This survey is a benchmark analysis of multi-channel retailers of ready-to-wear, underwear, hosiery, shoes, household linen, accessories and knitting yarns(*).
The start of 2009 was sluggish for the textiles market, down 2% in value and down 3% in volume during the first half of the year. The financial crisis has made its mark and this sector is no different to any other.
The fall in buying power and lower morale among the French are still contributing to price and promotion sensitivity being particularly strong in the textiles market: 1 purchase in 2 in the first half of 2009 was at a reduced price, which is something of a record!!! Naturally, random sales by several retailers last spring are boosting this promotional phenomenon which is designed to get customers back into their stores.
Despite this, the French bought less (1.4 fewer items) and spent less ( 19 less per person), and fewer of them are “prepared to pay the full price for an item of clothing they like”. People are making real trade-offs when it comes to what they can afford: consumers are prioritising items that are visible (ready-to-wear and shoes) or being replaced to the detriment of undergarments and household linen.
Against this recessionary backdrop, no retailer is really managing to get everything right. At best they are maintaining market share.
High street chains (Etam, Camaïeu, Du Pareil Au Même, H&M, Naf-Naf, C&A, Zara, Celio, Jules...) held up better than the competition, recording the biggest gain in market share (up 1.2 percentage points). However they are showing signs for concern: the size of their customer base is stagnating and both their popularity and price image is falling.
Out-of-town chains (La Halle, Kiabi, Gémo, Véti, Distri Center…) meanwhile are more or less holding up depending on the retailer concerned because they are better at responding to the price demands of consumers most affected by the crisis: Kiabi, for example, managed to enhance its appeal both on sales/promotions and in-stock items.
Hypermarkets and supermarkets also suffered during the first half of 2009. Other than Monoprix, which fared better thanks to its quality positioning with an older clientele less affected by the crisis, other brands, in particular large hypermarkets, are not managing to improve their performance in textile products, particularly in household linen, and are being penalised by poor performance in their usual strongholds (underwear and hosiery).
Sports shops, mail-order selling and even luxury goods are at a virtual standstill. Décathlon, the French people’s preferred retailer for many items, saw its customer base shrink despite efforts on sales and promotions, and mail-order selling is collapsing (purchases via both catalogues and the internet) and having to face growing competition from chain stores, even on the web. Lastly, the “luxury” clientele is being less extravagant.
There is a ray of hope however with “multi-channel” retailing which offers more opportunities and online sales which are a palliative for the slowdown in shop openings: 29% of textile customers bought on the internet in the 12 months to the end of June 2009.
In terms of value market share, the top four retailers have stayed the same in the first half of 2009: Décathlon, Galeries Lafayette, Carrefour and Leclerc in that order
Only Galeries Lafayette has shown encouraging signs during the first half of the year thanks to its upmarket positioning which allows it to attract a smaller but bigger-spending customer base; Galeries Lafayette customers spent 135 on average in the first half of the year, almost three times more than customers at Carrefour or Leclerc.
In the ranking of the 15 leading retailers (*see the enclosed document), only Kiabi and C&A made progress, each up by 0.2 of a percentage point. Kiabi is in 5th place but should provide serious competition for the top four brands following its purchase of Vêti. Meanwhile C&A is attracting a bigger-spending clientele to its stores, and the market, linked to its expansion of out-of-town stores, something of a result during this period.
Nathalie LESTRAT, Director of the Fashion Unit at Kantar Worldpanel says:
“The start of 2009 confirms the impact the crisis is having on the consumption of textile goods by the French, with customers only being attracted into stores by promotions, and even then not always! Few brands are emerging unscathed during these difficult times: they are communicating less and hesitating to invest more in opening new stores. However the best way of limiting the effects of the current crisis would in all likelihood be to launch new sales concepts helping to create additional buying opportunities.”
* The Référenseigne Fashion 2009 survey is based on all of France including hypermarkets, supermarkets, food and textile discount retailers and distribution channels specialising in textiles (independents, high street or shopping centre chains, out-of-town chains, department stores, sports shops, home shopping, websites and others), and all kinds of textile products (outer garments, undergarments, hosiery, household linen, shoes, knitting yarns and accessories) for everyone (men, women, children and babies) over a twelve-month period
from July 2008 to June 2009 and comparing the first half of 2009 with the first half of 2008.
Worldpanel Fashion: New panel of 10,000 men and women aged 15 and over, allowing continuous monitoring of their textile purchases, either for themselves or for other people. 70% of them gave their answers via the internet with the remaining 30% responding by postal questionnaire.
When using any data or quotation, please name Référenseigne Fashion 2009 from Kantar Worldpanel as the source
* Data available in slide form: Ranking of retailers’ market share.
refrenseigne-fashion
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