Our innovation relates to implementation of design thinking and unique process that helps to identify new areas to explore and develop, which in turn leads to innovative products,” says Kabeer Kodaniyil, Head of Design, Urban Blackberrys.

Celebrating the unique organic inclusion in Indian lifestyle through their exclusive men’s shoes, Taran Chhabra, Founder, Neeman’s explains that it was his own personal struggle to find a shoe that could truly provide all-day comfort. “This led me to look beyond synthetic fibres and my search ended with the naturally versatile Merino wool fibre,” he stated.

Unlike in apparels, the culture of following seasons for accessories is not very strong. Where fashion bags would have prints that depict the hues of summer and winter and also have some special range during monsoons, there is no dedicated eff ort to launch ‘season’ wise collection.

Skechers USA, Inc, a global footwear leader, announced that the company has surpassed 3,000 Skechers retail stores worldwide with the opening of a store in Shenyang, China – now the brand’s largest. The latest milestone reflects the growing Omnichannel presence of the brand as the company continues to expand its retail, sales and logistic infrastructure to meet the global market’s growing demands for Skechers footwear.China has the largest number of Skechers retail stores at 941, followed by the United States at 472, and India at 222

Brand Portfolio

Today, in spite of a decade gone by, Ayesha is still the only homegrown brand which covers the whole spectrum of fashion accessories for girls, boys and kids with a very strong online and offline presence. This Pondicherry-based brand has managed to spread its footprint across the country with more than 20 EBOs and over 70 MBOs. They wrapped up the last financial year with approximately Rs 12 crore and this year they estimate a further growth of 20 percent.

He further adds, “We also launched a collection ‘HidesignxKalki’ in collaboration with Kalki Koechlin recently which comprises of fun everyday backpacks to chic party bags. In terms of shapes, the collection has a wide range from day to night bags, which highlight Kalki’s sometimes relaxed, thoughtful lifestyle to statement pieces for her dazzling nights out.”

Founded in 1985 by Marc and Laurent Grosman, European men’s wear major Celio is a forerunner when it comes to innovation – both product wise and socially. In an exclusive feature, IMAGES Business of Fashion gets into a freewheeling chat with Satyen Momaya, CEO, Celio Fashion Pvt. Ltd., to understand the brand’s take on innovation and its recent outcomes…

Bata is leveraging on three technologies to come up with power laden and technical lifestyle apparel — PWick featuring fast dry and anti-moisture management, Activent for enhanced breathability and Psoft for comfort.

Talking further on trends, Deep Agarwal, Director, Knot Me says, “Plain dye stoles are quite popular as they match with the maximum outfits. We have noticed that stoles that are good in quality and come at an economical price tend to sell well.”

“For us at Pepe Jeans, innovation is at the heart of everything that we do. In an endeavour to give the customer an opportunity to be involved in the design process and provide a unique retail experience Pepe Jeans launched the first of its kind denim customisation service – Pepe Jeans Custom Studio.