s there a market for ready-to-wear westernwear for women? That's a question that marketers in the business have been asking themseIves for years. And going by the number of companies that are getting into the game now, they clearly believe that its time has come.

If the segment has not taken off until now it is certainly not for want of trying. Possibly the first attempt at creating a market of readymades for women was made by Vimal about 15 years ago but it sank quickly and quietly without a trace. Other ventures followed, but the record was so poor that the segment had begun to seem jinxed. The problem seemed to be that women had such a vast variety in traditional Indianwear which they could get customised at the local boutique that standardised western wear paled in comparison.... more