The crisis will not spare the textile and clothing, nor in 2011 nor in 2012, according to latest figures released yesterday by the French Institute of Fashion (IFM). Falling from 11.7% in France in the third quarter, sales of clothing have declined 2.1% in 2011, the fourth consecutive year of decline. Much worse than in 2010 (when sales had dropped by only 0.6%), the trend is not likely to reverse in 2012: against the background of a prolonged economic slowdown, the IFM provides a fallback of 1.8%.
Consumption at half-mast and a surge in raw materials (cotton, wool, oil …) continue to affect the sector. "Rising costs could not be passed in part to the customer on prices because demand is down," said Gildas Minvielle, head of the Economic Observatory of the IFM.Consumption can not grow, says he, "when we have an economy that is growing at quite low. It takes 2 or 3% of overall growth in consumption "to expect to see a" dynamic "re-emerge in this sector, he added. It is far less than 1% growth.
The decline in sales has not yet been felt on the production of the textile industry, stable since 2009. She even posted a sales increase of 8% in late August, thanks to strong exports, supported by Asia. But industrial activity may be overtaken by the crisis, "in case of continued deterioration seen since the summer," warns the IFM.
Consumer bipolar
To resist, distributors sharpen their weapons, and strategic marketing. Much attention is given to new behaviors and consumer demands.
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