Women’s Wear Accounted For More Than Half Of The Total Clothing And Apparel Market

The global clothing and apparel market is segmented by type of apparel into the women’s wear market, men’s wear market, and kid’s wear market. Of these segments, the global women’s wear market, which was estimated at $422.17 billion in 2018, held the largest share at nearly 56% of the total clothing and apparel market. The women’s wear market is supported by high spending on women’s apparel and clothing globally. High fashion consciousness among women and the presence of a large number of women clothing brands also support the market. Europe is the largest market for women’s wear, followed by North America and Asia-Pacific.

The women’s wear industry includes establishments engaged in the manufacturing of apparel such as tops, bottoms, dresses, outerwear, undergarments, sportswear and other women’s wear such as scarves, tights, gloves, socks and hats for women. This segment includes teen clothing and apparel for girls aged above 12 years.

A survey conducted by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, in 2018, found that the women’s wear segment ranked as the top most popular segment in the clothing and apparel market and it will continue to be the most popular segment. Both buyers (66%) and exhibitors (82%) that participated in the survey gave women’s wear the top position in terms of demand, and casual wear was given the second position.

The survey also concluded that buyers and exhibitors were anxious about the increase in raw material source pricing. Buyers and exhibitors were concerned about sourcing prices and production costs. 55% of them stated that the price may increase while 44% anticipated no changes in pricing.

The men’s wear market, which was the second largest segment of the global clothing and apparel market in 2018, will be the fastest growing market to 2022, at an annual rate of more than 16%. The fastest growth of the market can be attributed to the increased fashion awareness among men, changes in lifestyles and adoption of latest fashion, and increased spending on sportswear and casual wear globally. The menswear industry saw significant growth in recent years in China and India. This was due to the presence of younger populations and increased disposable incomes in these countries. India’s population is mostly young people, accounting for about 65% of the total, who are aged below 35 years and who supported the menswear market. Rapid growth of China’s economy, increased purchasing power among China’s urban middle-class customers, increased brand awareness, and demand in apparel quality drives China’s menswear market.