Indian nightwear market
There is huge untouched potential in non-metropolitan areas
Producers of women’s pajama sets are increasing R&D capacity to increase the range and functions of designs. Companies are also making efforts to improve product quality and reduce operating costs through vertical integration. With the removal of export taxes and import limitations on Chinese-made sleepwear to the EU and the US, suppliers from China and India find themselves in stiff competition for market share. In the Indian market, the sleepwear and lingerie market is rapidly emerging as a segment of fashion and over the past decade, organized players such as Juliet, Sleep-ins, etc. have been observed.
What Kashmira Nightwear Company started with a single independent store in Pune many years ago is today the Sleep-ins brand of complete sleepwear solutions owning a chain of many exclusive Sleep-ins stores and stock in many major retail chains. from the country. This change has been promising due to the efforts of one person, Kishor Chhabria, who is the managing director of Pune-based Kashmira Nightwear Company. Sleep-ins is today a brand with a national manifestation. Chhabria noticed that Indian consumers knew that the selection of special occasion wear and sleepwear was just as important as business wear, casual wear, party wear or sportswear, and began to offer consumers what they needed.
Sleep-ins is among the major players in the segment and has seen considerable growth in its market share in recent years. This market, even today, is largely in the informal sector, where price is the only consideration. Organized players do not compete with products that are sold on the streets. The growth in retail, the rising level of fashion awareness has helped sleepwear and lingerie move to a higher step in the market.
Sleep-ins has grown almost 150 percent over the two or three decades, they were very focused on the western market, but this year the brand did well locally. They have appointed distributors in Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Kolkata, UP, MP, Punjab, etc. and it had more than 20 exclusive points of sale in the country, to which it will add another six. In addition to exclusive outlets, the brand also sells in many large department stores.
This increase in commercial space is encouraged by the remarkable response that the brand has received in various parts of the country. Many of their garments are in the range of Rs 2,000-4,000. In introducing them, they believed sales in this price segment would be optimal in Delhi and Mumbai, and prepared to see increased sales in Punjab. This just goes to show that fashion awareness is high in all parts of the country, and there is still a lot of untapped potential in cities other than metropolitan areas. And this is where the fashion aspect plays an important role. The company finds the finest fabrics in the country, imports the satins from Korea, and manufactures the patterns in-house.
Sleep-ins is possibly the only powerful sleepwear brand for the whole family. Satisfy a hidden demand for quality sleepwear offered by exclusive Sleep-ins brand stores: the full range for women, men and children. In less time since its establishment, chain stores have registered good growth all over India. As of now, women in the 18-50 age group are the main buyers, although men also make significant purchases. There is a large segment of consumers who want to wear high-quality sleepwear with features that match international standards.
Chhabria himself is a designer and thinks not only of making, but of true works of art. The Sleep-ins variety covers sleepwear and loungewear. The unparalleled and wonderfully reduced ensembles in cottons and cotton-lycra blended satins are all made in-house. Nightgowns are offered in satins and georgettes and animal prints; Dresses of soft fabrics; and shirt in shimmering soft and cute pastel silhouettes. They also offer spaghetti strap nightgowns, provocative teddy suits, chic shorts with bikini tops, pajamas, capris, etc. For men, Sleep-ins offers an elegant and sophisticated variety of nightwear in pure cottons and imported polyesters and robes in soft suede and satin with pajamas.
They believe that today’s men and women look for ease of use, affordability and comfort; therefore, the pricing factor cannot go unnoticed. The brand has helped to match the budget as well as the premium class of customers. Sleep-ins in Pune, which is possibly the largest sleepwear store in the country with 1500 square feet of floor space housing a rich collection of over 4000 garments at a time. Its exclusive franchise stores are situated in cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Surat, Ludhiana, Kolkata, Baroda and Gurgaon. The brand is also offered by leasing retail chains such as Globus, Shopper’s Stop, Piramyd and Pantaloons.
The speed at which the brand is increasing its market reach indicates that there is a wealth of experience that provides a strong foundation of self-confidence. He started the retail business with a small investment of Rs 1 crore”, “and today he aims to establish Sleep-ins as an independent brand, which needs a healthy investment for brand image.
Sleep-ins is well known among existing competitors and is ready to take on new entrants. And don’t worry about stiff competition, as they have a full range of loungewear and sleepwear for women, men and children. Its close competitor is “Sweat Dreams”, but Sweet Dreams has so far not made any branding efforts and is currently found in all types of stores in the country, while Sleep-ins is offered in exclusive stores only in the mainland.
The immediate objective of Sleep-ins is to tour the premium shopping centers that are installed in the main cities. But that’s not all, the company plans to position itself as a quality brand in the international sleepwear and lounge Sleep-ins market. They are aimed at identifying the branded product, which customers should order for sleep wear rather than any nightgown product.
Sleep-ins now also plans to establish its product range in the rather lower end of the market, where price points would be around Rs 200-400. Maybe they could be retailing them at stores like Big Bazaar.
The company has a production capacity of 15,000 garments per month, and plans to expand it by another 25 percent. They are bringing in 30 more machines, for a total of 130. They are installing IT systems for good quality control and monitoring.
Sleep-ins has entered into joint venture with Disney to supply 5,000 garments per month, with most of the improved production going to Disney. The company has also obtained many export requests from Europe and the Gulf, but it is taking time to enter this segment.
Another supplier from India, Poppy’s Knitwear (P) Ltd, can work from spinning, weaving and knitting to sewing and finishing in their factory. The plant is equipped with Rieter spinning mills, Vanguard and Orizio weavers and Tubetex dyeing units. In India, Poppy’s women’s pajamas range from $3.50 to $8.50 per set. Lower-end models are made from lightweight single-jersey cotton. Mid-range designs typically have an overall print and more garment features such as pockets and collars. Higher-end versions are mainly used for winter and are made from heavy fabrics like fleece and cotton interlock.
Clifton offers designs priced between $3 and $7. The midsize company makes women’s pajama sets for OEM clients such as Ethel Austin and Littlewoods in the UK, Carrefour in France, and Teenscene India in Canada. as well as equipment for making simple and flat knitted fabric. In addition to these, the company has machines for screen printing and embossing.
At Sentinel, prices for women’s pajamas range from $2.50 to $6.50. Patterns are typically made from single jersey cotton. The new starters have lace trim, ruffles and bows at the necklines and sleeve openings. The company owns three factories in India that manufacture more than 3 million sets of women’s pajamas a year. Its 10-member R&D team manufactures 20 innovative models per month. Leeds nightwear product ranges from $3.25 to $8. Models are produced by pure cotton or poly-cotton blends. The company also makes t-shirts, shorts, bathrobes, tank tops, and children’s clothing.
