Times of India
CHENNAI: Introduction of an International Yoga Day and fitness wave among millennials have made active wear more mainstream. With running, cycling and yoga becoming part of individual lifestyles and corporates pushing fitness, active wear is fast replacing the casual attire.
According to fashion e-tailers, active wear has become a new segment of casual or even professional wear, which is slowly eating into the share of regular T-shirts. “For every four T-shirts bought, the third or fourth is a sporty or a yoga Tshirt. In the bottom wear, yoga pants are eating into the share of formal trousers, khakis or denims. In fact, denim players are coming with yoga-pants like variations in denims,” said Sujayat Ali, CEO, Voonik.He said while active wear is at a 30% premium compared to their casual counterparts, the category is witnessing a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 25%.
While top global brands such as Fila and Puma are witnessing heady growth, homegrown brands like Urban Yoga, Forever Yoga and Bhusattva are also witnessing high sales. “Most of the apparel we have is made of cotton, which makes it easy to stretch. We also have a yoga-on-the-go category, where people can wear yoga dresses even while they are not exercising. This lifestyle-based adoption of active wear has also contributed to the 30% growth we see,” said
Aditi Mirani, brand head, Urban Yoga.
E-commerce players who have made active wear as a separate category are seeing between 20% and 70% growth in the segment. Amazon India, which has set up a dedicated active wear store, has collaborated with global and Indian brands selling active wear. Yoga wear is now among the top three categories within active wear itself, especially among women,” said Arun Sirdeshmukh, head, Amazon Fashion.
Market Research firm Euromonitor said the active wear segment is poised to grow at a CAGR of 17.1%. In 2015-16, the category grew by 22%, beating the global growth of 7%.
And it is not just individuals who purchase them. With bulk orders, B2B players also see a spike in demand for Yoga apparel and accessories closer to Yoga day. “We have seen a 2X growth in demand of Yoga accessories in June due to the International Yoga Day. Some of the popular products are yoga mats, yoga pants, yoga ropes, yoga straps and yoga balls,” said Sumit Bedi, VP (marketing), India mart.
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