Domestic technical textiles Industry Segment-wise consumption of ...

Swimwear
A swimsuit, bathing suit or swimming costume is an item of clothing designed to be worn while
participating in water sports and activities such as swimming, water polo, diving, surfing, water
skiing.
Men's swimsuit styles are swimming trunks such as boardshorts, jammers, speedo-style briefs, thongs,
g-strings or bikini. Women's swimsuits are generally either one-pieces, bikinis or thongs. The most
recent innovation is the burqini, a more modest garment designed for Muslim women; it covers the
whole body and head (but not face) in a manner similar to a diver's wetsuit.
Special swimsuits for competitive swimming, designed to reduce skin drag. For some kinds of
swimming and diving, special bodysuits called ‘diveskins’ are worn. Most competitive swimmers also
wear special swimsuits including partial and full bodysuits, racerback styles, jammers and racing
briefs to assist their glide through the water and gain speed advantages
Market dynamics and key growth drivers
The market for high performance swimwear totally depends upon the popularity of competitive
swimming in the country. Competitive swimming can only be promoted if there is adequate
swimming infrastructure making the facility available to majority at affordable rates. In India the
penetration of swimming pools is very low and even in that there are hardly any temperature
maintained or heated swimming pools.
Swimming in India is still to a large extent considered as a leisure activity rather than a sporting
activity. Majority of the population do not know how to swim, the ratio is especially worse in the
female population. Most of the people who swim do so in natural water reserves like rivers or lakes
without the use of any proper swimming gear or swimsuit. Swimming in a pool is still considered a
luxury accessible only to a small percentage of the total population.
Modern real estate in India is developing a facility of swimming pool in most of their new
construction plans. This should create more awareness about the activity and increase interest and
participation in the same. However such kind of swimming does not involve the requirement for high
performance swimwear. Competitive swimming will take at least another five years to become a little
popular in the country. The high performance swimwear category being very expensive will only be
purchased by serious enthusiasts the number for which still is very miniscule. This is expected to
grow only at an average of about 5% year on year for the next five years.
Product Characteristics