- Trent is part of the $111 billion software-to-salt Tata Conglomerate.
- Trent now plans to open 40 outlets of its Westside chain every year and hundreds of its mass-market Zudio stores
Tata Group has been Inditex SA’s partner for 10 years and running Zara stores in India. Now, The largest conglomerate of the country is all set to build its own apparel empire as trendy as Zara but at half the price.
Launching Tata Westside to Tier-2 Cities
The retail arm of Tata Group, Trent Ltd, has improved its local supply chain to deliver, “extreme fast fashion” which can get runway styles to customers in just 12 days, the same timeline that has turned Inditex into a $90 billion empire.
Trent now plans to open 40 outlets of its Westside chain every year and hundreds of its mass-market Zudio stores, where nothing costs more than $15, all across India, said chairman Noel Tata in an interview. The newly trend conscious and globalized consumer population whose low average income doesn’t allow them to shop at Zara.
Tata said, “ The middle class is growing, incomes have grown, Indians are traveling more and they have more money to spend. Now e have the capability and we have built the model that is working so well, it’s time to grow faster”.
Trent is part of the $111 billion software-to-salt Tata Conglomerate. It is hoping its quick and responsive supply chain will help it become as pervasive in Asia’s third-largest economy as Zara is in the west. But it’ll face huge competition from both local stores as well as e-commerce giants.
Increasing Fashion Awareness
According to the World Economic Forum’s January report, India’s total household spending will quadruple from $1.5 trillion now to $6 trillion by 2030, making it the world’s third largest consumer market.
“Sense of Fashion” of the Indian population has evolved, especially over the last three to four years due to a rapid increase in smartphones and the internet stated Abhijeet Kundu, an analyst with Antique Stock Broking Ltd. “Consumer wants to wear the latest fashion. Even if the consumer is from a smaller town, he will try to dress like a movie actor or cricket icon.”
Trent is hiring employees who can pick the next trends and introduces 300 new styles across its stores each week.
Tata also said, “Trent’s lower prices are a better fit. The Value proposition we offer is much stronger than the international brands.”
Challenges
Trent’s ambition to be like Zara will be hampered by local India-specific challenges. It will face difficulty finding space for new stores because in congested and chaotic cities of India traditional high streets are a rarity.
It’ll face competition from local rivals who offer a similar mix of western wear and ethnic Indian styles at a lesser price.
Trent considers trendiness as its main advantage over other competitors.
“It makes us more responsive to what that customer is looking for,” Tata said. “By looking at our sales and because we don’t have a long supply chain, we are able to respond to the trends much faster.”
With the Indian economy growing and Indian consumer spending money on fashion, Trent needs to evolve in order to match up to its competition.
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