To capture a part of the pie of flourishing online retail business, intimate and lounge wear manufacturing company Ashapura Intimate Fashion (AIFL) plans to launch its own e-commerce venture in April. The launch will coincide with the launch of physical stores in major cities across the country.
“We will launch ‘virtual (online) retail store’ of our company-manufactured fantasy wear (intimate) and lounge wear products. We will be the first to be in the online space selling a variety of over 5,000 intimatewear, lounge wear, kid and toddler wear in India,” said Harshad Thakkar, Chairman and Managing Director, AIFL.
Online stores selling intimate wear are seeing their sales soar as the range of products on offer and the privacy of Internet shopping draws customers by the hordes. Online apparel sales have continued to capture a greater share of India retail ecommerce sales. This contribution is expected to grow to 42% of total retail ecommerce sales in 2015. Therefore, AIFL plans to enter into online retail business of company-made products, said Thakkar.
Average annual spending on online purchases is projected to increase by 67% to Rs 10,000 from Rs 6,000 per person. In 2014, about 40 million Indian consumers purchased online and the number is expected to grow to 65 million by 2015 with better logistics and internet-ready devices fuelling the demand in e-commerce.
Meanwhile, the Indian innerwear market is estimated to grow at 13% to Rs 59,540 crore by 2023. Amongst the core apparel categories, inner wear has clocked potential growth across all segments. In 2013, the Indian innerwear market is worth Rs 17,750 crore. The domestic apparel market, which is split into men's wear, women's wear and kids wear was worth $41 billion in 2013, and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 9% to $101 billion in 2023.
Talking on his retail plans, Thakkar said: “As part of our move to fuel our direct sales and meet the growing demand for intimate and lounge wear in India, we will be setting up a 2.5 lakh square feet integrated manufacturing unit in Vapi, Gujarat. The plant will be operational by FY 2016.”
