Abstract
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- Get insight into trends in market performance
- Pinpoint growth sectors and identify factors driving change
- Identify market and brand leaders and understand the competitive
environment
Executive summary
Future uncertainity causes shrinks in demand
In 2008 Italian consumers reduced their expenditure as a result of the
difficult economic situation which has enveloped the country for the past few
years. As consumers continued being unsure about their future in terms of jobs
and salary, their expenditure on clothes and footwear was negatively affected.
In fact the county suffers from structural problems in its business framework.
The country' s economy is based on small and medium family-based companies,
which do not invest enough in innovation and research and are becoming
increasingly less competitive.
Clothing was stable while footwear showed a negative trend,
The clothing and footwear sector performed quite poorly in 2008. The clothing
sector remained stable in value terms mainly due to price increases but the
footwear sector had a negative growth as the internal demand stagnated. The
clothing and footwear sectors continued with the poor performance of previous
years and improvement does not seem likely in the near future. In fact as the
economic crisis becomes more evident, consumers' behaviour is expected to
become more conservative and careful with their disposable income.
Childrenswear' s boom
The children' s' wear sector was indisputably the best performer in 2008.
Italian mothers are known for spoiling their children and believe that any
goods related to their children are a necessity. Even during an unfavourable
economic situation parents are ready to purchase expensive and branded cloths
for their children. This sector does not seem to have felt the economic crisis
and it looks like it will be one of the first sectors to recover from the
economic difficulties the country will have to go through in the next couple
of years.
Fragmented fashion market
Italy is the country of fashion. The fashion industry started to evolve in
Italy some decades ago and since then many different companies have entered
the market. The Italian clothing and footwear sector is still very fragmented
despite having some of the most important fashion companies in the world. The
market has good prospects as Italians are real passionate about fashion and
enjoy buying branded goods. It is very important for Italians to wear branded
cloths and footwear as this is perceived as not only a status symbol but also
a necessity across all social classes.
Credit crunch impacts future growth
The clothing and footwear market will slow down during the forecast period
mainly due to the negative growth rates that are likely in 2009 and 2010.
Prices are expected to decrease in the next couple of years in order to boost
demand. Unemployment is expected to increase and consumers are likely to see
their disposable incomes decrease. The credit crunch will have a negative
effect on economies across the world for at least the next two years. The
clothing and footwear sector should have a stronger performance once the
economy gets back on track.
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