ACCESSORIES- A BOOMING MARKET
Times have changed much faster than men have thought. And to accommodate to the changing times , now men are trying to catch up with it. There were times when men would hardly bother themselves about the appearance of their own, or any other items associated with them like mobiles, cars , bikes, home etc. But now the outward physical appearance of anything and everything starting from one’s own physical self to home, to cars, bikes etc means a significant value addition to one’s own lifestyle , setting a new paradigm. The accessories market is a newly emerged market , which portray the trend of current generation. The market is estimated at Rs 12,400/- crore , according to Samsika Marketing Consultant. Accessories have moved from being a low involvement product for consumers to high involvement product. There are several reasons which have contributed to the rising phenomenon. Like the rising awareness about the international fashion trends , and the subsequent portrayal of these fashion trends in the advertising media , the advent of malls, more disposable income, more awareness about using plastic money etc had brought the consumer more close to the lifestyle oriented products in an affordable and feasible manner. The consumer was flooded with choices .
Visit any dollar store or Nick Nish retail chain, then one can understand the range of accessories available in any category of products. Consider one simple example. Gone are the days when women would wear the same jewellery with all their dresses on special occasions. Today the new woman , the moment she buys a new sari or dress, her mind starts working on the matching accessories – jewellery, shoes, watch, leather bag ,etc and so on , that would go with the outfit. The fashion accessories industry ranges from bags, purses, ties, belts, shawls , scarves, handkerchiefs, caps, hats, footwear, fashion eyewear and watches. Currently it is on the verge of complete metamorphosis. In the current financial year the global clothing accessories industry generated total revenue of approximately US $ 74.9 of the overall industry value. Internationally India ranks among the top eight countries in the export of bags and purses. Even watches which was once considered merely as a tool for keeping toes with time soon became a fashion statement. Such is its impact that the current global watch market is valued at US $ 26.5 million dollars , with the emergence of Swiss majors and China exhibiting significant growth of of 9% and 7% respectively.
Another sector which has gained immense recognition as fashion accessory is the gold. In India, gold has traditionally been purchased either as investment or in the form of highly ornamental jewellery. The liberal economic era ushered in at the beginning of the 1990s and the emergence of an affluent professional class in the urban space with the boom of the IT and education industry resulted in the creation of a burgeoning designer wear/cosmetics/fashion accessories market in India. Gold along with its new incarnations like platinum, diamond soon flooded the Indian market and a whole new set of jewellery designers emerged to meet the growing demands. ``Globally, 90 per cent of jewelry sold is as dress wear - a part of the wardrobe and not the vault,'' says Mr. Mahesh Rao a young entrepreneur with extensive experience in fashion accessories market ``In India branded jewelry as a fashion accessory is still a small portion, less than one per cent, of the total Rs. 40,000 crores per annum jewelry market in India, but it is growing at a tremendous pace of 20 to 30 per cent annually."
With a sharp paradigm shift in the accessories market, men too are not lagging behind .They are now adventuring into various trends that are bold , new and simultaneously in keeping with the tradition. They are pampering themselves with their passions –cars, mobiles, bikes, computers etc. A riot of options in various categories have become available to spoil these new age techies. Car accessories like music system, alloy wheels, TV and video system, reverse music, perfume sprayer, inner car decoration, and bike accessories like brake music, colourful headlights, stickers etc have only added to their desire. Currently, the car accessories market is a multi-crore market, with a potential to double by 2010. Besides safety and security features, entertainment and infotainment (head units, speakers, amplifiers, sub-woofers etc) are the biggest revenue grosser for players in the segment, followed by safety and security (tyre pressure monitor, reverse parking sensor). The passenger car market in India is growing at nearly 10-12%, whereas the organized car accessories market is growing much faster at 15-20%. Gizmos like navigation, video-on-demand, mobile satellite radio, DVD players, MP3 players are driving the growth in the car accessories market. Global positioning system, popularly known as GPS, is finding initial installations in call center cabs. Nokia has solutions like hands-free kits, car phones, mobile holders and phone chargers.
Among the most tech savvy products mobile has occupied a very prestigious position . There is no doubt that mobiles are now the most trendiest newest technology to flaunt with. The market for mobile accessories are growing at a tremendous rate. Cell phone covers, mobile chargers, travel chargers, hands free kit, car kit, head set, belt clip, cradle, flashings, face plate, universal booster antenna, memory cards etc, are highly in demand . Mobile accessories enhance the look and utility of mobile phones. Computer accessories like computer case, LCD cleaning kits, CD wallet, screen filters, keyboard and mouse are also a huge success. Another important segment where accessories have made a grand exposure , a must-to-be is the home segment,where marble floors, spartek tiles, bathroom or kitchen interiors, terracotta walls, ethnic contours, are a welcome feature. These accessories have gained immense importance in everybody’s life because they contribute to the mother brands by being both “ brand accelerators” and “value drivers”. They not only add a value to the products but also accelerate their growth in the market and their recognition in the branded category of products.
Times have changed much faster than men have thought. And to accommodate to the changing times , now men are trying to catch up with it. There were times when men would hardly bother themselves about the appearance of their own, or any other items associated with them like mobiles, cars , bikes, home etc. But now the outward physical appearance of anything and everything starting from one’s own physical self to home, to cars, bikes etc means a significant value addition to one’s own lifestyle , setting a new paradigm. The accessories market is a newly emerged market , which portray the trend of current generation. The market is estimated at Rs 12,400/- crore , according to Samsika Marketing Consultant. Accessories have moved from being a low involvement product for consumers to high involvement product. There are several reasons which have contributed to the rising phenomenon. Like the rising awareness about the international fashion trends , and the subsequent portrayal of these fashion trends in the advertising media , the advent of malls, more disposable income, more awareness about using plastic money etc had brought the consumer more close to the lifestyle oriented products in an affordable and feasible manner. The consumer was flooded with choices .
Visit any dollar store or Nick Nish retail chain, then one can understand the range of accessories available in any category of products. Consider one simple example. Gone are the days when women would wear the same jewellery with all their dresses on special occasions. Today the new woman , the moment she buys a new sari or dress, her mind starts working on the matching accessories – jewellery, shoes, watch, leather bag ,etc and so on , that would go with the outfit. The fashion accessories industry ranges from bags, purses, ties, belts, shawls , scarves, handkerchiefs, caps, hats, footwear, fashion eyewear and watches. Currently it is on the verge of complete metamorphosis. In the current financial year the global clothing accessories industry generated total revenue of approximately US $ 74.9 of the overall industry value. Internationally India ranks among the top eight countries in the export of bags and purses. Even watches which was once considered merely as a tool for keeping toes with time soon became a fashion statement. Such is its impact that the current global watch market is valued at US $ 26.5 million dollars , with the emergence of Swiss majors and China exhibiting significant growth of of 9% and 7% respectively.
Another sector which has gained immense recognition as fashion accessory is the gold. In India, gold has traditionally been purchased either as investment or in the form of highly ornamental jewellery. The liberal economic era ushered in at the beginning of the 1990s and the emergence of an affluent professional class in the urban space with the boom of the IT and education industry resulted in the creation of a burgeoning designer wear/cosmetics/fashion accessories market in India. Gold along with its new incarnations like platinum, diamond soon flooded the Indian market and a whole new set of jewellery designers emerged to meet the growing demands. ``Globally, 90 per cent of jewelry sold is as dress wear - a part of the wardrobe and not the vault,'' says Mr. Mahesh Rao a young entrepreneur with extensive experience in fashion accessories market ``In India branded jewelry as a fashion accessory is still a small portion, less than one per cent, of the total Rs. 40,000 crores per annum jewelry market in India, but it is growing at a tremendous pace of 20 to 30 per cent annually."
With a sharp paradigm shift in the accessories market, men too are not lagging behind .They are now adventuring into various trends that are bold , new and simultaneously in keeping with the tradition. They are pampering themselves with their passions –cars, mobiles, bikes, computers etc. A riot of options in various categories have become available to spoil these new age techies. Car accessories like music system, alloy wheels, TV and video system, reverse music, perfume sprayer, inner car decoration, and bike accessories like brake music, colourful headlights, stickers etc have only added to their desire. Currently, the car accessories market is a multi-crore market, with a potential to double by 2010. Besides safety and security features, entertainment and infotainment (head units, speakers, amplifiers, sub-woofers etc) are the biggest revenue grosser for players in the segment, followed by safety and security (tyre pressure monitor, reverse parking sensor). The passenger car market in India is growing at nearly 10-12%, whereas the organized car accessories market is growing much faster at 15-20%. Gizmos like navigation, video-on-demand, mobile satellite radio, DVD players, MP3 players are driving the growth in the car accessories market. Global positioning system, popularly known as GPS, is finding initial installations in call center cabs. Nokia has solutions like hands-free kits, car phones, mobile holders and phone chargers.
Among the most tech savvy products mobile has occupied a very prestigious position . There is no doubt that mobiles are now the most trendiest newest technology to flaunt with. The market for mobile accessories are growing at a tremendous rate. Cell phone covers, mobile chargers, travel chargers, hands free kit, car kit, head set, belt clip, cradle, flashings, face plate, universal booster antenna, memory cards etc, are highly in demand . Mobile accessories enhance the look and utility of mobile phones. Computer accessories like computer case, LCD cleaning kits, CD wallet, screen filters, keyboard and mouse are also a huge success. Another important segment where accessories have made a grand exposure , a must-to-be is the home segment,where marble floors, spartek tiles, bathroom or kitchen interiors, terracotta walls, ethnic contours, are a welcome feature. These accessories have gained immense importance in everybody’s life because they contribute to the mother brands by being both “ brand accelerators” and “value drivers”. They not only add a value to the products but also accelerate their growth in the market and their recognition in the branded category of products.
Good research work touching different accessory markets from all parts of life.
ReplyDeleteIts really true that now a days accessories have became more important than core products. Tendency for spending more n more on accessories is increasing rapidly. In any class of the society we can find this trend. Either its upper class, middle or lower one, all have a strong inclination towards the new fashion trends and for that accessories have became a must need.
it is really a good and unusual article on the accessory industry.you have well said that accessories add value to products and that is why i think a huge bulk of customers are from middle strata of society specially for electronic products.for a mobile with poor battery back up ,a middle class customer goes to replace the battery rather than buying a new.
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