A new look!

The women’s clothing segment, which accounts for nearly three-fifth of total annual apparel sales of Rs 55, 000 crore and growing at more than 10 per cent, is once again witnessing hectic activity with the launch of several new brands and styles.

And, with younger women especially in metros opting for western-wear for daily wear, the 54-year-old ethnic-wear brand, Fabindia, has ‘reinvented’ itself by launching a new western-wear line – Fabels. This company is also looking to quickly grab a large market share amongst younger consumers who are increasingly opting for popular western brands Zara and Mango.

William Bissell, MD, Fabindia, highlighted the shift amongst younger consumers for western-wear, and they plan to leverage the growing opportunity by their plans to introduce the new clothing line in 10 stores in New Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Chennai, and subsequently pan India.

Online too, Fabels will be promoted aggressively by Fabindia via an e-commerce ‘platform’ that will be shortly launched. It does not end there, and Biba Apparels has entered the mass segment with the launch of its brand, ‘Rangriti’, and is targeting a turnover of Rs 600 crore over the next one year.

“We are also looking to gain from the opportunities in smaller towns across the country with affordable apparel priced from Rs 499,” said, Siddharath Bindra, MD, Biba Apparels.  Biba would also offer Rangriti through single and multi-brand outlets as well as e-retailers including Jabong, Myntra and Flipkart.

Clearly, retailers are wooing women with a range of new offerings.