Lingerie is an integral part of a woman's attire. If worn appropriately, it makes her look good and provides the oomph factor to her gracious figure, creating confidence in her. Lingerie today has become a brand. Apart from being an essential, lingerie has quietly slipped into the extravagance bracket.

The lingerie market in India can be classified into super-premium, premium, mid-market, and economy & mass market segments. The major share of the lingerie market is held by the mid-market and economy segments. The premium and the super premium markets are growing at double the rate in comparison to the middle segment. With the retail environment getting more sophisticated and offering the best buying experience to the consumers, the premium and super premium segments will get support for further growth.

The Indian lingerie market is making remarkable growth, and retailers are realizing that the lingerie market has a higher profit margin as compared to other regular apparels. The average selling price (ASP) of lingerie varies from INR 37 per piece to INR 1,029 per piece. The Indian lingerie industry in India was worth INR 79bn in CY 2009 and is expected to be worth INR 183bn in 2014. It constitutes 5.1 per cent of the total Indian apparel market and 15.8 % of the overall women apparel market. During 2006-09, the lingerie market has grown at a CAGR of 15.8 per cent. Currently, the lingerie market is growing at 24%. But this industry is characterized by a high degree of fragmentation with almost two-thirds of the business controlled by the unbranded and unorganized regional players and the rest one-third by a few big organized branded players. The unorganized sector is worth INR 20bn. It may not be an exaggeration to say that Indian lingerie might become the next fashion vogue in India.

The Indian lingerie market has been unleashed like never before; it has undergone a transformational change over the past few years. There has been much innovation in the making of lingerie, and technology has also influenced this. A growing number of working women, changing fashion trends, increased awareness about better fits, brands, colors, quality, styling, increasing per capita disposable income, rising levels of media exposure, and the entry of a large number of international brands have given the industry a new facet. Indian women have become choosy and give importance to lingerie and have moved beyond oversensitivity to pricing.

With the rapidly spreading mall culture, the Indian lingerie market will get a strong impetus for further growth. With the popularity of lingerie boutiques in shopping malls, the stigma of buying and wearing lingerie is now a thing of the past. The times are changing, and young women are looking to spice up their wardrobes with lots of colors. The days of strictly blacks and whites are left far behind. A lot of overtly feminine tones have taken over the market these days. Companies are constantly bringing out innovative lingerie collections that give women a chance to look exotic. Intricate detailing can be seen and decorative seams to bring out her sensuality. Fabrics like Italian silks, satins, chiffons, French and Italian laces are extremely popular these days.

The author of the article is MD, Brandis India.