What does it actually take to build a fashion brand in India? This panel ("Beyond the Noise- How D2c Fashion Brands Are Reinventing Retail") at the 25th Edition of India Fashion Forum focussed on some real answers, in a refreshing, down-to-earth conversation moderated by Devangshu Dutta (Founder, Third Eyesight), with the founders of DeMoza (Agnes Raja George), The Mom Store (Surbhi Bhatia), Miraggio (Mohit Jain), BeyondBound (Tejasvi Madan), and Bari (Sameer Khan Lodhi). No fluff, no "disrupting the industry" talk. Just founders being honest about what's worked, what hasn't, and what they'd do differently. A few things that struck a…
Prachi Srivastava, Hindustan Times January 16, 2026 We keep telling ourselves that 2026 will be the year of budgeting. So, we’ve cut back on weekend brunch, paused Zara hauls, are collecting every coupon code we can, and are furiously spinning the wheel of luck on every site’s pop-up box. One thing that’s making it a little easier: Mini-sized luxury. We’ve been here before. India’s sachet and sample-size products have been so successful, they’re studied in business school. We’ve lived through the beauty-box-subscription revolution (we still have the empty pouches somewhere). We’ve sprung for discovery kits on Nykaa and Tira (those…
Sagar Malviya, ET Bureau Mumbai, 15 January 2026 It’s mostly a tale of two halves for top western fashion labels in India after the runaway sales and retail expansion in the years soon after the pandemic. While Marks & Spencer, Benetton, and Adidas are battling waning demand, Uniqlo and Nike are gaining fresh ground, reflecting wider choices and increasingly discerning buyers in one of the world’s fastest-growing consumer economies. Spanish brand Zara is facing stagnant growth while it tapered off at Apparel Group, which sells Aldo, and Charles & Keith brands in India. Experts termed the divergent sales performance as…
Writankar Mukherjee & Shabori Das, Economic Times / Brand Equity 7 January 2026 There’s a renewed sparkle in the adage ‘Old is Gold’ at India’s biggest conglomerate Reliance. Banking on Indians’ nostalgia, it is hawking and reviving labels that once defined everyday life, Campa and BPL among them, to set its consumer venture’s cash registers ringing. What started with sales of Rs. 3,000 crore in FY24, Reliance Industries’ fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) business quickly accelerated towards Rs. 11,500 crore the following year. With a staggering Rs. 5,400 crore posted in the July to September FY26 quarter alone, the revival story…
Saumyangi Yadav, Entrepreneur India Jan 6, 2026 After years of rapid growth and a sharp reset, India's direct-to-consumer (D2C) sector is expected to settle into a more balanced phase. The period of easy funding, aggressive customer acquisition and scale-at-all-costs expansion is clearly over, experts suggest. Now, what lies ahead in 2026 is a shift towards steadier growth driven by better execution, stronger retention and clearer brand positioning. According to Bain and Flipkart, India's e-retail market is projected to reach $170–190 billion in GMV by 2030, driven by a growing online shopper base and evolving commerce models. As adoption deepens across…
As legacy retailers balance speed with customer experience, is near-instant delivery a sustainable goal for fashion, or will the costs outweigh the rewards?
@devangshu
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Ikea has been around in India for about eight years. and has taken a long-term view on India with product and format customisation, and future investment plans of over $2 billion.
Modern retail, consumption, brand building, M&A, balance of power between brands & retailers/platforms, sustainability vs growth and more; tune in if you're building for the long run
@vishalkrishna @devangshu
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