Over the last 25 years, Indian fashion and lifestyle brands have undergone a quiet but profound transformation on the global stage.
What began as diaspora-led retail—ethnic stores, festival-driven demand and niche neighbourhood presence—has evolved into structured, scalable, and increasingly sophisticated global retail expansion. Indian brands are no longer testing international markets. They are building them.
The research story ‘India Goes Global: How Indian Fashion & Lifestyle Brands Are Building Real Retail Footprints Overseas’, traces the international journeys of 40+ Indian brands across jewellery, fashion, eyewear, kidswear, lifestyle, sports and value retail—mapping how India has moved from exporting nostalgia to exporting retail capability and brand confidence.
Drawing on real store networks, operating models and market choices, the report documents how Indian brands today are:
- Opening flagship stores and mall-grade retail across the UAE, USA, UK, Singapore and Southeast Asia
- Using department stores and shop-in-shops as early market-entry pathways
- Building repeatable omnichannel and platform-led global models
- Choosing markets with intent, not vanity
From couture houses like Sabyasachi, Anita Dongre, Ritu Kumar and Manish Malhotra, to jewellery leaders Tanishq, Malabar Gold & Diamonds, Kalyan Jewellers, Joyalukkas and Bhima, from fashion and lifestyle brands BIBA, Soch, Raymond, Manyavar, Louis Philippe, Van Heusen, Allen Solly, Fabindia and Hidesign, to new age and emerging global players such as Lenskart, Zudio, Go Colors, The Bear House, Popees Baby Care, FirstCry, Ammarzo and Cosmos Sports, and platform-led expansion through Myntra Global—this chapter captures the full spectrum of India’s global retail ambition.
Crucially, the chapter moves beyond celebration. It examines:
- Why the UAE has become India’s global scale laboratory
- Why the USA and UK function as prestige and brand-validation markets
- Why Singapore operates as a gateway rather than a volume play
- How neighbouring markets like Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka have served as early proving grounds
- And how operating models—franchise, JV, company-owned, platform-led—must align with category and geography
The central insight is clear: Indian brands are not diluting their identity to go global—they are sharpening it. It is a strategic map of what actually works when Indian fashion and lifestyle brands step onto the global retail stage.
