BRAND TAGS FOR ETHNIC WEAR 

New Delhi, May 26 :    New Delhi, May 26:  Following the footsteps of the Western apparel market, the Indian ethnic wear might soon be conquered by big brands with flashy tags. According to a study conducted by the Images KSA Technopack on the domestic Indian apparel market, branding is almost negligible in women's wear like saris, salwar kameez and lingerie. However, there is a bigger potential for branding in women's ethnic wear than men's wear, reveals the study. It estimates the total domestic apparel market at Rs 43,100 crore with the share of men, women and kids pegged at 46, 37 and 17 per cent respectively. The study says that women's wear market is growing at a much higher pace than the men's or kids' apparel. This year, women would buy about 1.25 billion of clothes valued at about Rs 16,100 crore. Out of this, two-third would be ready-made garment. However, in terms of value, more than 78 per cent would come from ready-mades. In the ready-made category, one-fourth would come from the branded segment. Women's wear contribute a little over 37 per cent to the total sales in terms of value and 33 per cent in terms of quantity. 'The branding potential in saris, salwar kameezes and women's lingerie, including petticoats, is huge,' said Harminder P Sahni of KSA Technopack, who worked on the study. He added that in these categories branding drive is already on the rise which would lead to more contribution from women's wear. Ethnic wears like, churidar sets, salwar kameez and lehengas have been growing the fastest among all women's wear. Against a market size of Rs 2,500 crore in 1997-98, it is projected to be Rs 3,500 billion in the current fiscal. In terms of quantity, 145 million sets of ethnic wear is estimated to be bought in India. Saris would witness more branding, says the study. It points out that despite developing a likeness for contemporary apparel, the Indian woman is unlikely to reduce her budget for saris. The research states that saris would account for about 44 per cent of the total spending in women's wear this year in terms of value. Though there are some national brands like Kunwar Ajay, Roop Milan, Garden, Parag, but most of the branding is done by large sari chains like Nalli in south India, Ram Chandra Krishna Chandra in the north or even single stores like La Affair, said the study. The total consumption of saris has been estimated to be 315 million pieces, fetching about Rs 7,100 crore in the current fiscal.