Marks & Spencer, H&M eye a big slice of India's home decor market

H&M will first sell its home decor items on its online site and on Myntra, and later launch its collection at its existing store at Ambience Mall, Vasant Kunj in Delhi

Hennes & Mauritz (H&M) and Marks & Spencer (M&S) have rolled out their home decor range in India. They are targeting the changing preferences of the country’s consumers, who are increasingly spending higher amounts to decorate their homes.
The Indian market has also seen a shift in home decor from the unorganised sector to the organised sector.
One of the main factors contributing to the growth of the category is that Indians have focused on decorating their homes as they stayed indoors during the pandemic.

“There is real estate development and as Indians buy new houses, they also want to decorate it, hence pushing demand for the sector,” Alpana Parida, chief executive officer (CEO), DY Works, told Business Standard.

Parida said other than Fabindia, there is not much available for people to really decorate their homes. And, as people stayed home during the pandemic, this also caused the shift as they focused on decorating their homes.

H&M India said its price range for home decor products starts at Rs 149 and goes up to Rs 7,999.

“We are glad to finally bring H&M Home to India and see it as an excellent complement to H&M’s existing offering. While fashion is in our heritage, H&M Home takes the world as its source of inspiration. We hope many people will be able to find something they like in the collections.

They include everything from classic basics to the latest trends at an affordable price point,” said Amit Kothari, regional marketing and communications manager, South Asia, H&M, in the release.

H&M will first sell its home décor items on its online site and on Myntra. And later, it will launch its collection at its existing store at Aall, Vasant Kunj in Delhi.

Angshuman Bhattacharya, consumer product and retail sector leader, EY India, said the market is expected to rebound to 102 per cent of pre-Covid levels in FY22 and is further expected to reach Rs 23,900 crore by FY26.

“With two years of the pandemic-induced work from home, there has been a shift of discretionary spending from social occasions, entertainment and vacations to investing in home décor,” Bhattacharya said.

He added, “Bed linen (which includes bed sheets, quilts, bed covers and pillow covers) and bath linen (towels, bathrobes and hand towels) are the largest categories and have outpaced overall market growth. Living room linen (upholstery, rugs and carpets), curtains and kitchen/dining décor are relatively smaller segments.”

He said the period has also witnessed the entry of various internet-based brands.

Indo Count Industries, which is a manufacturer and exporter of home textiles, also plans to launch its own direct-to-consumer home textiles brand in India by fall 2022.

“With increase in propensity to shop online, these brands are building strong customer engagement. They are creating a hybrid model of browse online, try at home and delivered to your doorstep,” Bhattacharya said.

Kailash Lalpuria, CEO and executive director, Indo Count Industries, said that the company witnessed strong demand for home textiles not only in India but also in global markets.

The textiles major also has two brands — Boutique Living and its value-driven brand Layers, which caters to the Indian market.
Lalpuria — quoting industry estimates — said that the unorganised home textiles sector is a Rs 15,000-crore market and  Rs 5,000 crore is the organised market was earlier growing at 9 per cent. This is now growing at 14 per cent, largely led by the high traction seen for items which elevate the look of homes.