Clothing market

In the clothing market in Europe, the highest sales revenues were generated by Great Britain, Germany, Italy, and Russia. Asia is the leader in this aspect in the world. Poland took 11th place in the world exports of clothing with a market share of 2%.

Global clothing market

The value of the global apparel market in 2019 amounted to EUR 1,636.7 billion. The coronavirus pandemic caused a significant drop in revenues in 2020. It is estimated that the clothing market was worth EUR 1,620.5 billion in 2020 (a decrease of 1%). The largest apparel market in terms of sales revenues is Asia, which generated as much as EUR 623.7 billion, and is followed by the United States and Europe. The women’s clothing segment has the largest share, generating sales revenue of EUR 838.0 billion. The men’s clothing segment reported sales revenue of EUR 533.0 billion and the children’s clothing sector – EUR 265.8 billion.

Global leaders in the clothing market

According to the Kantar BrandZ report, the most popular clothing brands are Nike (US), Adidas (Germany), Zara (Spain), Lululemon (Canada), Uniqlo (Japan), H&M (Sweden), Puma (Germany), Anta (China), The North Face (US), and ASOS (UK).

Clothing market in Europe

The value of the clothing market in Europe in 2019 amounted to EUR 438.2 billion and recorded an increase compared to 2018. According to Statista, in 2020, the market was worth EUR 428.3 billion and noticed a decrease of 2.3% compared to the previous year.

In Europe, the United Kingdom generated the most significant sales revenue in 2019 (EUR 68.7 billion). According to Statista, the United Kingdom – despite the crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic – did not record a decrease in revenues from the sale of clothing in 2020. The leaders also included Germany (EUR 64.6 billion), Italy (EUR 51.9 billion) and Russia (EUR 46.8 billion).

As a result of the pandemic, apparel sales gained momentum in the online channel. In 2020, already 14.5% of revenues in Europe were generated through e-commerce channels (in 2019, this revenue accounted for 13.5% of the market).

Clothing market in Poland

The value of the Polish clothing market in 2019 was over EUR 13.1 billion. The market developed very dynamically, and the coronavirus pandemic only slowed it down slightly (from 11.6% in 2019 to 9.4% in 2020). Estimates indicate that this market in 2020 was worth EUR 14.4 billion.

According to the PwC report, in 2019, over 300 thousand people were employed in Poland’s fashion industry, most in the sales sector.

Export and import of clothing in Poland

The value of exports in the apparel industry from Poland in 2020 amounted to EUR 7.4 billion. The primary recipients of the Polish clothing industry in 2020 were Germany (EUR 4.1 billion), the Czech Republic (EUR 312.5 million), Romania (EUR 267 million) and the Netherlands (EUR 239.3 million). The global import of the industry amounted to EUR 332.7 billion. The largest domestic importer was the United States – EUR 62.4 billion, Germany – EUR 32.5 billion and Japan – EUR 21 billion.

The largest Polish clothing brands

One of the largest clothing brands on the Polish market include:

LPP S.A.

• 1,856 stores in 25 countries,
• 233 million items of clothing sold annually,
• 22 thousand people employed in the LPP Group,
• brands: Reserverd, Sinsay, Cropp, House, Mohito.

CCC Group

• 1,029 stores in 29 countries,
• 13 thousand people employed in the CCC Group,
• brands: CCC.eu, Modivo, deezee, eobuwie.pl.

VRG S.A.

• 570 stores in 106 cities in Poland,
• brands: Vistula Group S.A., Wólczanka S.A., W. Kruk S.A., Bytom S.A.

OTCF S.A.

• 200 stores in Poland,
• over 600 multi-brand stores around the world where the 4F brand is available,
• brands: 4F, 4Faces, 4F Junior, 4F PROteam.

The most popular e-commerce platform on which consumers in Poland bought clothes in 2020 was the Allegro online store. Allegro is a leader in the e-commerce platform market in Poland and a leader in the online fashion store segment. The followers are Zalando and H&M.