Business Business: India is emerging as a hub for global lifestyle brands, with 90 per cent of the top 50 global brands active and many more set to launch in the country, driven by strong online sales and a rapidly growing e-lifestyle market, according to a study. Global consulting firm Bain & Company and lifestyle e-commerce platform Myntra on Wednesday released a study drawing insights from Bain analysis, secondary research, interviews of market participants, and industry sources. India is also a key lifestyle destination for global brands. 90 per cent of the top 50 global brands are active in India and half of them already have revenues in excess of $30 million in India. The study highlights that large-scale global fashion brands have demonstrated strong growth in India, registering a 20 per cent year-on-year increase over 2018-23. The study titled E-Styling India: Decoding India’s Online Fashion and Lifestyle Shopping Trends states that nearly 50 per cent of global brands have revenues in India of over $30 million.
Lifestyle brands launched or planned to be launched
Over 60 diverse lifestyle brands were launched or planned to be launched in India in the past year. “These include scale ($1 billion+ global revenue) and mid-scale brands; they also include luxury brands, new age brands, and specialty East Asian brands,” it states. The study further revealed that the online channel is the top choice for global brands entering the Indian market. This is driven by access to a large customer base (175 million e-lifestyle shoppers), granular customer insights, and 360-degree operations support (e.g., inventory integration, e-store creation, etc.), the study states. These brands are also able to grow profitably through this channel. Fashion brands like H&M and Mango leveraged online platforms to gain better reach in tier-2 cities and overcome operational challenges in a new country. “India’s e-lifestyle market has evolved over the years,
with a diverse shopper base. 2 out of 3 online shoppers are from outside the top 50 cities, 1 out of 2 are from non-affluent regions, and 1 out of 3 are Gen-Z. There is still room for massive penetration. 1 out of 5 dollars spent on lifestyle will be online, said Shyam Unnikrishnan, partner, Bain & Company. The study further states that India’s $130 billion lifestyle market, of which fashion accounts for nearly 80 per cent and the rest beauty and personal care (BPC), is expected to grow at 10-12 per cent CAGR (compound annual growth rate) to $210 billion over the next five years. “This growth in e-lifestyle is likely to be driven by easing short-term inflationary pressures as well as structural and favourable demand shifts, such as rising incomes, growth of fashion forward, digital native Gen-Z shopper base as well as increased demand for organised/branded products will be,” it said.
