India’s lingerie market is currently valued at 3 billion US dollar. A mere one per cent of it is online. In the next few years the market value is projected to jump to 5 billion US dollar. While physical stores obviously ring in the bulk of the sales, the unavailability of sizes, lack of privacy and shortage of trained personnel has paved the way for online lingerie portals.
Currently valued at around 100 million US dollar, one of the major e-commerce players Zivame has raised a whopping 48 million US dollar in its lifetime. That’s quite a surprise in a country where sanitary pads are packed better than IEDs in Iraq and the word ‘bra’ may send shivers down one’s spine.
The Indian market is largely unorganized and there is huge potential. Distribution is one of the most defining challenges. Also, Indians buy lingerie more as a necessity, and the purchase is not well thought over.
