Apparel market grows 13.6% in value terms

The Indian apparel market grew 13.6 per cent in 2005 to Rs 88,000 crore, in value terms. The industry had registered a 12.1 per cent growth in 2004. In volume terms, the sector grew just 4.7 per cent.

According to the KSA Technopark study of the Indian apparel market, the school uniform segment witnessed the highest growth in volumes and value by 8 per cent and 21 per cent, respectively. The womenswear segment grew at 5.4 per cent in volumes and 14.9 per cent in value.

Despite a drop in the market share of men's segment, it still retained the majority share of the apparel market. At Rs 36,558 crore, the men's segment has a 45 per cent share. However, the segment witnessed a steady decline in its market share, from 38.1 per cent in 2002 to 36.9 per cent in 2005.

The womenswear segment, on the other hand, has increased its market share by a per cent to Rs 30,380 crore. The kids' segment correspondingly dropped by a per cent to clock Rs 13,747 crore in 2005. The report reasoned the drop in kidswear on the increased usage of read-to-wear branded uniforms.

The men's segment, grew 11.9 per cent in 2005 over the previous year in value terms as against a growth of 3.8 per cent in volumes.

Interestingly in volume terms, market share of womenswear is a per cent higher than that of menswear but in value terms its share is five per cent lower than that of menswear owing to branded segment in womenswear was practically non-existent till a few years back.

The unisex apparel segment - which is consumed by the other three categories - grew 13.4 per cent to Rs 6,615 crore. The kidswear market is estimated at Rs 13, 085 crore, which is about 15 per cent of the apparel market.

Adding the uniforms segment, the total size of the two will be 24 per cent of the market. The kidswear and uniforms segments have grown at 14.8 per cent in value terms and 4.9 per cent in volumes in 2005, which is a higher rate than the previous year.