Resurfacing a June 2026 report: Fashion and apparel captured 40% of India’s retail leasing in H1 2026
Resurfacing data from a June 2026 report cited by ETRealty, fashion and apparel was India’s largest retail leasing category in H1 2026, accounting for 40% of activity.
What happened
store-opening · Fashion and apparel was India’s largest retail leasing category in H1 2026, accounting for 40% of leasing activity, according to a report cited
Key facts
- Fashion and apparel accounted for 40% of retail leasing in India in H1 2026
Why this matters
The leasing surge suggests fashion brands are scaling physical distribution aggressively, creating opportunities to target regional labels, omnichannel platforms, and retail infrastructure partners with expansion-ready footprints.
What to watch
- Quarterly mall vacancy and effective-rent trends in Mumbai, Delhi NCR, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Pune and Chennai.
- Conversion rate of signed leases into operational stores and average fit-out timelines.
- Apparel same-store sales growth, discounting intensity, inventory-to-sales ratios and gross-margin trends.
- New Grade A mall supply, especially in Tier-2 cities, relative to fashion tenant demand.
- Consumer discretionary-spending indicators, festive-season apparel sales and premium-brand expansion announcements.
- Growth in e-commerce returns and store-enabled fulfillment, indicating whether physical expansion is reinforcing omnichannel economics.
- Expand into Tier-2 and Tier-3 consumption hubs through smaller-format stores, franchise partners and cluster-based rollout plans.
- Secure Grade A mall locations early, particularly units near anchor tenants, food-and-beverage zones and entertainment traffic drivers.
- Use new stores as omnichannel assets with ship-from-store, returns handling, clienteling and local inventory visibility.
- Increase premiumization through flagship formats, occasionwear, athleisure, beauty-adjacent and accessories assortments that raise sales productivity per square foot.
- Landlords may rebalance tenant mixes toward fashion while seeking higher minimum guarantees, turnover-linked rents and longer lock-ins from established brands.