This is marketing research on the Apparel industry and can include information on the background, market structure, definitions, competitors, trends and developments of abrasives and is related to other topics such as clothing, textiles, yarns and fibers.

Table of Contents

[edit] Background

The apparel Industry includes the design and manufacture of clothing as well as distribution and use of some textiles. This is a key, very large worldwide industry which is modestly cyclical and significantly affected by trends and fashions. Generally, growth worldwide increases 2 to 4 percent annually. In the apparel industry, the leading categories are outerwear, men’s shirts, women's blouses and shirts, men's pants, women's coats, jackets, suits, skirts, and vests.

[edit] Market Structure

The apparel industry infrastructure is well established worldwide and the trend continues to be marked by mass production with market share continuing to shift to the low cost producers. As a result, the base of manufacturing moves continually to Asian countries and other developing economies. A relatively small number of niche manufacturers at the high end continue production in the U.S. and EU countries.

On the other hand, the European Union, the United States, Japan, and Canada have remained the world's leading import markets for clothing. China (including Hong Kong), South Korea, Japan, India, and Italy are among the top clothing exporters.

In the early 1990’s the apparel trade was more heavily regulated. Recently, trade regulations have become more relaxed and China has benefited enormously. As a market share, apparel imports from China to the U.S. grew from mere 9% to 53% after the relaxation of regulations.

The global apparel industry has three major divisions: designers, manufacturers and retailers. Designers, or jobbers as they are also called, develop apparel items by purchasing materials, designing concepts, developing prototypes, and hiring manufacturers. Manufacturers produce the apparel items based on the samples created by the designers. Finally, retailers - whether a brick and mortar retail outlet, catalog or on-line clothing web site - market the clothing to the public. This last sub-category is still growing enormously. In 2006, clothing sales over the web hit US $17.2 billion in the United States, edging out sales of computer equipment as the leading web selling product category for the first time. Yet, that market likely has further to go, as 8% of clothing is now purchased over the web vs. 41% of computer sales and 21% of book sales. The growth is high. Total online sales of $220 billion in the U.S. grew 25% in 2006 and is still only 6% of all purchases last year.

[edit] Market Metrics

China

By 2005, China’s apparel and textile trade was worth approximately US $100 billion. The top five apparel manufacturers were in Guangdong, Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Shandong, and Shanghai.

United States

The U.S. apparel industry reached US $182 billion in total sales in 2000.

U.S. apparel sales by distribution category for 2000 were as follows:

Category		Sales (in US $B)		% Share of Market

Retail			  $169.2			      92.9
Catalog			  $  7.2			       3.9	
On-line			  $  5.8			       3.2

U.S. apparel sales by type category for 2000 were as follows:

Category		   Sales (in US $B)		  % Share of Market

Men’s				$63.3				34.7	
Women’s			        $96.6				53.0
Boys				$ 7.6				 4.2
Girls				$ 7.1				 3.9
Infants/Toddlers		$ 7.6				 4.2

China is growing its share of exports to USA at a significant rate as indicated: 

Estimated Chinese Share of the U.S. Textile and Apparel Import Market

     2002		2003		2004		2005		2006

      13%		 20%		 22%		  44%		69%

World Market

Globalization has had a major impact on the apparel industry. Data from the World Bank indicates that the global trade in textiles and apparel has risen 124 fold (between 1962 to 2004) from US $6 billion to US $342 billion. The apparel trade represents more then 6% of the net world exports today.

[edit] Industry Players

These are major players in this market, but not an exhaustive list of all key firms. Revenues, Net Income and Market Capitalization are expressed in US$ Millions.

[edit] Trends and Recent Developments

• Continued move towards online selling
• Brick and mortar retail growth dominated by discount stores to the detriment of the larger department store chains
• Casual clothing growth continues to outpace more formal apparel – e.g. men’s suits
• “Large size” apparel sees faster growth, at least in the U.S., growing 10% annually, much faster than overall apparel sales.

[edit] Sources

US Census Bureau

About.com

World Bank