Actor Pooja Hegde with Devarajan Iyer, CEO and Executive Director of Lifestyle International Pvt. Ltd., at the launch of the brand’s Navratri and Dasara collection.

For many Telugu households, Navratri and Dasara are as much about dressing up as they are about prayer, family gatherings and celebration. New clothes have long been part of the festive ritual, whether bought for a visit to the temple, a family pooja or the celebrations that bring relatives together. While the styles and shopping habits may have changed, the desire to mark an auspicious occasion with something new remains.

For retailers, this period also brings a familiar challenge: understanding what consumers want to wear and how much they are willing to spend. Festive dressing is no longer limited to traditional attire, with shoppers combining ethnic wear with contemporary styles and looking for options that suit different occasions and budgets.
“The consumer preferences in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana are slightly different from those in the North, so we have created a select collection specifically for this region,” says Devarajan Iyer, CEO and Executive Director of Lifestyle International Pvt. Ltd. The collection has been introduced for the Navratri and Dasara season, with actor Pooja Hegde joining the launch.
Iyer believes Hegde's familiarity with Telugu audiences has helped sustain the association over the years. “We collaborated with Pooja Hegde three years ago to launch a Dasara collection, and it really worked. She does a lot of Telugu films, and I think a lot of consumers in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana love her. She is highly recognisable in these states,” he says.
This is the third year of the association, which, according to Iyer, has coincided with a good response to the festive season. “Last year, we had a very good Dasara sale, so we are hoping that consumers will love what we have this year as well,” he says.
The larger story, however, is about the place clothing continues to occupy in festive preparations. Buying new clothes for Dasara is not simply another shopping occasion. For many families, it is an annual ritual that connects generations, with the choice of what to wear often influenced by family customs, the occasion and the gathering itself. What was once largely centred on traditional clothing has expanded to include a wider range of styles, allowing consumers to interpret festive dressing in their own way.
At the same time, the cost of putting together a festive wardrobe is an important consideration. With prices rising across categories, shoppers are weighing purchases more carefully, particularly when the season brings several occasions close together. Retailers, in turn, are trying to maintain the appeal of festive shopping without making it prohibitively expensive.
“We are all aware that prices are increasing, with oil prices and other costs going up. We have consciously tried to keep our prices sharp this year and have done our best to maintain them despite inflation,” Iyer says.
For Iyer, the appeal of a multi-category retail format lies in giving shoppers the flexibility to put together an entire look rather than visit several stores. “If you go to a particular brand, you will get that brand's products. At Lifestyle, you get close to 450 international and national brands, across categories and price points,” he says.
The range extends from beauty products, cosmetics and fragrances to watches, sunglasses, bags and footwear. “It is a one-stop solution for the consumer's fashion needs,” he says.
Hyderabad remains a significant market for the retailer. The company operates nine stores in the city and is opening its tenth at Bandlaguda. Spread across two levels and approximately 32,000 square feet, the new standalone store features a different design from the company's existing outlets, although the product range remains the same.
The expansion reflects the scale of the city's retail market, but the festive season offers a more personal lens through which to understand consumer behaviour. Clothes are among the most visible ways people mark a celebration, and the purchase often carries a meaning beyond the garment itself. It may be something chosen for a family photograph, worn for a temple visit or saved for a particular day of the festivities.
Fashion trends will continue to evolve, and consumers will have more choices than ever before. Yet the connection between auspicious occasions and a new outfit remains deeply familiar across Telugu households. For retailers, the challenge is to keep pace with changing tastes while recognising that, during Navratri and Dasara, shopping is often part of a much older tradition.


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