Apparel Industry Expects Strong Festival Season Growth Despite Inflationary Pressures

Longer Festive Shopping Window and Positive Consumer Sentiment Support Growth Expectations Across Apparel Retail

India’s apparel industry is expecting a strong festival season despite continued inflationary pressures and an uncertain geopolitical environment. Industry players are pointing to positive consumer sentiment and a longer festive shopping window compared with last year as factors that could support sales during the period.

For organised apparel players, the festival season remains an important part of annual business, accounting for around 35–40% of annual sales.

Libas Expects 20–25% Growth

Bhavay Pruthi, SVP – E-commerce & Product Management, Libas, said the company expects year-on-year growth of 20–25% during the festival season.

“While inflationary pressures continue to influence consumer spending, we are seeing consumers remain willing to spend during key festive occasions, particularly on products that offer a strong value proposition. The longer festive window is also expected to provide a positive tailwind and allow retailers and brands to engage consumers across multiple occasions rather than concentrating demand around a few peak days,” he added.

Pruthi said consumers are becoming more value-conscious, while festive spending continues to have an aspirational element. According to him, consumers remain willing to spend more on products and experiences they consider meaningful or premium.

Fabindia Sees High Single-Digit Growth

Ajay Kapoor, President – Retail, Fabindia, said discretionary spending had been affected by geopolitical uncertainties, but recent market indicators have been encouraging.

“Consumers had been holding back on discretionary spending amid geopolitical uncertainties, but market indicators have been encouraging, and we expect high single-digit growth during the festive period. Onam has been decent for us and the projections for Puja in the East are also positive. We expect this momentum to continue across markets as the festival season progresses.”

Consumers Remain Value-Conscious

Akhil Jain, CEO, Madame, said the company expects 15–20% year-on-year growth during the period, supported by the extended shopping window and improving consumer sentiment.

“What we are seeing is a more value-conscious but not value-averse consumer. Customers are still willing to spend on fashion, but they are looking for stronger reasons to buy, whether that is versatility, quality, newness or the relevance of the product to an occasion. We are also seeing consumers start their festival shopping earlier, with greater digital discovery, followed by store visits and purchases,” he added.

Jain said Madame is preparing for the season with “sharper occasion-led collections, stronger newness across categories and a more agile inventory approach.”

Fashion and Gifting Categories See Momentum

A spokesperson for Myntra said early trends during Raksha Bandhan and Onam have provided an indication of the festival season's direction.

As the festive period progresses, the platform is seeing momentum across categories including fashion, beauty, jewellery and gifting.

With consumers continuing to evaluate value while maintaining spending on festive occasions, apparel retailers are focusing on product relevance, newness, occasion-specific collections and wider shopping windows to capture seasonal demand.