Apparel, Clothing and Footwear

The fading of COVID-19 has been a significant turning point for Japanese consumers, who have been leaving their homes and therefore driving the return of footfall in town centres. In May 2023, the Japanese government changed the legitimate…

Apparel and footwear is posting positive but slower current value and retail volume growth in 2023 compared to the previous year, as many consumers’ needs/wants for new apparel and footwear have been largely fulfilled following the lifting of social…

According to the Philippines Statistics Authority, the Philippines saw a population increase of 1.5% in 2023 compared with the previous year. The growth in the population is expanding the consumer base for apparel and footwear. In addition to this,…

One would think that childrenswear would be resilient, due to the necessity of replacement needed for growing infants and children. However, both value and volume sales are in a slump in 2023. One key reason for this is the declining birth rate in…

Childrenswear saw more modest growth in retail volume terms in 2023, relative to the two previous years. Compared to other areas of apparel and footwear, such as menswear, womenswear and hosiery, sales were comparatively unaffected by the COVID-19…

Childrenswear suffered a disruption, but less so compared with menswear and womenswear, in 2020, in the wake of the outbreak of Coronavirus (COVID-19). This was partly because parents tend to prioritise goods for their children, but also because…

Childrenswear did not perform well even before the pandemic, as the number of children has been continuously decreasing in Japan. Growth was then hit hard in 2020, experiencing a double-digit decline, followed by a year of little movement in 2021 as…

In 2022, the total fertility rate in South Korea reached a new low of 0.78, with the number of newborns also dropping below 250,000 for the first time. The ongoing decline of new births in the country is resulting in falling retail volume sales for…

The COVID-19 crisis had a differing impact on birth rates in different countries. In the Philippines, there was a baby boom, as an increased birth rate resulted from families being cooped up in their homes during the period of lockdowns. This has led…

Footwear volume is managing to stay in very small positive growth in 2023, which is expected to pick up slightly in 2024, then slump again over the forecast period. Meanwhile, value is being better supported by inflationary pressures pushing up unit…