India a key lifestyle hub for global brands; 90% of top 50 active: Report

India is emerging as a hub for global lifestyle brands, with 90 per cent of the top 50 global brands active and many others lined up for launch in the country, driven by robust online sales and a burgeoning e-lifestyle market, according to a study.

Global consultancy firm Bain & Company and lifestyle e-commerce platform Myntra on Wednesday released a study drawing insights from Bain analysis, secondary research, market participant interviews, and industry sources.

"India is also a key lifestyle destination for global brands90 per cent of the top 50 global brands are active in India and half of them already have India revenue greater than $ 30 million. Scaled, global fashion brands in India have demonstrated robust growth, seeing a 20 per cent uptick year-on-year over 201823," the study showed.

About 50 per cent of global brands have greater than $ 30 million in revenue in India, the study E-Styling India: Decoding India's Online Fashion and Lifestyle Shopping Trends, said.

Over 60 varied lifestyle brands were launched or planned to be launched in India over the past year.

"These include scale ( $ 1 billion+ global revenue) and mid-scale brands; these also include luxury brands, new age brands and specialised East Asian brands," it said.

The study further revealed that online channel is the top choice for global brands making foray into the Indian market, which offers multifaceted benefits like a large customer base and market trend insights.

"Online sales have become increasingly salient for top global brands operating in India. This is driven by access to a large customer base (175 million e-lifestyle shoppers), access to granular customer insights and 360-degree operations support (e.g., inventory integration, e-store creation, etc.). These brands have also been able to grow profitably through this channel," the study said.

Fashion brands like H&M and Mango leveraged online platforms to achieve a better reach in tier-2 cities and navigate operational challenges in a new country.

"India's e-lifestyle market has come of age in the last few years, with a diverse shopper base 2 in 3 online shoppers are from beyond top 50 cities, 1 in 2 are from non-affluent segments, and 1 in 3 are Gen-Z. There still exists massive penetration headroom. 1 in 5 dollars spent on lifestyle will be online, said Shyam Unnikrishnan, Partner at Bain & Company.

The study further said India's $ 130 billion lifestyle market, with fashion accounting for nearly 80 per cent and the rest beauty and personal care (BPC), is expected to grow at 1012 per cent CAGR (compound annual growth rate) to reach $ 210 billion over the next five years.

"This growth in e-lifestyle will be enabled by the easing of short-term inflationary pressures, combined with structural and favourable demand shifts, such as rise in income, growth of fashion forward, digital native Gen-Z shopper base as well as an increase in demand for organised/ branded products," it said.