Innerwear market set for rapid growth, driven by increasing youth demand: Dollar Industries MD

How big would be the overall innerwear market in India? And at what rate it is growing?

Men’s innerwear category in FY20 is estimated to be $1.9 billion and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 10.3 per cent to $3.1 billion in FY25. Men’s casual and active wear category in FY20 is estimated to be $7.7 billion and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 13.9 per cent to $14.9 billion in FY25.Women’s casualwear category in FY20 is estimated to be $0.9 billion and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 16.1 per cent to $1.9 billion in FY25. Women’s innerwear category in FY20 is estimated to be $4.4 billion and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 14 per cent to $8.5 billion in FY25. The kids wear market in India is currently about $14 billion (FY20) and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 10.5 per cent and grow to nearly $23 billion by FY 2025.

Who all would be the leading players in the field? And what is your market share?

The leading Indian giants in the innerwear category are Dollar, Rupa, Lux, and Amul. There are also several foreign and multinational brands like Jockey, Calvin Klein, Marks and Spencer and others. Obviously, the Indian brands have an edge as they cater to the mass market. Dollar market share is nearly 15 per cent.

What would be the percentage wise break up of menswear, womenswear, kidswear?

Menswear: 82 per cent; Womenswear: 15 per cent; Kids wear: 3 per cent

Which of this sub-segment is growing faster?

I would venture to say that there is an overlap of the men and women’s segments to form the ‘youth category’. With the current young generation being more fashion conscious than ever and with more money at their disposal, there is heightened awareness of styles, colours, cuts, and comfort. This is category is seeing brisk sales and consequently, growth.

What would be the unorganized sector's contribution in the overall innerwear market in the country? Is it growing or coming down?

The contribution of the unorganized sector is estimated to be around 50-55 per cent for men, 55-60 per cent for women, and 85-90 per cent for kids. During demonetization and Covid period, unorganized sectors faced huge challenge in terms of raw material, working capital and other external factors. These challenges were like an opportunity for big national players, where every big player tried to capture the market.

Do you focus more on topline or bottomline?

As a company, we always aspire to maximize the stakeholder’s wealth, wherein topline and bottomline goes hand in hand. So we focus on both.

Does brand loyalty play an important role in this market segment?

Brand loyalty is a resultant of positive feelings towards a certain brand owing to its attributes. In the case of innerwear that is an immensely personal product, brand loyalty stems largely from comfort and value for money. Nowadays, we ought to add style to the list as well. So, a brand has to consistently fulfil these criteria to remain associated with the customer.

Growth in e-commerce sales, particularly in the post pandemic phase and how has been the journey so far in anti-viral apparels and masks?

E-commerce sales were on the rise even before the pandemic owing to convenience of operations and cheaper data availability pan-India. It saw a steep upward curve post-pandemic as most people became technology-savvy and used to this mode of purchase. E-commerce witnessed a boom, per se. At Dollar, we have invested in software across departments to facilitate our e-commerce sales.

Could you shed some light on your green mission?

The mission of sustainability remains at the core of operations at Dollar Industries. The company is determined to take care of the industrial footprint and as part of environmental policy, the integrated plants have laid down strict green guidelines to be followed. The water generated from the plant in Tirupur is treated chemically and biologically at the effluent treatment plant with a capacity of 1000 KL zero liquid discharge. The bulk of the treated water is reused in the factory, while the remaining portion goes to watering plants and in landscaping of the area. Any sludge is disposed of at a government-appointed disposal site.

Additionally, as a part of its ‘green mission’ policy, Dollar has commissioned a 4 MV solar power plant with the capacity of generating 75 lakh power units annually at the manufacturing facility at Tirupur. The objective for installing the solar power plant is not only limited to bringing a reduction of costs, but also the long-term motivated vision of making Tirupur sustainable and self-reliant. For this, Dollar Industries has invested Rs 18 crores and the payback period for the same is expected five years. As a responsible corporate, Dollar Industries consistently pays special attention to environmentally friendly practices and opts for renewable sources of energy. From 2008 – 2013, the company had installed 4 windmills with a power generation capacity of 4.95 MW to generate approximately 70 lakh units of power annually.