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The female innerwear market in India has been seeing double-digit growth during the pandemic. The growth can be attributed to work from home (WFH) and strong demand for innerwear.

According to Statista, the women’s innerwear market in India in the year 2020 was Rs 32,164 crore, and the number is estimated to reach Rs 62,135 crore by 2025.

Women’s innerwear, loungewear, and personal care brand Clovia said it has seen phenomenal growth in the last six months, and the brand also claims to have doubled its revenue during the period.

In the first wave of the pandemic, the brand saw growth due to factors such as pent-up demand, revenge buying, etc. The brand, which saw Rs 52.8 crore revenue in 2018 and raised Rs 75 crore in January 2019, witnessed consistent growth during the second wave of the pandemic as well.

In a recent conversation with YS’s Daily Dispatch, Pankaj Vermani, Co-founder and CEO, Clovia, shared insights on Clovia’s growth during the pandemic.

According to Pankaj, the first wave of the pandemic was all about finding ways to survive and sustain the businesses, whereas, in the second wave, businesses were facing no stagnation. The second wave was more impactful in terms of health, and therefore companies have been concerned about the health and well-being of their employees unlike during the first wave when the survival of the business was a priority.

On the supply front, Pankaj says Clovia has been facing certain challenges, but the customers have been very patient. However, a good thing for the brand has been its omni-channel presence and its presence across states in India, which has helped Clovia not see a complete shutdown situation.

“For certain pin codes that are not active right now, we put in a disclaimer regarding the timeline, and sometimes when we ended up missing that, all we could do is apologise,” says Pankaj.

While many expected the demand for the innerwear category to go down during the pandemic, the category saw growth despite the situation. Other categories such as loungewear have also grown significantly during the lockdown because people essentially stayed at home most of the time.

Recently, Clovia launched new categories such as personal care products and athleisure, and the brand claims these categories have been doing really well in terms of growth.

“On a broader perspective, we will continue to be a brand that caters to all things intimate,” says Pankaj.

Pankaj also shares that for Clovia, the growth of the brand is not dependent on the capital at the moment. As and when capital is required, funds will be raised, he says. Clovia is looking to double its revenue and is working towards it, he adds.