Apparel and Footwear Industry in 2016: Trends, Developments and Prospects

According to the new research conducted by Euromonitor, the global apparel and footwear industry remains strong posting over 5 per cent value growth in 2015, slightly up from the previous year.
Apparel and Footwear Analyst, Euromonitor, Bernadette Kissane, says “In apparel and footwear, the differences between emerging and developed markets are significant. Developed markets reported value and volume growth of 2 per cent, while emerging markets witnessed value growth of 8 per cent and volume at 3 per cent in apparel and footwear during 2015. Consumers remain cautious in developed markets as economic growth appears fragile, additionally, wider availability of trend-led products at low prices and impressive growth in e-commerce continue to impact unit prices and value growth. In contrast, emerging markets are benefiting from rising disposable incomes and aspirational purchases.”
In India, sportswear grew by an impressive 24 per cent in 2015 and is expected to register a CAGR of 12 per cent over 2015-2020. Emerging markets outpaces developed in internet retailing. Among emerging markets India is placed third, following China and Chile Childrenswear is expected to grow the fastest with a CAGR of 15 per cent 2015-20.
Globally, Asia Pacific remains the world’s largest regional apparel and footwear market. Despite slowing growth, sales in the region still grew by an impressive US$30 billion in 2015. The Middle East and Africa is set to be the most dynamic region for apparel and footwear over 2015-2020 with value sales of US$134 billion by 2020.
China’s growth may be slowing, however, it is still expected to contribute absolute value growth of US$77 billion to 2020, while India picks up the pace with a CAGR of 7 per cent and value growth of US$26 billion. Australia continues to produce healthier growth than other developed markets in Western Europe, as value sales increased by 3 per cent in 2015.
Although only accounting for 12 per cent of the global market, childrenswear was valued at US$151 billion in 2015, as value sales registered healthy growth of 6 per cent in comparison to 4 per cent for total apparel. Sportswear outperformed the overall apparel and footwear industry for another year, with 7 per cent growth in 2015.
Although apparel boasts a much larger market size, the footwear industry has outpaced apparel in terms of growth for the past decade. In 2015, footwear value sales grew by 6 per cent, while apparel grew by 4 per cent.
Apparel and footwear in Western Europe experienced negligible growth in 2015, with the exception of Greece and Italy which continue to experience significant losses with 7 per cent and 2 per cent declines, respectively, in 2015.