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Summary of our market study
French men's ready-to-wear market estimated at €7.5 billion
The global menswear market, valued at $560.2 billion in 2022, is expected to grow at an average annual rate of 6%.
In France, the menswear market accounts for around 15% of the country's clothing sales.
Overall apparel market sales by value are down by more than 4% since 2019.
More than a third of men have little interest in shopping as a leisure activity. Men value three main elements: fit, convenience and speed of purchase. 58% of men prefer classic, sober outfits.
Price is a primary consideration for over 80% of consumers. Quality influences the choices of around 65% of consumers.
Nearly half of men prefer well-known brands, and remain loyal to their favorite brands.
In a survey carried out in March 2023, the main brands preferred by men are Celio, with over 50% favorable opinions, Jules and Kiabi, each favored by over 40% of the male population.
In a struggling French ready-to-wear market, men's ready-to-wear is a more stable sector, with strong growth potential.
Sector brands
- International leaders: H&M and Inditex, with flagship Zara, Uniqlo
- National leaders: EJules and Armand Thierry, Celio
- Dynamic new entrants: Bonne Gueule and Asphalte
- Sporting goods and entry-level retailers: C&A, Kiabi
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Summary and extracts
1 Market overview
1.1 Market overview and definition
Men's ready-to-wear refers to all clothing items for men that are mass-produced using standardized sizing, as opposed to made-to-measure. Non-textile footwear and accessories, as well as children's products, are excluded from this study.
worldwide, the market was worth $560.2 billion in 2022, and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 6.08% over the period 2023-2028. This growth is driven by the development of emerging countries, notably their rising purchasing power, and particularly by the growing demand in China and India. In Western countries, men's fashion is presenting itself as an alternative to an already saturated women's market, a phenomenon encouraged by men's growing infatuation with fashion. Social networks and digital influence in particular are contributing to this growing interest.
The men's ready-to-wear market in France represents around 15% of the country's clothing sales. This market therefore represents strong growth potential, but it is not immune to the severe difficulties of the French clothing market, which has been in decline for many years. However, its difficulties are far less marked than those of the women's market, which is largely saturated.
In fact, the men's apparel market offers significant growth drivers, the main ones being men's growing interest in fashion, the growing use of digital tools by industry players, the development of e-commerce and the emergence of new players promising more sustainable and ethical products. In addition, an analysis of men's consumption patterns reveals that their purchases are predominantly utilitarian, and that men are loyal customers. The sector's players can therefore capitalize on customer support and the personalization of their offer, as well as on men's loyalty to brands and chains.
in addition to these growth drivers, there's the streetwear boom, with its emphasis on drops and exclusivity, revealing the constant search for novelty and the importance of marketing strategies in this market, particularly for young consumers (millenials).
Finally, as critics of fast-fashion, consumers are increasingly aware of the environmental impact of the production and consumption of the clothes they buy. Many brands are investing in the sustainable, more environmentally-friendly fashion segment, and the second-hand market is growing.
1.2 A growing global market
The global men's ready-to-wear market was estimated at $***.* billion in ****. The market is forecast to grow at a CAGR (***) of *.**% to reach $***.* billion in ****.
Global men's ready-to-wear market size World, ****-****, in billions of US dollars Source: ****
Growth in the global men's ready-to-wear market is mainly driven by the boom in ...
1.3 A fragile national market with strong potential
The French apparel market was set to grow in ****, according to the annual report of the Institut Français de la Mode (***). In comparison, **** saw an *.*% increase over ****[***].
In economic terms, the men's ready-to-wear market in France is of considerable importance, accounting alone for around **% of total clothing sales in the ...
1.4 International trade largely driven by imports
Unfortunately, import and export figures for men's ready-to-wear are not available, so we're going to look at imports and exports in the clothing sector, which includes the men's ready-to-wear segment. This will enable us to identify the main trends and the most important trading partners.
Exports:
In ****, French clothing exports reached ...
2 Demand analysis
2.1 Specific characteristics of male customers: utilitarian and prepared purchases
The apparel market is predominantly geared towards female customers. In fact, more than half of all sales by value are to women customers, not men.
Share of apparel market sales by customer type France, ****, in Source: ****
Only *% of French men claim to have a taste for shopping, and **% are not at ...
2.2 Detailed consumer behavior: loyalty and simplicity
Where do they buy? security and loyalty
Consistent with the predominantly utilitarian purpose of their purchases, men generally favor security. They tend to trust the big brands, stick to products they know, and opt for simple, easy-to-match pieces [***].
In fact, **% choose the most renowned brands when looking for a fashion item ...
2.3 Demand drivers
Buying criteria
Price is by far the most important criterion for ready-to-wear purchases, with **% of French people considering it to be a determining factor. Quality is the second most important purchase criterion, with **% of those surveyed attaching importance to it.
To a lesser extent, consumers pay attention to product lifespan, origin, ...
2.4 The ethical and responsible turn
The clothing industry is one of the most polluting in the world. It is the third biggest water consumer and is responsible for **% of the world's greenhouse gas emissions, i.e. *.* billion tonnes annually, according to a report by the French Environment and Energy Management Agency (***). Furthermore, consumers are increasingly aware ...
2.5 Changes in consumer behaviour following the covid-19 crisis
The year ****, marked by an absence of administrative store closures and containment, saw a stabilization of the changes in consumer habits that had been observed during the health crisis. This stabilization includes a reduction in store visits and impulse purchases, an increase in the transformation rate and average basket in store, ...
3 Market structure
3.1 Value chain
The market value chain is illustrated below.
Raw materials are either extracted from animals, as in the case of wool, or from plants, such as cotton, or created by man through the synthesis of chemical compounds. These raw materials are used to manufacture natural or synthetic fibers, which are assembled to ...
3.2 Men's ready-to-wear production
French ready-to-wear production:
The production of ready-to-wear garments distributed in France is mostly outsourced by ready-to-wear players and relocated abroad. In ****, France imported almost ** billion garments, making it Europe's third largest importer of clothing from third countries[***]
Itis mainly the luxury brands that maintain French production, even if relocation is on ...
3.3 Distribution dominated by specialized chains
The market shares of the various distributors in the French apparel market reveal the weight of the different players in the men's ready-to-wear segment.
Clothing distribution in France is divided between different channels:
chains, either located in city centers (***); food superstores (***); sports stores (***); independents, i.e. small multi-brand boutiques; department stores ...
3.4 Digitizing the market
According to the Institut Français de la Mode (***), the three priority areas for investment in **** are digital, sustainable development initiatives and point-of-sale attractiveness. These areas have been recognized as essential for growth and adaptation to current market trends[***].
Online purchases will account for **% of the French apparel market in ****, down ...
3.5 Interview with Séverin Bénichon, founder of Forlife
Marine: Welcome to the Niche, the podcast that analyzes the niche market with the entrepreneurs who are shaking things up. I'm Marine and I work at Businesscoot, the start-up that's dusting off market research before it starts. Subscribe to our podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcast. And now for today's niche: ...
4 Offer analysis
4.1 Product typology and prices
The table below provides an overview of the main products on offer in the men's ready-to-wear market.
The consumer price index for men's clothing reveals the move upmarket at the beginning of the decade. Prices then stabilized, and the slight volatility is mainly explained by the strong dependence on raw material ...
4.2 New supply trends
A quest for quality:
In ****, fashion retailers face major financial hurdles, exacerbated by the uncertainty of their business and the need to increase investments despite already high costs. This situation generates financial complexity for ready-to-wear brands. In particular, production costs remain high, exacerbated by the depreciation of the euro. The costs ...
4.3 The importance of quality and social and environmental commitments
New entrants
The textile industry is undergoing a paradigm shift, placing quality above quantity and challenging the "fast fashion" concept that has dominated the market for decades. reducing the ecological footprint of textile production has become a priority, not only for the planet, but also for corporate profitability. This industry generates ...
5 Regulations
5. Regulations
In-store sales
In-store sales are subject to certain rules, as summarized by Legalplace:
Safety and accessibility standards[***] [Service Public Mandatory employee signage Indication of prices inside and outside the store, in euros and including VAT Mandatory contribution to SACEM if music is played on the premises
Clothing labels
Clothing labels must ...
6 Positioning the players
6. Segmentation
- Kiabi Europe
- Fast retailing Group Unoqlo
- Jack & Jones
- GAP
- Armand Thiery
- Celio
- Inditex groupe (Zara)
- C&A France
- Ralph Lauren
- Intersport France
- Go Sport France
- Bonne Gueule
- Asphalte
- 1083
- Zadig et Voltaire
- Brice (groupe Mulliez)
- Jules (groupe Mulliez)
- Devred
- Eden Park
- Massimo Dutti (Inditex groupe)
- H&M Groupe
- Decathlon Groupe
List of charts presented in this market study
- Projecting the size of the global men's ready-to-wear market
- Sales trends by product type
- Men's reasons for buying clothes
- Share of apparel sales by value and customer type
- Average monthly shopping budget by gender and age category
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Latest news
Zara successfully moves upmarket in the face of ultra-fast fashion - 13/09/2024
- - Inditex owns brands such as Pull and Bear, Massimo Dutti, Bershka and Zara.
- - Zara focuses on moving upmarket rather than competing with ultra-fast fashion.
- - Zara has over 1,800 stores worldwide.
Zara's recipe for remaining the world's leading ready-to-wear brand - 10/07/2024
- - Head office: Arteixo, ten kilometers from La Coruña, Spain.
- - Sales: nearly 36 billion euros last year.
- - Share of capital held by Amancio Ortega: 59%.
- - Proportion of production carried out close to main markets: 50% (in countries such as Spain, Portugal, Morocco and Turkey).
- - Worldwide store replenishment frequency: twice a week.
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.
Thanks to Etixia, Kiabi becomes a fully-fledged commercial real estate player - 27/06/2024
- Former creation of Etixia to consolidate Kiabi's real estate assets
- - Sales in 2023: 43.2 million euros.
Kiabi buys second-hand children's products website Beebs - 24/05/2024
- Beebs, a start-up specializing in second-hand children's products, was acquired by Kiabi after it was placed in receivership last March.
- - Liquidation of Rediv (ex-Patatam)
- - Beebs sold 690,000 second-hand children's items in 2023
Intersport and Go Sport hot on Decathlon's heels in France - 11/04/2024
- Stabilization of like-for-like sales last year at Intersport.
- Increase in sales following the acquisition of Go Sport: 3.65 billion euros, i.e. **an increase of 11.2% compared with 2022.
- Projected openings: Between 15 and 20 new stores planned each year
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the men's ready-to-wear market | France
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