Apparel is driving nearly 20–30% of retail leasing demand across India’s top markets, firmly positioning fashion and lifestyle at the centre of the country’s retail expansion story.
According to ANAROCK’s latest RELEAP 2026 findings, retail absorption across the top seven cities stood at approximately 4.3 million sq. ft. in H2 2025, with apparel emerging as the single largest contributor. This is not just a recovery trend—it signals a structural resurgence of fashion-led retail growth.
Complementing this, the IMAGES Group report, Grade-A vs Non–Grade-A: Visibility vs Profitability — Decoding India’s Retail Footprint Economics (2026–2030), offers deeper insight into how this expansion is being shaped by location economics, supply constraints, and the rise of new retail corridors.
Together, the two reports present a compelling narrative:
Fashion is not only leading leasing demand—it is redefining how retail expansion is being executed in India.
Global Fashion’s India Bet Gains Momentum
India has re-emerged as a priority market for global fashion and lifestyle brands, driven by rising consumption and premiumisation. The IMAGES report highlights that global brands are increasingly favouring Grade-A malls and curated retail environments to ensure consistency in brand experience and higher conversion.
However, limited availability of premium mall space in key micro-markets is influencing expansion strategies. As a result, global brands are adopting calibrated entry models—launching in top malls while selectively evaluating high streets and emerging corridors.
Indian Fashion Retailers Scale with Discipline
While global brands are entering selectively, Indian fashion retailers are expanding aggressively—but with far greater strategic clarity.
ANAROCK’s data shows apparel consistently leading leasing activity, particularly in markets like NCR where it accounts for over 20% share. This aligns with insights from the IMAGES report, which notes that Indian retailers are:
- Expanding across metros and Tier-2/3 cities simultaneously
- Aligning store formats with catchment and cost structures
- Building multi-format networks rather than uniform rollouts
The emphasis has clearly shifted from expansion speed to expansion quality and sustainability.
D2C Brands Move from Digital to Physical
A defining trend shaping leasing activity is the offline expansion of digital-first fashion brands.
Both reports point to the growing presence of D2C and new-age brands entering physical retail through mid-sized stores (1,000–5,000 sq. ft.), which dominate leasing activity across cities. These stores are not just transactional—they function as:
- Brand experience centres
- Customer acquisition channels
- Trust-building touchpoints
The IMAGES report further highlights that these brands are deploying a hybrid strategy, using malls for positioning and emerging high streets for scalable growth.
Emerging High Streets Become Fashion Growth Corridors
As premium mall supply remains constrained, fashion expansion is increasingly spilling into new high-street corridors.
The IMAGES report maps how retail activity is shifting beyond legacy high streets into emerging corridors anchored by residential density and infrastructure growth. These locations offer:
- Lower rentals compared to prime high streets
- Larger, more flexible store formats
- Proximity to growing catchments
Rental benchmarks reflect this divergence. While premium locations like Khan Market command rentals as high as ₹1,600 per sq. ft. per month, emerging corridors typically operate within ₹120–500 per sq. ft. across major cities, enabling more cost-efficient expansion.
Experience-Led Retail Shapes Demand
Leasing patterns also highlight a broader shift in consumer behaviour.
According to ANAROCK, categories such as entertainment, hypermarkets, and food & beverage follow apparel in leasing share, signalling a move toward experience-led retail environments.
Fashion brands are increasingly integrating:
- Experience zones
- Community-driven formats
- Omnichannel capabilities
The IMAGES report reinforces this by emphasising the growing importance of defining store roles based on consumer missions.
From Store Expansion to Network Strategy
What emerges clearly from both reports is a fundamental shift in retail thinking.
Fashion brands today are no longer asking:
Where should we open stores?
They are asking:
What role will each store play within our network?
This transition—from format-led expansion to mission-led retail strategy—is now visible across leasing patterns, store formats, and city-level expansion decisions.
The Road Ahead
India’s fashion and lifestyle retail sector is entering a phase where scale will be driven by strategy, not just speed.
With strong leasing momentum, constrained premium supply, and the rapid rise of new retail corridors, brands are being pushed to think more structurally about expansion.
As both reports indicate, the future of fashion retail in India will not be defined merely by store openings—but by how intelligently brands design their presence across formats, cities, and consumer missions.
In this evolving landscape, fashion is not just leading retail leasing.
It is reshaping the blueprint of retail growth in India.
