Consumers Tighten Belts - But Fashion and Textile Markets Stay Buoyant in Europe

In the European textile and fashion markets, 2009 did not perform as badly as many feared.

Most national syndicates reported trends for the year which, whilst obviously not enthusiastic, were either marginally above or marginally below 2008 sales in value terms.

With the pricing strategies of retailers and manufacturers under pressure, results in the mass-channels, hypermarkets, cash-and-carry and "food” discounters provided an excellent insight as to the readiness of consumers to curb their spending. Based on sales tracked in this channel across the five key Western European countries (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK), the trend is clear: the consumer is more cautious, but not yet ready to change their spending habits. Although the mass-merchant channel was down -11% in revenue for textiles and fashion in France and Spain, it is apparent that the rapid adjustments made by the industry to adapt to their audience’s mood has helped avert a drastic landscape change. 

Collecting sales information at POS level, GfK currently expands its fashion tracking activities from coverage of traditional mass-merchants to the multi and mono-brand channels, covering sales of textiles from lingerie to outerwear. The year 2009 has been particularly enlightening in putting into sharp focus the fashion industry’s need for fast, detailed and comprehensive information.

GfK Retail and Technology, in association with GfK GeoMarketing, can offer a one-stop solution: factual overviews and actionable analyses for the retailer, linking information from overall channel trends down to shop location management and for the manufacturer, peer benchmarks and trends.