It’s all in the jeans

Denim rarely fades out of fashion, they say. Consumers, especially the youth, in cities beyond the metros and mini metros are growing exceptionally aspirational. They are increasingly accepting denim as a core apparel category to be worn as an everyday casual garment. According to a recent survey, denim jeans can be found in the wardrobes of 96 per cent of U.S. consumers.

The global denim market has been fairly resilient over a turbulent economic period and has returned to pre-recession growth levels in 2010. The denim market in India has been evolving fast with introduction of more styles, colours and some distinct trends in the product offering. Despite high consumer favor, jeans have lost a significant amount of retail floor space to other bottomswear items like dresses and athletic pants. The competition that denim jeans are facing from other product categories is intensified by shoppers being disappointed about recent changes in the quality of fabric and fibre content of apparel products. More than 45 per cent of denim production is from Gujarat alone. Denim production is concentrated in the western and northern parts of the country.

ITJ spoke to two of the leading jeans manufacturers in India ´ Kewal Kiran Clothing (Killer Jeans) and Spykar Jeans ´ to figure out how big is the market for denims in India.