India second largest supplier of fake moustaches

With rising popularity for moustache globally, India has emerged as the second largest market for fake moustaches and related items.

"Moustaches have always been in fashion in India and it holds great significance in the Indian psyche as it indicates prestige, masculinity and virility," Khalid Isar, Country General Manager of Alibaba.com India, a global e-commerce platform for small businesses, said.

"But site analytics show, a 58 per cent surge year-on-year as on October 2012, which seems to suggest that Indians too are now buying into this trend," Isar said.

A study by Alibaba.com said that Indian men who did not want to grow and maintain real moustaches sported fake moustaches.

The most popular items for moustache related product searches included plastic, stick-on and even human hair moustaches.

"The growing popularity of Indian human hair may be attributed to the fact that Indian hair is extremely versatile and adaptable, making it appealing to a diverse range of users across the world," the study said.

"Indian hair also takes dye particularly well and can be easily styled to match a person's natural hair," it said.

The report was collated from site analytics data of the portal from October 2011 through 2012.

China got the maximum queries for moustache-related products on Alibaba.com followed by India, South Korea, Turkey and Pakistan.

Top markets for Indian products include United States (13 per cent), China (4 per cent), the United Kingdom and Iran.

Besides inquiries for fake moustaches from India, top global searches made to Indian suppliers included hair dye, razors, razor blades and shaving foam, the report said.

Initiated in 2004, 'Movember' is a global movement held in November each year to raise awareness on men's health issues, such as prostate cancer and depression.

"This may indicate that men were not only supportive of the cause, but were also particular about grooming themselves," the report added.

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