NEW DELHI: With the plus-size apparel market forecast to grow by at least 15% in India, for big retailers the accelerated demand for outsize clothing represents a huge opportunity to generate new sales.
Companies such as, Pantaloon Retail, Westside and Madura Garments have realised the potential of this hitherto ignored category and along with a flock of specialised brands such as, Just My Size, Axara, Revolution and Straps, are gearing up to meet the swelling demand in specialty sized clothing.
Chandan Widhani, director of the chain of specialty stores-Just My Size says, “As per our survey, 38% of urban women are classified as obese and about 28% men are obese, our sales figures support this as we sell in the ratio of 60/40 between women and men. Looking at the figures we see that almost on an average 33 % of the urban Indian population is obese and the market players who cater to the same are very limited.”
But things are changing fast with specialty plus size brands becoming visible. For instance, Westside is banking on its brand GIA and ALL (A little larger) is being promoted in a big way by Pantaloon Retail.
Aditi Mani, senior manager, ALL says, “The ALL brand has been taken up very well. We project a Rs 35-40 cr business in this financial year from this brand itself across our stores in the country. At present we have 7 standalone stores in the country and are retailing out of 29-30 pantaloon stores and 4 central. We plan to open 5-6 more standalone stores over the next 4-5 months.”
Till now it has always been a tough task for plus sized Indians to find clothes that suit them. It is quite contrary to the situation in the US where recent news underlined that sales in the plus-size and big-and-tall clothing market are expected to prosper over the next five years in the face of declining demand for regular clothes, as the country’s obesity rates continue to grow. Thousands of stores of specialty size retailers such as, Big & Tall and Charming Shoppes cover the length and breadth of the country where plus-size retailers are as differentiated as regular size retailers are, in India.
Typically, unusually sized consumers prefer to wear tailored fashion, which can not only be customised to fit, but also offers a high degree of choice in colour, fabric and styling. Which is why the transference from tailored to ready-made has not really happened yet in odd sized clothing. Neeti Chopra, marketing head at Westside also accepts that now its time for Indian retailers to spruce up things for outsize clothing needs of consumers.
Ms Chopra says, “There is a huge market for plus size women in India. The market today has recognised that large-size women also want to look and feel good. They too want to wear stylish clothes. We have also started introducing new designs every season including the autumn/winter, spring/summer collections.”
But some companies also see a risk factor in the large-scale necessity to churn out the volumes to sustain a specialty-sizing brand. Hemchandra Javeri, President, Madura Garments-makers of brands such as Allen Solly, Louis Phillipe and Van Heusen feels that there are execution challenges in catering to this particular sector.
Companies such as, Pantaloon Retail, Westside and Madura Garments have realised the potential of this hitherto ignored category and along with a flock of specialised brands such as, Just My Size, Axara, Revolution and Straps, are gearing up to meet the swelling demand in specialty sized clothing.
Chandan Widhani, director of the chain of specialty stores-Just My Size says, “As per our survey, 38% of urban women are classified as obese and about 28% men are obese, our sales figures support this as we sell in the ratio of 60/40 between women and men. Looking at the figures we see that almost on an average 33 % of the urban Indian population is obese and the market players who cater to the same are very limited.”
But things are changing fast with specialty plus size brands becoming visible. For instance, Westside is banking on its brand GIA and ALL (A little larger) is being promoted in a big way by Pantaloon Retail.
Aditi Mani, senior manager, ALL says, “The ALL brand has been taken up very well. We project a Rs 35-40 cr business in this financial year from this brand itself across our stores in the country. At present we have 7 standalone stores in the country and are retailing out of 29-30 pantaloon stores and 4 central. We plan to open 5-6 more standalone stores over the next 4-5 months.”
Till now it has always been a tough task for plus sized Indians to find clothes that suit them. It is quite contrary to the situation in the US where recent news underlined that sales in the plus-size and big-and-tall clothing market are expected to prosper over the next five years in the face of declining demand for regular clothes, as the country’s obesity rates continue to grow. Thousands of stores of specialty size retailers such as, Big & Tall and Charming Shoppes cover the length and breadth of the country where plus-size retailers are as differentiated as regular size retailers are, in India.
Typically, unusually sized consumers prefer to wear tailored fashion, which can not only be customised to fit, but also offers a high degree of choice in colour, fabric and styling. Which is why the transference from tailored to ready-made has not really happened yet in odd sized clothing. Neeti Chopra, marketing head at Westside also accepts that now its time for Indian retailers to spruce up things for outsize clothing needs of consumers.
Ms Chopra says, “There is a huge market for plus size women in India. The market today has recognised that large-size women also want to look and feel good. They too want to wear stylish clothes. We have also started introducing new designs every season including the autumn/winter, spring/summer collections.”
But some companies also see a risk factor in the large-scale necessity to churn out the volumes to sustain a specialty-sizing brand. Hemchandra Javeri, President, Madura Garments-makers of brands such as Allen Solly, Louis Phillipe and Van Heusen feels that there are execution challenges in catering to this particular sector.
