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Summary of our market study
The French marketmen's underwear market is valued at around140 million.
The global market is worth around $40 billion.
French production has fallen sharply due to the relocation of manufacturing abroad, in particular to China, Bangladesh and Vietnam, the three countries that dominate the market.
There is a resurgence of the "Made in France" segment, driven by high-end brands such as Le Slip Français.
Two brands dominate the mass-market, DIM and Athena.
The market consists mainly of three types of product: briefs, boxer shorts and boxers. Boxer briefs are the most sought-after by young people. Older people prefer briefs.
When choosing underwear, men prioritize comfort, followed by aesthetics, which has gained in importance over time.
Black is the color preferred by over two-thirds of men, followed by blue and gray.
51% of women consider men's underwear to be attractive, compared with 58% of men.
Spending on underwear varies between 25 and 35 euros per year.
Market players
- Le Slip Français: has reinvigorated the French textile industry and manages to maintain a high-level presence despite the concentrated nature of the segment.
- Le Garçon Français: Another local brand, Garçon Français, competes directly with Le Slip Français. Founded by Vicky Caffet in 2012
- Le groupe Eminence: A historic figure in the market with the popular Athena and Eminence brands
- DIM: a staple of the supermarket chain .
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Summary and extracts
1 Market overview
1.1 Market overview and definition
Men's undergarments are all products designed to be worn by men and are of three types:
- Briefs
- Boxer shorts
- Boxer shorts
In France, market players include suppliers of raw materials (cotton, polyester, modal, etc.), clothing manufacturers, specialized manufacturers, brands, distributors (supermarkets, stores, online sales), etc.
Over the past five years, the French market has been enjoying ideal growth momentum . Although the French market will be hit hard by the COVID-19 crisis in 2020, this trend is not expected to last, as growth of 4.6% is expected in 2021 following the downturn in 2020.
Consumption habits differ greatly according to age, with boxer shorts still the most popular item, but the older consumers are, the more they tend to prefer briefs to boxers. It is also interesting to note that younger generations of men are more inclined to take care of their appearance, and have average budgets closer to those of women. Purchases are initially motivated by comfort, then by aesthetics, which are becoming increasingly important.
Over the past 5 years, the market has been driven by a high-end segment made in France. The success of brands such as Le Slip Français is a good example. These players have been able to draw on innovative designs, an original image and quality materials to generate significant growth in sales volumes.
1.2 A dynamic global market
In the second half of the ****s, the global men's underwear market experienced similar trends to the more global underwear market (***).
It declined between **** and **** ; Before experiencing sustained growth between **** and ****, rising from $***.* to $***.* billion ; This market then stagnated in **** at around $*** billion.
A similar trend can be observed in men's ...
1.3 The French market
Underwear production in France
French companies manufacturing men's underwear are registered with INSEE under the code
NAF **.**Z manufacture of men's, women's and children's underwear and nightwear from woven fabrics, knitted fabrics, lace, etc. :
INSEE records the sales of these companies. This does not specifically represent the men's underwear market, but ...
1.4 Imports and exports of men's underwear
Balance of trade France, ****, in $M Source: ****
France is a major importer of men's underwear. The main countries of origin are detailed in the graph below. However, there will be a rather sharp drop in the sector's activity between **** and ****, accompanied by a slight rebalancing of the French trade balance.
Main ...
1.5 Impact of Covid-19
The Covid-** crisis has had a major impact on the clothing market, as can be seen from the chart below, which describes the sales trends of companies operating under this code:
**.**Z: Retail sale of clothing in specialized stores.
The analysis therefore goes beyond the scope of this study, but ...
2 Demand analysis
2.1 Different types of underwear for different customer profiles
In the men's underwear range, three main products stand out: boxers, briefs and boxer briefs. These three categories are sufficient to meet the demand for men's underwear. The briefs barometer is a survey conducted by BVA in ****, it helps to understand which of these three products is most popular with ...
2.2 Preferred colors and the notion of aesthetics
A Harris Interactive study conducted for Tena Men in **** reveals the French's favorite underwear colors:
What are the dominant colors of your underwear? France, ****, in Source: ****
Black is therefore an extremely dominant color in the men's underwear range, with more than two-thirds of men surveyed preferring it. It is followed by ...
2.3 Buying habits
According to a study carried out by the Union nationale des étudiants de France, male students spend around ** euros a year on underwear, or around *.*% of their total clothing budget. As the graph shows, male students spend much less on underwear and clothing in general than female students.
Average annual amount ...
2.4 Made in France: a fad or a lasting trend?
In recent years, new players have entered the market, producing their underwear locally. Nevertheless, it's important to be cautious about these newcomers. While the market leader, Le Slip Français, is showing solid growth, it is nevertheless one of the few to have such a large presence. This French-made offer is ...
3 Market structure
3.1 The clothing industry in France
History and development
Underwear production in France has followed the evolution of the textile industry. There are two distinct phases in the history of French underwear production:
From **** to ****
Firstly, a sharp drop in production, with a volume index divided by more than **, from *,*** in **** to almost *** in ****, according toInsee. This ...
3.2 Simple market segmentation
The market can be segmented as follows.
The diagram distinguishes between French and foreign production:
Foreign manufacturing
This is the most common method. It is used by entry-level and mid-range brands and by private labels. In France, players diversifying the underwear market offer, whether in supermarkets or online, buy underwear manufactured ...
3.3 Distribution of players in the region
The breakdown of companies registered under NAF code **.**Z (***) is shown on the map and table below
Bourgogne Franche-Comté, Île-de-France and Auvergne Rhône Alpes together account for **.*% of French production sites.
3.4 Two brands dominate supermarket sales
Distribution via supermarkets has been cannibalized by the same two brands for many years, which are the best-known brands in France.
Underwear brands France, ****, in thousands Source: ****
Both players are owned by investment funds. Eminence, which had been held by investment funds LBO France and LFPI since ****, was acquired by Israeli ...
4 Offer analysis
4.1 Offer typology
The range of men's underwear is wide and varied, and can be segmented in terms of use and purchasing criteria:
Choice of model and size Choice in terms of style: leading underwear brands combine practicality with fashion trends Choice in terms of comfort, depending on the material used Choice of range: ...
4.2 Products and prices
The range can therefore be divided into * segments:
The entry/mid-range segment : affordable and comfortable
This underwear offer is very often the subject of promotions, so that the real price is more closely approximated if we take into account the discounts offered by distributors. These include the major supermarket brands (***), as ...
4.3 New supply trends
Innovative offers
Julipet offers a compromise between classic boxer shorts and briefs with the J-Boxer, which guarantees maximum freedom of movement thanks to the presence of a very light brief inserted in the front part of a pure cotton canvas boxer short.
Sports offers
*UNDR , SAXX Underwear Co and MyPackage ...
5 Regulations
5.1 Market regulations
The regulations governing the men's underwear market are those that apply more generally to the marketing of ready-to-wear clothing. Thus, all products available for sale must first comply with the ERA tic-tac (***)
Labeling standards
According to the Ministry of Economic Development , the textile and clothing sector is governed by European regulation ...
5.2 Details of UN COMTRADE codes
Details of the codes used to compile the trade balance for the study, based on the UN Comtrade database, are as follows
****** Men's or boys' cotton knitted briefs or boxer shorts ****** Men's or boys' underpants and briefs, knitted or crocheted, of man-made fibres ****** Men's or boys' underpants and briefs, of ...
6 Positioning the players
6.1 Segmentation of industry players
- DIM Brands international
- HOM Innovations
- Eminence
- Le slip Français
- Calzedonia Oniverse
- Dagobear
- Arthur
- Calvin klein
- H&M Groupe
- Eden Park
- Lacoste Groupe
- Diesel
- Hugo Boss
- Ralph Lauren
- Monoprix
- Fast Retailing France (Uniqlo)
List of charts presented in this market study
- Size of the global men's underwear market
- Breakdown of underwear worn by men
- What are the dominant colors of your underwear?
- Do you think the French wear nice underwear?
- Who buys your underwear most often?
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Latest news
Ralph Lauren, the last of the Mohicans of American fashion - 05/07/2024
- Ralph Lauren is the Official Supplier of the United States Olympic and Paralympic athletes for the ninth consecutive time.
- - The brand became famous for its polo shirts.
- - Ralph Lauren sales approach $6.7 billion.
Oniverse (formerly Calzedonia), revenues at 3.1 billion, strong push on foreign retail - 29/02/2024
- Total revenues: 3.1 billion euros.
- Revenue increase from 2022: +2% at current exchange rates.
- Share of foreign sales: 62% of total.
- Number of stores at year-end: 5,644.
- New openings during the year: 314 stores (+6%).
- Number of stores in Italy: 1,912.
- Number of stores abroad: 3,732.
- Countries with most new openings: the United States, France, Spain and Brazil.
- Total investment: 563 million euros (openings, technology, logistics, ESG).
- Future initiatives for 2024: development of Intimissimi Uomo and redevelopment of existing Calzedonia, Intimissimi and Tezenis stores.
Oniverse (formerly Calzedonia) invests in omnichannelity: Digital Hub It kicks off in Naples - 31/01/2024
- **Oniverse Goal**: Respond faster to the needs of dynamic and ever-changing markets by ensuring scalability and reliability of omnichannel platforms.
- **Launch Digital Hub IT**: Starting in March this year, dedicated to the development and management of technologies related to the Salesforce world and beyond, located in the Maritime Station in Naples.
- **Induction program for new resources**: Training path supported by experts from the Federico II University of Naples and K2 Partnering Solutions to deepen knowledge about Salesforce in the first three months.
- **Contribution of new resources**: Upon completion of the training, they will contribute to the development of Oniverse's omnichannel roadmap.
- **Organized visits**: At headquarters in Verona and other national and international specialization hubs.
- **Oniverse brands**: Calzedonia, Intimissimi, Intimissimi Uomo, Tezenis, Falconeri, Signorvino, Atelier Emé, Antonio Marras, Cantiere del Pardo, Grand Soleil Yachts, Pardo Yachts, and Van Dutch Yachts.
Host and Primark: The nightmare continues for H&M, overtaken by Shein - 15/12/2023
- H&M posted annual sales up 6% to 21 billion euros
- Spanish brand Zara saw an 11% increase in sales for the first nine months of the year, representing 25.6 billion euros and a profit in excess of 4 billion euros.
- British brand Primark achieved sales in excess of 23 billion euros at the end of its September trading year.
- Chinese online retailer Shein is targeting sales of €40 billion this year, while its rival Temu is aiming for €33 billion.
- H&M reduced the number of its stores and cut 1,500 jobs last year as part of a rescue plan.
Le Slip Français, the daring bet of made in France - 09/11/2023
- Le Slip Français was founded 12 years ago.
- Le Slip Français has sales of 20 million euros.
- On the French market, 3% of garments are made in France.
- Le Slip Français achieves 40% of its sales during the Christmas period.
- The company supports 300 jobs, 85 of them directly.
Uniqlo dominates the basic clothing market - 30/10/2023
- Uniqlo, the leading brand of the Japanese Fast Retailing group, reported a 20% year-on-year increase in worldwide sales to 2,766 billion yen (17.5 billion euros).
- Group operating profit rose by 28% to 381 billion yen (2.4 billion euros).
- Company founder Tadashi Yanai forecasts a tripling of Fast Retailing sales over the next decade
- In China, Uniqlo's sales rose by 15% and its profit by a quarter.
- More than half of Uniqlo's sales take place abroad.
- Tadashi Yanai predicts the end of "unnecessary luxuries", suggesting an opportunity for more basic, utilitarian products like those offered by Uniqlo.
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the men's underwear market | France
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