Wacoal opens a directly-run flagship at Mumbai's best location, tying together an 18-store India network through service

Wacoal has taken its India omnichannel strategy up a notch. On June 17, 2026, its Indian subsidiary opened a directly operated flagship store of about 450 square feet on Linking Road (Khar West), one of Mumbai's premier shopping streets, expanding its network of directly operated exclusive brand outlets (EBOs) in the country to 18. Centered on fit-consultation service, it placed a "hub for experience" that ties together department stores, large-format stores, and e-commerce in a prime location. It is a vivid, real-world example for how Japanese specialty retailers might use a directly operated flagship store in India.

Summary of the news

The store opened along Linking Road in the Khar West area, Mumbai's commercial center. It is considered one of India's leading fashion high streets. At about 450 square feet, the store is by no means large, but it offers a wide range of premium women's lingerie, shapewear, sleepwear, and loungewear, and features one-on-one fit consultations by dedicated staff and a private fitting space.

Wacoal India COO Pooja Merani described the opening by saying, "Mumbai is the heart of our India business, and Linking Road is at the center of how that Mumbai shops," positioning it as a "strategic decision" to enhance brand experience and strengthen presence in a growth market. It is clearly designed as a flagship not merely to line up products but to showcase the brand's world and service capability all at once.

Background: Wacoal's India rollout and the structure of the innerwear market

Wacoal was founded in Japan in 1946 and has expanded across Asia since the 1970s. Its first store in India opened in December 2015. According to industry media reports, the company entered through a joint venture with local firm Periwinkle Fashions, launching the business with an investment of roughly INR 1 billion. Since then, alongside its directly operated EBOs, it has employed a multi-format sales approach combining large-format stores (LFS), multi-brand outlets (MBOs), and both its own website and third-party e-commerce. Today's flagship store sits atop this accumulated groundwork as a "showcase."

Market conditions are also tailwinds. Research firm estimates put India's lingerie market at around $5.9 billion as of 2025, with the premium segment estimated at about $1.9 billion (both figures from estimates by research firms such as IMARC and are not confirmed values). Rising incomes, growing attention to fit and materials, and the spread of body positivity are thickening the segment that seeks value over price. For overseas specialty brands, this suggests room to compete on fit and experience, apart from mass-market innerwear that competes on volume.

Scale and figures (confirmed)

The figures corroborated across the primary source and multiple industry media outlets are as follows. Anything that could not be confirmed is not included.

• Store area: about 450 square feet
• Location: along Linking Road, Khar West area, Mumbai
• Opening date: June 17, 2026
• Total EBOs in India: 18 stores (including this opening)
• First store in India: December 2015
• Founded: 1946 (Japan)

It has also been reported by some media that LFS coverage exceeds 40 stores, and that the company aims for several dozen directly operated stores in the future, but since these are not necessarily the company's latest confirmed figures, they are treated as reference information. What is stated definitively in this article is limited to the corroborated figures above.

Industry reaction

This move was widely covered in Indian retail trade media under headlines such as "Japanese brand's EBO network reaches 18 stores." The fact that the company prioritized location above all, combined with the modest scale of the flagship, has drawn particular attention.

• Assessment of the location: Unlike a section inside a mall, Linking Road is a prime street-front location that captures the city's foot traffic itself. Rent is high, but the move is read as aiming to make the brand's stature visible and first raise the quality of awareness.
• The design of a "small flagship": At 450 square feet, this is small for a flagship, and it is seen as a store that channels resources into the quality of service and fitting rather than stocking heavy inventory. Rather than overwhelming with size, it is an approach that differentiates through the in-store experience.
• A nexus point for omnichannel: Some commentators view this as a move to redefine the meaning of the existing sales channels, EBOs, LFS, MBOs, and e-commerce, through the flagship's service experience. The structure is that customers can buy anywhere, but the store is where the brand is "understood."

Implications for Japanese specialty retailers: Directly operated stores x service x omnichannel

This is where the biggest lesson of this case lies. Working backward from Wacoal's design to consider what it means for a Japanese specialty retailer to run a directly operated flagship in India, three points emerge.

1. The flagship is not "a store that sells" but "a store that sets the standard" The choice of 450 square feet speaks to this. Rather than maximizing sales through a large store, the brand places, in the most visible location, a single store that embodies its standards for service, fit precision, and store design. That standard then becomes the "yardstick" that raises the experience at other channels like LFS and MBOs. The strengths held by Japanese specialty retailers, measurement, fit, and meticulous suggestion, shine brightest at this kind of "standard-setting store."

2. Position service as complementary to e-commerce rather than competing with it In India, online purchases of premium innerwear are growing, but this is also an area where mistakes in size selection easily lead to returns and erode brand trust. By concentrating fitting and fit consultation at the flagship, a company can build a path where a customer who has once found "their correct size" in-store can then continue purchasing confidently through e-commerce. The store then becomes not a cost factor but an investment that raises the precision of e-commerce purchases. Where Japanese specialty retailers tend to fall into an either-or choice between store and e-commerce, Wacoal has escaped it with a complementary design in which "e-commerce works because the store exists."

3. Invest in the prestige of the location and go after the quality of awareness first Rather than starting with cheap units and racking up store count, as emerging brands do, Wacoal placed its flagship on a prime street-front location. This is a move the company can make precisely because it already has ten years of standing in the market, but the implication is significant for Japanese brands that compete on expertise as well. Building awareness through the "stature" of location, service, and experience, rather than through discounts or volume, has a longer-lasting effect in the premium segment.

In other words, the directly operated flagship is designed not as a base that earns revenue on its own, but as a "power plant" that supplies trust and standards to the entire omnichannel operation. What Japanese companies considering a specialty-retail entry should imitate is not the store count or floor area, but this way of assigning the flagship's role.

Ripple effects on the retail market

This move also shows that a playbook is taking shape among overseas specialty brands entering India. In the same Bandra area of Mumbai and in Bengaluru, overseas sports, apparel, and cosmetics companies have entered one after another with a "prime-location flagship plus simultaneous e-commerce operation" format, and Wacoal's move here follows in that lineage. Competition for locations is likely to intensify further, and the scarcity of limited prime spots like Khar West and Bandra could rise even more.

At the same time, the very fact that a "small flagship" of 450 square feet can work is itself a hint for latecomer brands wanting to build presence while holding down initial investment. Even without the capital to build a large store, a flagship can still fulfill its function if a company focuses on location and service. This precedent effectively lowers the entry hurdle for mid-tier Japanese specialty retailers.

Practical information from a market-entry perspective

When considering a similar directly-operated flagship strategy in India, here is a summary of the practical points that can be drawn from Wacoal's case.

• Choose the location, a section inside a mall or a street-front high street, based on the objective: choose a mall for stable footfall, and a street-front location for brand stature and exposure to the city. If the flagship's role is "to set the standard," a prime street-front location fits, even at high rent.
• Decide the flagship's floor area based on its KPI: if the goal is not to maximize sales, don't force the store to be larger than needed, and instead channel resources into service and the fitting flow. On the premise that inventory is supported by e-commerce and LFS, a small flagship becomes a realistic option.
• Decide the division of roles with e-commerce, LFS, and MBOs in advance: if you separate the functions in advance, flagship equals experience and standard, e-commerce equals repeat purchase, LFS/MBO equals area expansion, before opening a store, the store is less likely to become "just a cost."
• Design on the premise of using a local partner: as reported, Wacoal launched through a joint venture, and local knowledge is indispensable for distribution networks, lease contracts, and hiring. Rather than insisting too much on going fully direct, it is also realistic to supplement the launch phase through collaboration.
• Put expertise (measurement, fit, and suggestion) into words and build it into staff training: the strengths of Japanese specialty retailers tend to be person-dependent. Only once the "standard" shown at the flagship can be converted into a training program can it be rolled out to other sales channels.

Conclusion

Wacoal's Mumbai flagship may be small in floor area, but the density of strategy is high. By placing a small flagship in a prime street-front location, showing the brand's standard through fit consultation, a form of service unique to specialty retail, and then re-signifying its existing channels, e-commerce, large-format stores, and multi-brand stores, using that standard, it has designed a directly operated store not as "a store that earns" but as "a power plant that ties everything together." This is a way of thinking that Japanese retailers competing on expertise should learn before store count or floor area when envisioning an entry into India. What matters in India's premium retail is not how widely you open stores, but what role each single store is given. This case shows that concretely.

Frequently asked questions

Q. How many directly operated stores does Wacoal have in India?

A. With the opening of this Mumbai flagship, Wacoal's directly operated exclusive brand outlets (EBOs) in India reached 18 stores. In addition, the company also sells through large-format stores (LFS), multi-brand outlets (MBOs), its own website, and third-party e-commerce.

Q. Why is the flagship store relatively small, at about 450 square feet?

A. This can be read as reflecting a purpose not of maximizing sales but of demonstrating the brand's "standard" through service such as fit consultations and the fitting experience. On the premise that inventory depth is supported by e-commerce and LFS, the flagship is designed to channel resources into the quality of the experience.

Q. What can Japanese specialty retailers learn from this case?

A. The idea of positioning a directly operated flagship not as a base that earns revenue on its own, but as a "source of standards and trust" that ties together e-commerce, large-format stores, and multi-brand stores. The key point is showcasing expertise such as measurement and fit at the flagship, and creating a complementary relationship in which that precision translates into confidence for e-commerce purchases.

Related reading

• Lululemon partners with Tata CLiQ for India debut in second half of 2026 - flagship store in Mumbai plus simultaneous e-commerce launch
• Converse Opens Its Largest Domestic Store in Bengaluru — A Shop Floor Where You Design Your Own Shoe
• UNIQLO opens its first Pune store and its third Bengaluru store back to back, accelerating its push into India's major cities

Source:

• Wacoal bolsters India presence with flagship launch in Mumbai – FashionNetwork India
• Wacoal India opens flagship store in Mumbai’s Khar West – IndiaRetailing
• Wacoal India opens flagship store on Mumbai’s Linking Road – Images BoF
• Japanese Brand Wacoal Grows India Retail Network to 18 Exclusive Brand Outlets – Indian Retailer
• India Premium Lingerie Market – IMARC Group