The French buy fewer and fewer clothes and, to get dressed, more and more connect to the Internet. This explains the cascading bankruptcies of ready-to-wear brands (Camaieu, Kookaï, San Marina, etc.). And to gauge the magnitude of this trend, just look at the LSA/Kantar barometer figures released on Tuesday.
In the first quarter of 2019, before the health crisis, sales of clothing, footwear and accessories generated a turnover of just over 10,000 million euros. In the first quarter of this year they barely exceeded 9,000 million. It’s certainly a bit better than the last two years, when this course hadn’t been crossed. But the weak recovery seen in 2023 is due to rising prices.
In 4 years, the number of items purchased has been reduced by 22%
Sales in volume have clearly fallen compared to 2021, going from 616 to 572 million items sold in the first three months of the year. The comparison with 2019 is even more striking: -22%. Consumers are buying fewer clothes, shoes, and fashion accessories. And in addition, they also go less to the stores that sell these products: the number of transactions has fallen by 20%, even compared to 2019.
Fewer people in the stores, fewer items purchased, less billing, while on the expense side, the Smic has increased significantly and, when they don’t increase, store rents don’t go down. We better understand why the most fragile brands are struggling to get ahead.
Only sports stores resist
Above all because, in addition, consumers renew their wardrobes more and more through the Internet.. In 2019, less than 12% of clothing, footwear and fashion sales were made online. According to the latest figures from Kantar, the Internet market share for these product categories is now over 18%.
In other words, barring an unlikely turnaround, the carnage has only just begun for specialty fashion channels. In fact, among the brands that sell clothes, there is only one category that resists and even advances: these are sports stores. And this is very easily explained.
Whether going to work or going out, more and more French people prefer sneakers to loafers and sportswear to suits or dresses. And also, the big fashion brands have understood this and are giving more and more space to the “sportswear” ranges on their shelves.
Source: BFM TV
