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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
Norway was less affected than many countries by the pandemic in 2020, resulting in overall stagnation in volume sales terms. As a result, the bounce back in 2021 was not as noticeable as in many countries. Naturally, the categories affected the most in 2020 linked to formal or business wear, witnessed stronger performances in 2021 as consumers...
Despite the Taiwan government largely having the COVID-19 virus under control in 2020, cases started to spiral in 2021, particularly affecting the country between May – August 2021, leading the government to impose lockdowns from May 2021 onwards. As such, consumers started changing their shopping behaviours after Q1, steering clear of physical...
In May 2021, Malaysia went into a nationwide lockdown again following a surge in the number of COVID-19 cases. For several months, consumers worked remotely from home and outdoor activities were cancelled and social gatherings prohibited. This negatively affected demand for formal apparel and footwear typically worn at work or for going out,...
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...