13 Years Global Footwear Increases 85 Billion U.S. Dollars

According to a new study, the retail sales of the global apparel and footwear industry increased by 85 billion U.S. dollars in 2013, but over-reliance on the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India, and China) will challenge retail growth.

Euromonitor International has warned that existing problems include weak consumer confidence in Western Europe, too many discounted sales squeezing profit margins, and slower economic growth in mainland China.

The company also warned that the clothing and footwear industry's heavy reliance on the BRIC market may pose risks for the future.

Magdalena Kondej, Head of Apparel and Footwear Research at Euromonitor International, stated that “BRIC’s apparel and footwear sales account for a quarter of global sales of apparel and footwear, and it is expected that the proportion of global sales in the next 5 years will exceed 64%."

The vulnerability of Brazil's and Russia's economy and the slower growth of China's economy have created potential risks for clothing and footwear.

Although emerging markets are a valuable lifeblood for the apparel industry in times of low demand in Western countries, reducing dependence on the growth of emerging markets will be a challenge.

Euromonitor also warned about the difficulty of stopping circular discounts and its impact on profits. Since the economic downturn, the unit price of apparel has fallen by 5%.

At the same time, the study pointed out that sales of footwear increased by 6.1% in 2013, and apparel sales grew by 4.8%, continuing the growth trend over the past decade.

Children's clothing sales grew by 6.4% due to the increase in spending on children due to the late marriage of parents and family miniaturization.