This report examines the present and future apparel markets in ten
countries: the USA, China, Japan, Germany, France, the UK, Italy,
Canada, Spain and Australia.
Consumers drive the clothing and fashion business. This is reflected
in the fact that the traditional “push” system which used to prevail in
the supply and demand chain has been replaced by the “pull” concept.
Today’s textile supply chain is more like a “demand chain” which is
consumption driven rather than production driven.
Nonetheless, while consumers appear to be “in control”, sales and
margins continue to be lost, and capacities along the chain—including
retail—continue to be underutilised because sometimes consumers are
not interested in what they see, or they may not find what they really
want, or the desired garment simply does not fit. As long as there are
so many unsatisfied customers, there are also significant market
opportunities for those able to fill the gaps identified by consumers.