Theglobalepidemiccontinuestoescalate.Theclothingindustryhasbeenseverelyhit,andsaleshaveplummeted.ThemainstreammarketImportsfellsharply.Inthefirstfourmonthsofthisyear,clothingimportsfromtheUnitedStatesandJapandecreasedby18%and8%respectively.Inthefirstthreemonths,clothingimportsfromtheEuropeanUniondecreasedby15%.
China’smarketshareintheUnitedStates,JapanandtheEuropeanUnionhasdecreasedby8,3and2percentagepointsrespectively.Whohastakentheshare?
Vietnam:Becamethebiggestwinnerandincreaseditsshareinthemainstreammarket.Inthefirstfourmonths,Vietnam’sclothingexportstotheUnitedStateswerebasicallyflat,whileitsclothingexportstoJapanincreasedby6.6%.Inparticular,Vietnam’smarketshareintheUnitedStatesisclosetothatofChina,withadifferenceofonly2percentagepoints.
Bangladesh:Thegainsarenotsmall.EventhoughoverallU.S.apparelimportsfellby18%,Bangladesh’sexportstotheU.S.actuallyincreasedby2%.
Cambodia:Althoughthescaleislimited,itsapparelexportstotheUnitedStatesincreasedby19%inthefirstfourmonths,anastonishinggrowthrate.ExportstoJapanalsoremainedstable,growingby0.7%.
Myanmar:Exportshavebeenrelativelylessaffectedbytheepidemic,anditistheonlyexportingcountrythathasmaintainedgrowthinallthreemajormarkets.Inthefirstthreemonths,clothingexportstotheEUincreasedby15.4%,exportstoJapaninthefirstfourmonthsincreasedby16.1%,andexportstotheUnitedStatesincreasedbyasmuchas46%.
United States, Japan and Europe clothing imports from January to April
United States
From January to April 2020, the United States imported US$24 billion in clothing, a year-on-year decrease of 17.9%; clothing imports from China were US$4.86 billion, a year-on-year decrease of 41.4%. China’s share of imported clothing from the United States was 20.3%, ranking first, a year-on-year decrease of 8.1 percentage points.
The second to fifth largest suppliers of U.S. apparel imports are: ◆Vietnam: US$4.29 billion, a year-on-year decrease of 0.7%; share is 17.9%, a year-on-year increase of 3.1 percentage points; ◆Bangladesh: US$2.08 billion, a year-on-year increase 2.1%; share is 8.7%, an increase of 1.7 percentage points year-on-year; ◆Indonesia: US$1.53 billion, a year-on-year decrease of 8%; share is 6.4%, an increase of 0.7 percentage points year-on-year; ◆India: US$1.43 billion, a year-on-year decrease of 12.4%; share It was 5.9%, an increase of 0.4 percentage points year-on-year.
Japan
From January to April, Japan imported US$8.92 billion in clothing, down 7.6% year-on-year; US$4.75 billion in clothing imports from China, A year-on-year decrease of 12.5%. China accounted for 53.2% of Japan’s imported clothing, ranking first, a year-on-year decrease of 3 percentage points.
The second to fifth largest suppliers of Japanese clothing imports are: ◆Vietnam: US$1.44 billion, a year-on-year increase of 6.6%; share is 16.2%, a year-on-year increase of 2.2 percentage points; ◆Bangladesh: US$440 million, a year-on-year decrease 1.3%; share is 4.9%, a year-on-year increase of 0.3 percentage points; ◆Cambodia: US$410 million, a year-on-year increase of 0.7%; share is 4.6%, a year-on-year increase of 0.4 percentage points; ◆Myanmar: 390 million US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 16.1%; share It was 4.4%, a year-on-year increase of 0.9 percentage points.
European Union
From January to March, the EU imported US$22.19 billion in clothing, down 9% year-on-year; it imported US$5.84 billion in clothing from China, A year-on-year decrease of 14.6%. China’s share of imported clothing from the EU was 26.3%, ranking first, a year-on-year decrease of 1.7 percentage points.
The second to fifth largest suppliers of EU clothing imports are: ◆Bangladesh: US$4.44 billion, a year-on-year decrease of 5.2%; share is 20%, a year-on-year increase of 0.8 percentage points; ◆Turkey: US$2.45 billion, a year-on-year decrease 5.2%; share was 11%, an increase of 0.4 percentage points year-on-year; ◆India: US$1.31 billion, a year-on-year decrease of 9.5%; share was 5.9%, a year-on-year decrease of 0.04 percentage points; ◆UK: US$1.03 billion, a year-on-year decrease of 26%; share It was 4.6%, a year-on-year decrease of 1.1 percentage points.
U.S. clothing retail sales in May surged 188% month-on-month and fell 63% year-on-year
U.S. retail sales data for May released by the U.S. Department of Commerce. Statistics show that following consecutive month-on-month declines of 8.3% and 14.7% in March and April, U.S. retail sales stabilized and rebounded as businesses reopened, with a month-on-month growth of 17.7% in May, but a year-on-year decline of 6.1%.
Clothing and clothing accessories stores increased by 188% month-on-month and decreased by 63.3% year-on-year (month-on-month decreases of 50.5% and 78.8% respectively in March and April).
Last month’s rebound came against a backdrop of what could be the start of a slow, drawn-out economic recovery. U.S. employers added 2.5 million jobs in May, an unexpected increase that suggested the job market had bottomed out.
But analysts warn that some of the recovery so far may reflect the impact of temporary government aid and expanded unemployment benefits in the face of a deep recession. As it stands, Americans spend too much on necessities and too little on luxuries.
Retail research firm Coresight Research predicts that 20,000 to 25,000 stores will close in the United States this year, about 60% of which are in shopping malls. The number is higher than the 15,000 store closures the company estimated before mid-March and would surpass last year’s record 9,000 store closures.
China will replace the United States as the largest garment market
According to industry experts, it is expected that by 2023 China will replace the United States to become the world’s largest garment market.
According to GlobalData retail analyst VijayBhupathiraju, store sales in China, a superpower, have returned to 80-100% of trading levels before the outbreak of the new crown epidemic.
GlobalData previously predicted that the new crown epidemic will cause a loss of US$297 billion in the global garment market in 2020, a decrease of 15.2% from 2019. The United States (the largest ready-to-wear market) will account for 42% of all consumer losses, leading to more well-known chain brands filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the coming months. On the other hand, compared with their counterparts in the United States and Europe, which are driven by domestic demand growth, the Asia-Pacific market is expected to be in the best condition to cope with the impact of the COVID-19 epidemic.
In dollar terms, the ten most severely affected markets in the world will account for 85% of all losses, with mature markets being the most severely affected.
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