Sales of apparel and footwear were significantly negatively impacted by COVID-19 in 2020, when both current value and volume sales plummeted in response to the pandemic. The temporary closure of non-essential retailers led sales to see a dramatic decline, whilst even on reopening, many consumers were reluctant to visit store-based retailers...
Apparel and footwear returned to positive growth in 2021 after an unprecedented decline that wiped out one fifth of the industry’s entire value the previous year. Across the categories, growth rates have improved. While categories such as nightwear registered low growth in 2021 as a result of the lower declines of 2020, others such as men’s...
While apparel and footwear registered a significant increase in value sales in 2021, a sizeable part of this growth was driven by one of the highest rates of inflation in the world. Volume sales also increased in 2021, after a significant decline in 2020. All the same, volume sales were still lower than before the onset of COVID-19. Apparel...
The overriding trend is that there has been a very strong recovery, with value sales higher than before the onset of COVID-19. A strongly recovering economy also supported higher spending, as soaring oil prices benefitted the national coffers. However, part of this growth was also driven by inflation as there was significant price rises, largely...
Apparel and footwear in South Africa suffered tremendously in 2020, primarily due to COVID-19 and government restrictions put into place to curb the spread of the virus. In 2021, the country continued to struggle as a result of the pandemic. South Africa remained on a 5-system alert level throughout the year, which meant operating conditions...
The fashion industry was hit hard by the COVID-19 crisis and received less government support than other industries. The impact has been seen in the form of price increases, the decreasing size of shops and store closures. While sales declined severely at a large number of retailers in 2020, something of a “revenge shopping” attitude was seen...
Following notable declines in 2020 due to the closure of store-based retailers and home seclusion, apparel and footwear in Poland registered a marked improvement in sales in 2021 due to the gradual reopening of the local economy, after pandemic-related lockdowns ended in the May. The start of the first quarter was extremely positive for the...
The emergence of the pandemic in 2020 resulted in the government introducing various measures to control the spread of the virus, including social distancing and limitations on the operations of non-essential retailers, which negatively affected sales of apparel and footwear. Brazil historically suffers from illegal trade, high unemployment...
The fast-spreading Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic continued to limit consumer movement and dampen economic activity in Turkey in 2021. Overall, apparel and footwear continued to be affected by lockdown measures and pressure on disposable incomes due to job losses and general economic uncertainty in Q1 and Q2 2021. Apparel and Footwear...
Apparel and footwear in Nigeria saw a return to growth in 2020 although demand remained weak. A relaxing of COVID-19 restrictions on physical working and social events which had impacted sales in 2020 helped drive demand in 2021, with consumers once again looking for apparel and footwear for both work and social occasions. However, the economy...