Published on: Jan 07, 2013 by Aparna Dutt Sharma, Chief Executive Officer, IBEF

The kids wear segment in India is difficult to ignore today for any global or domestic name operating in this segment. As per market estimates, the branded kids wear segment in India is expected to double in the next five years and is growing at a rate of 20 per cent annually. Currently, the kids wear market size is pegged at INR 38,000 crore and is expected to be around INR 80,000 crore by 2015. In fact, the online space for kids wear alone is worth INR 2,000 crore and is expected to see a growth of 15 per cent in the next five years. Another recently released report says that this sector is witnessing high growth with girls wear segment growing at 11 per cent, and boys segment at 10 per cent.

Clearly, this segment is no longer a niche segment and the change is evident from the fact that many retailers have started exploring new segments within the kids wear segment. For instance, retailers have rolled out organic apparel range for kids. Similarly, there are retailers who are solely targeting the pre-teen children aged 6 to 18 and infants from 0 to 2 years age bracket respectively.

The rise of kids wear segment in India has attracted domestic and international names like Lilliput, Gini and Jony, Chicco, Mom & Me, Mothercare and Pigeon in the industry and going by the potential it offers, the industry can be expected to be a continued attraction.