Reliance Retail’s Akhilesh Prasad flags tougher survival test for Indian fashion players

What to watch

• Sustained increase in promotional intensity or average discount depth during major Indian retail events.
• Store closures, delayed vendor payments, fundraising stress or inventory liquidation among mid-sized fashion chains.
• Expansion of private labels, exclusive brand partnerships and rapid-delivery fashion assortments by major platforms and retailers.
• Widening sales productivity gap between organized omnichannel retailers and independent fashion operators.
• Changes in gross margin, inventory days and markdown rates reported by listed apparel and retail companies.
• Consumer trading-down signals in discretionary apparel baskets alongside resilience in premium occasionwear and beauty-adjacent categories.
• Accelerate SKU rationalization and demand-led replenishment to reduce markdown exposure.
• Invest in sharper price-value architecture, including entry-price products without diluting core brand positioning.
• Prioritize omnichannel inventory visibility, faster fulfillment and localized assortments over broad store expansion.
• Secure sourcing flexibility and lower minimum-order commitments to respond to shorter fashion cycles.
• Differentiate through category authority, exclusive capsules, loyalty programs and customer data rather than generalized discounting.
• Review underperforming stores, marketplaces and customer-acquisition channels for contribution-margin discipline.