Thanks to the growing fitness consciousness amongst consumers in India, the activewear market in the country has been steadily growing, with several reports suggesting that it is growing twice as fast as the apparel market. With the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic reducing, more people are venturing outdoors and is likely to give a nice boost to the activewear market in India.
India’s Booming Sports & Fitness Market
The Mumbai Marathon in India attracts thousands of participants, including Bollywood celebrities, sports personalities and business tycoons, making the event one of the biggest in Asia. With higher incomes, growing wealth, changing lifestyles, more and more Indians are focusing on health and wellness. The youth today is more conscious about their looks, what they eat, and wear.
Bollywood stars like Hrithik Roshan has been at the forefront of India’s fitness movement after he launched his popular activewear line HRX.
Unlike previous generations, the millennial beauty vocabulary has changed to include terms like lean, ab-fab, and muscle tone, making the famous S-Curve take a back seat.
This has had a positive impact on the activewear market. A growing number of consumers – both men and women – are emulating the activewear purchases of Bollywood stars and famous sports stars.
More Indians are playing sports today, and they like to wear Sport T-shirts and branded sport shoes while playing cricket, football, and other games as they are comfortable to wear, look stylish, and it also provides a dash of inspiration. Lot of players today are passionate about sports and they really take their sportswear very seriously.
Gym culture is fast spreading, beauty ideals changing fast, marathons are getting popular in every city – as a result, international sportswear giants and local players are gearing up to cater to India’s booming fitness market.
- Puma and Adidas dominated the Indian market for sportswear.
- During the pandemic, sportswear such as running and walking shoes witnessed increased sales as people were committed to regular exercise.
- Several European soccer clubs are looking to expand their global presence, including expanding their presence in India.
Difference between Sportswear and Activewear: Sportswear is apparel designed specifically for playing sports, while Activewear is attire for people leading an active lifestyle (to be used for exercise or even as casual wear).
“The uniform, Olympic kit is very important, you wear it and you play for the country. Unveiling of Olympics kit is very important and it gives new impetus to the ‘josh’ of our players. Many of our athletes are here in India and some of them are abroad, I am very happy. India is working very hard and is preparing well for the Olympics,” Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju on unveiling the India’s Olympic kit for the Tokyo Olympics.
Product Range in the Activewear Market
The activewear market in India includes several products such as footwear, apparel (T-shirts, Sweatshirts, Sports Vests, Track Pants & Tights, Swimsuits, Sports Hoodies, Sports Bra), headbands, hats, caps, underclothing, and other sports accessories.
Commonly used fabric include Polyester, Nylon, Polypropylene, Spandex, Cotton and others.
These products are available for men, women and kids.
These Activewear (sportswear, Gymwear) products are sold through exclusive stores, supermarket/hypermarket, multi-branded stores, and e-commerce.
Top Brands in the Activewear Market in India
India’s activewear sector is becoming increasingly attractive to several international brands. Its also easier for foreign companies to do business in India. That is why most of the big brands are now shutting down their franchises and moving towards a directly owned retail stores in India’s key cities. In the past it was seen that a smaller store was less rent, which meant more profits. Now the logic is, a bigger store with better products and a better experience for the consumer will drive profits.
Today, India’s sportswear market is dominated by the “Big Four” global players (Adidas, Reebok, Nike and Puma). For the remaining market share, other brands such as Under Armour, Fila and Lotto, and domestic multi-brand sportswear retailers and emerging local players, are collectively battling it out.
The activewear market in India is highly competitive.
The premium segment, in which the activewear are priced over Rs 1,500, is dominated by the likes of Adidas, Nike, Decathlon, Puma, Asics, Fila, Skechers, and private labels from retail brands such as Future Group’s fbb, Reliance Trends, Myntra, HRX, etc.
In the mid-premium segment, where the products are priced upwards of Rs 1,500, you have brands such as Jockey, Dida, and a few others.
You can find a large portfolio of brands ranging from low price to premium activewear on Amazon.
Lingerie makers are shifting focus to activewear
Lingerie brands such as Enamor, Clovia, and Jockey are witnessing sluggish sales, with the purchase cycle increasing to six months, compared to 3 months in the pre-covid period. As a result, some of these companies are shifting focus to activewear and athleisure wear.
These brands are positioning their activewear in the mid-premium segment, in order to avoid competition from the top sports brand.
Use of Celebrities or Influencers to Create Awareness
Lot of brands operating in this segment are making use of fitness enthusiast celebrity or influencer in order to create awareness of their products.
For example, Calvin Klein has tied up with actor Disha Patani to promote its athleisure wear range.
Yoga Wave: Active wear Replacing the Casual Attire
Introduction of International Yoga Day, rise of the fitness wave in India (running, cycling and yoga becoming part of individual lifestyles) and corporates pushing fitness, more people are choosing to wear active wear compared to casual attire.
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, despite active wear being slightly more expensive than casual wear.
Most of the active wear is made of cotton, which stretches easily and is also comfortable on the body. Then there’s yoga-on-the-go category, where people can wear yoga dresses even while they are not exercising.
Even Amazon India now has a separate active wear category, where active wear from global and Indian brands can be purchased. Yoga wear is now among the top three categories within active wear itself, especially among women.
Thanks to International Yoga Day, even B2B players see a spike in demand for Yoga apparel and accessories near 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 VP (marketing), India mart.
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