India has emerged the third most attractive market destination for apparel retailers, according to a new study by global management consulting firm AT Kearney.

India comes after Brazil and China in the AT Kearney Retail Apparel Index, which looks at ten drivers, including apparel consumption and clothing imports/exports, to rank the top 30 emerging markets for retail apparel investments.

"In India, apparel is the second largest retail category, representing 10 percent of the $37 billion retail market. It is expected to grow 12-15 percent per year," said Hemant Kalbag, principal of Consumer Industries & Retail Practice, AT Kearney India.

"The top seven apparel companies account for less than 10 percent of the total apparel retail market in India and Indian consumers tend to be more loyal to a specific retailer than to an apparel brand. The result is a thriving private label apparel market," the study said.

"Like many developed countries, apparel retail in India is driven by sales promotion," it added.

 "The Retail Apparel Index was published for the first time this year as a companion to A.T. Kearney's Global Retail Development Index (GRDI), a study of retail investment attractiveness among 30 emerging markets conducted annually since 2001," said Saurine M. Doshi, a partner of A.T. Kearney India.

"The analysis evaluates more than 20 apparel markets to identify the top 10 countries in terms of market size, growth prospects and consumer affluence" Doshi added.

Turkey, Chile, Romania, Argentina, Thailand, Russia and the United Arab Emirates are the other countries in the top-10 list.