H&M opens first store in India

New Delhi - The wait for Indian fashionistas is finally over - today marks the day of Swedish clothing giant H&M opening its first store at Select Citywalk mall in New Delhi, at 11 am local time. FashionUnited has summed up the buzz before, during and after the opening.

On Wednesday night at 7 pm sharp, H&M had invited fashionistas, press, fashion insiders and Bollywood celebrities for a sneak preview of their first Indian store. There was music, wine, champagne and a red carpet.

The invitees got a chance to shop as well and many took advantage of getting their hands on coveted H&M merchandise as one of the first. "Highlight: sizes up to UK 14 in most clothing. Not seen it in other Delhi highstreet brands," enthused Surabhi on Twitter.

H&M banks on aggressive pricing strategy

Most of the 25,000 square feet store in Delhi is dedicated to womenswear, with separate sections for shoes, bags, accessories and lingerie. Price-conscious consumers can expect the same affordable clothes at H&M India that the retail giant is known for the world over. Prices range from 149 rupees (around 2 US dollars) for hair bands to 699 rupees (around 10 US dollars) for leggings, 799 rupees (12 US dollars) for t-shirts and shoes, 1,999 rupees (around 30 US dollars) for denims and 2,999 rupees (almost 46 US dollars) for outerwear. This aggressive pricing strategy should give stiff competition to home-grown and international players like Zara, Gap and Forever 21 alike.

After a delayed debut due to slower than expected regulatory clearance, the big question is, where H&M will open its next stores, with H&M fans in other Indian metros eagerly waiting. "Soon we will open our next store in Delhi at Ambience Mall, Vasant Kunj. In 2016, we plan to open at other locations such as Bangalore," confirmed H&M managing director and CEO Karl-Johan Persson in a recent interview with Hindustan Times.

According to sources close to the company, it is currently zeroing in on a 30,000 square feet outlet in an upcoming mall in Whitefield. "Simultaneously, we are finalising locations in Mumbai as well. We are looking at most likely 30 plus stores in the next five years", added Persson.

Overall, H&M plans to invest 100 million euros (over 780 crore rupees) in the next five years. Though the company may have waited a long time to enter the lucrative Indian market, it is now the first international fashion retailer to enter India alone after the government allowed 100 percent FDI in single-brand retail.

Considering that H&M is heavily investing in country-specific e-commerce websites elsewhere, the restrictive Indian retail policy comes as a bit of a damper. Asked if the company planned to retail online in India, Persson responded: "Well, Indian policy does not permit us to be on e-commerce platforms here. Once we are allowed, it is definitely on the cards. We are expanding globally on this business model."

Back at the Delhi store, in the morning, there was already a considerable queue of fashion-conscious women and men, some of whom had brought their bean bags along to ease the wait.

Closer to opening time, crowds started building up and people queued up patiently, prompting some to ponder delaying a first visit until the first enthusiasm has died down.

At 11, the doors are finally open and by noon, the first customers who made it into the store are still busy browsing, excited about bargains and new finds. Now it remains to be seen if H&M can catch up to international competitors like Zara, Gap, Forever 21 and Marks & Spencer that entered the market much before and local brands like Shoppers Stop and Lifestyle.

"I think H&M will do great, like Zara, especially their winter range is very affordable; other brands watch out unless they want the same fate as Esprit. Also growing online will pose marketing challenges," finds Mumbai- and Chandigarh-based entrepreneur Vikram Saboo. "I think they have really appealing clothes and at a Forever 21 price point, will work for all the crazy women here who have been ordering them online or from abroad," says Mumbai-based fashionista Puja Vora.

At least H&M has first-mover advantage over Japanese clothing giant Uniqlo that aims to become the world's largest clothing retailer and is currently working on its India plans. "Uniqlo to be precise is a different platform than ours. It is not that we wanted to enter India before them. We were planning an India entry for quite some time. I first came to India in 1999 and since then, we have been acquainting ourselves with the market dynamics. It is a huge market in terms of size and the fashion that people have," explained Persson.

Time will tell if competive pricing and good brand awareness will be enough for H&M to conquer the Indian market. "Expansion might be difficult for them considering the large space they look for," said a source close to H&M when talking to the Economic Times. However, the Indian apparel market is large, expected to be worth 60 billion US dollars by 2020, and it is certainly helping for international brands like H&M that Indians increasingly embrace western-style clothing.