Siddharth Grover, Director, Groversons Paris Beauty, on evolving consumer expectations, Gen Z, comfort-led innovation and the growing role of e-commerce and quick commerce in India’s innerwear market
India’s innerwear market is moving beyond basic functionality towards comfort, specialised product categories and more informed consumer choices. As Millennials and Gen Z reshape purchasing behaviour, brands are expanding their portfolios to include loungewear, activewear, shapewear and slip-on bras, while placing greater emphasis on fabric, fit, skin feel and functionality.
For legacy player Groversons Paris Beauty, which traces its origins to 1953, the next phase of growth will depend on combining its manufacturing capabilities and understanding of Indian consumers with product innovation, stronger digital distribution and renewed relevance among younger buyers.
In a conversation with BW Retail World, Siddharth Grover, Director, Groversons Paris Beauty, discusses the brand’s evolution, the changing dynamics of India’s innerwear industry, its omnichannel strategy and the specialised product niches expected to gain traction in 2027.
Groversons Paris Beauty has built its presence in the Indian innerwear market over more than seven decades. Could you take us through the brand’s journey, key milestones and strategic decisions that have shaped its growth?
My grandfather started the business in 1953, at a time when awareness of innerwear and lingerie in India was limited. The brand began on a very small scale and gradually grew alongside the Indian economy and the expansion of consumer demand.
During the 1990s, following the opening up of the Indian economy, demand for better products and the opportunities available in the market increased. We began organising our production operations and scaling up our manufacturing capabilities. In the 2000s, we further strengthened our manufacturing base, which remains one of the most important foundations of the business today.
Our own manufacturing capabilities, fit expertise and understanding of consumers, accumulated over more than seven decades, are central to what we stand for. Innerwear is a category where fit is critical. If the fit is not right, marketing and product availability cannot compensate for that shortcoming. Ultimately, our objective is to deliver everyday comfort to women, and that remains central to Groversons and Paris Beauty.
The market has also undergone a significant transformation, particularly since Covid-19. Consumers are now much more willing to discuss innerwear openly, ask questions and seek information about products. Greater awareness and education about the category are encouraging developments. The lack of consumer knowledge has historically been a challenge in India and globally, so this shift will help brands understand consumer needs better and contribute to the category’s growth.
How have your product portfolio and brand positioning evolved in response to changing consumer preferences, particularly among Millennials and Gen Z?
Brands must continually reinvent themselves to remain relevant, and this has become even more important today. If a brand fails to connect with consumers, particularly Millennials and Gen Z, it risks losing relevance.
We have expanded beyond the categories we originally operated in and introduced a much broader product portfolio, including a significant range of loungewear and more comfort-oriented products. We have also elevated our approach to fabrics, fits, product presentation and brand positioning.
We are working towards making the brand more relevant to younger consumers. Gen Z is particularly discerning about the products and brands it chooses. This generation is increasingly influential in determining where money is spent, so brands need a considered and strategic approach to engaging with it.
Our focus is on evolving our offerings while retaining the consumers who have been associated with us over the years. It is about building relevance with a new generation without losing the trust and familiarity established with existing customers.
What are Groversons Paris Beauty’s key growth priorities over the next few years? How do you see distribution evolving across general trade, modern retail, e-commerce and quick commerce?
Consumers are present across multiple channels, and we do not view online and offline retail as competing or separate ecosystems. They are complementary channels that must work together to provide a seamless brand experience.
Our priorities include deeper distribution, greater product availability and more outlets where consumers can physically experience and evaluate our products. We are expanding our presence across multibrand outlets and general trade while also developing our approach to modern retail.
For us, modern retail is not limited to large organised retailers. We are also exploring shop-in-shop concepts with premium general-trade retailers to help them create a more engaging shopping experience and enable consumers to discover and evaluate products more effectively.
E-commerce is equally important because it allows brands to showcase a wider product range and communicate directly with consumers. Product discovery increasingly takes place online, and digital platforms offer opportunities for brands to explain their offerings and reach audiences that may not be accessible through conventional distribution alone.
Quick commerce and e-commerce can also improve the speed and reach of product availability, including in locations where traditional general trade may take considerably longer to serve. Our objective is to strengthen the connections between these channels so that consumers can access our products wherever and however they prefer to shop.
The innerwear category is witnessing premiumisation, product innovation and greater segmentation. Which consumer trends will drive its next phase of growth, and how is Groversons responding?
Comfort will be the primary driver for the next decade of innerwear consumers. We are seeing consumers become more conscious of their wellbeing and more aware of their individual needs. They are no longer simply buying a product as a commodity; they are looking for something that addresses a specific requirement.
Consumers today are clear about the comfort they expect, whether they are working in an office, relaxing at home or exercising. They are increasingly unwilling to compromise on it.
Comfort extends well beyond fit. It includes the fabrics used, the trims, the composition, whether a product is skin-friendly and how it feels against the body. It also includes whether that comfort can be maintained throughout the product’s useful life.
We have always been comfort-led, but we are now working to develop products that also give consumers greater confidence in their everyday activities. The objective is not simply to make a comfortable product but to ensure that it performs well across different situations.
Multifunctionality is an important part of this approach. We are exploring innovations that allow products to remain comfortable across a range of daily activities, supported by appropriate fabrics, better hand feel and skin-friendly materials. The comfort should not be limited to the moment a consumer first wears the product; it should endure over time.
Looking ahead, where do you see the biggest opportunities for Groversons Paris Beauty and the wider Indian innerwear industry? What will it take to achieve the next level of scale?
The growth potential is immense. As a legacy brand, we have an opportunity to build on our existing consumer understanding while responding to the new ways in which products are discovered, purchased and delivered.
E-commerce and quick commerce have changed how brands can scale and reach consumers. They offer the potential to make products available more quickly and in locations that traditional distribution networks may take longer to reach. These channels create opportunities for us and for the wider industry.
A major priority is to develop products and offerings for younger consumers and build a stronger community around Gen Z, while continuing to serve our existing customer base. When consumers find that a brand delivers the value, experience and product performance they expect, they can become loyal to it.
At the same time, we want to create greater synergy between traditional distribution and the online ecosystem. We do not see online growth as a contest in which one channel must take market share from another. Digital platforms can support offline retail by increasing awareness and helping consumers discover products that they may subsequently want to experience in a physical store.
The opportunity lies in creating a more connected ecosystem in which online and offline channels complement one another, improve consumer education and make the overall shopping experience more convenient.
What is the one major trend you expect to shape India’s innerwear industry in 2027?
The biggest trend we are seeing is the increasing specialisation of product categories. Innerwear, and bras in particular, were traditionally treated as relatively broad categories. Consumers are now looking for products designed around more specific needs.
Activewear, shapewear, loungewear and slip-on bras are examples of how the category is becoming more differentiated. Consumers are increasingly identifying what they need for particular activities, occasions and comfort preferences.
I expect this specialisation to deepen in 2027, with more clearly defined product niches emerging to address the requirements of today’s consumers. For brands, the opportunity will be to understand these requirements and develop products that meet them more precisely.
