Recent surveys have shown that sales of menswear is growing faster than that of womenswear and catching up fast, but shunning this belief is a new report by Global Industry Analysts Inc. (GIA) which is putting the attention back to the historic fashion segment. Though both menswear and womenswear are thriving at their own pace, menswear will for a long time remain a relatively smaller market, with the global market for women’s and girl’s clothing projected to reach US $ 1.2 trillion by 2020. The new report claims that the growth is driven by a growing desire of women to keep up with the rapid changes in fashion trends and also their growing willingness to splurge.
Over the last few years, the women’s apparel market has been negatively impacted by reduced consumer spending owing to the grim economic situation in the West, but now the future prospect of this segment is optimistic due to growing disposable incomes, improving GDP and reviving customer confidence. According to the GIA report, “the women’s and girl’s clothing market is characterized by wide variations in consumer preferences, driven by the rapidly changing fashion trends. This makes it a highly complex market; therefore, the growth in this market is supported by the willingness of women to spend more on clothing.”
Directions of growth in womenswear
• Affordable luxury
• Plus-size clothing
• Online
• Promotional campaigns
• Emerging markets
• Distinct fabrics, patterns and styles
• Activewear
Currently, the rising demand of trendy and fashionable clothing with distinct fabrics, patterns and styles is influencing the womenswear market growth. Advanced fibres such as Nanofibers and hybrid material along with natural fabrics are being preferred by a growing number of consumers. Apart from this, affordable fashion is high in demand worldwide, as brands and retailers are offering designer clothing at lower prices such as Miu Miu by Prada, Michael Michael Kors by Michael Kors, M. Mission by Missoni, DKNY by Donna Karan, Ed Hardy by Christian Audigier, AX Armani Exchange by Georgio Armani, Kate Spade, Karen Millen, Tory Burch, Mark by Marc Jacobs, Poppy by Coach, T by Alexander Wang, Lauren by Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger, etc. “Luxury spending in China is growing and is still breaking new grounds in Western Europe and North America,” informs Fflur Roberts, Global Head of Luxury Goods research at Euromonitor International.
Meanwhile, the growing demand for activewear or fitness wear is boosting the womenswear market further as an increasing number of health-conscious women are taking up exercise and fitness activities. The sale for yoga pants and other activewear has increased by 7 per cent to US $ 33.6 billion in the US alone and retailers such as H&M, Macy’s, GAP, Footlocker, etc. are starting their own collections focusing on comfort and fitness. Also, increasing number of retailers are going online, and online-only stores are transforming the retail landscape for women’s clothing as e-commerce is providing varied options of less expensive products in different sizes in comparison to brick and mortar stores. Further, the promotional campaigns undertaken by brands and retailers are also expected to boost this market even further.
Nonetheless, the demand for product categories such as blouses and shirts will represent the largest and the fastest growing product market, while also the demand for plus-size clothing will witness robust growth. Historically plus-size clothes for women have always had a basic, plain and conservative look restricted to dark colours with no patterns, but lately plus-size clothing is getting a fashionable twist with retailers and designers alike rolling out new plus-size lines revolutionizing the segment, which had somehow remained marginalized in terms of fashion. Marshal Cohen, Chief Industry Analyst at NPD Group supports, “There is big, healthy money in the plus-size apparel market for women and retailers and designers are now viewing this area as a growth opportunity, and today there are indeed more plus-sized choices in stores.”
According to the GIA report, in terms of women’s and girls’ clothing, Europe represents the largest market, while Asia-Pacific is poised to record the fastest CAGR of 9.5 per cent. Traditional markets such as the US and Europe are gaining more maturity, while emerging markets such as China, India, Brazil, Chile and Mexico are encouraging retailers and brands to invest in these markets. This is due to their steady economic growth, rising disposable income, rapid urbanization and increase in spending on designer and branded clothing. “There is an extraordinary growth opportunity in emerging markets, as there is an increasing number of middle class consumers who are interested in and can invest in luxury,” believes Hana BenShabat at A.T. Kearney. With the above-mentioned factors, womenswear is bound to grow globally, with special focus on consumer preference, feeding the market with constant fashion. Although the growth indicators suggest an upward movement for womenswear in the coming years, but it is important for retailer and brands to take note of changing consumer ‘wants’ and act accordingly, to succeed in this market, as the market is very complex and competitive.
