In 2023, Italy’s menswear industry (including ready-to-wear, knitwear, shirts, ties, and leather garments) saw a 4.7% year-over-year increase in revenue, reaching €11.9 billion, with a total output growth of 3.3%.
All sectors achieved profitability by year-end, except for leather garments, which saw a slight decline (-0.6%). Ties (+7.6%) and shirts (+7.4%) performed the best.
Ready-to-wear accounted for 55.4% of menswear sales, making it the largest segment, followed by knitwear at 26.1%. Shirts made up 16.5%, while ties (1.2%) and leather garments (0.8%) had smaller shares.
Exports remained the main driver for the Italian menswear industry, with a 6.6% year-over-year increase in revenue, totaling €8.8 billion and representing 74.5% of the total.
By market, the Italian domestic market remained stable, growing by 0.4% compared to the previous year. The EU and non-EU regions saw increases of 7.2% and 6%, respectively. The EU market accounted for 45.7% of total exports, while non-EU regions were the largest buyers, representing 54.3%.
Market performance during the period varied:
- France was the top export market, with a 16.8% increase to €1.2 billion, accounting for 12.2% of total exports.
- Germany was the second-largest market, with a 0.4% increase, making up 10.3%.
- The U.S. market grew by 3%, accounting for 9.3%.
- Switzerland, the fourth-largest market and a key logistics and commercial hub, saw a 26.5% decline, representing 7.7%.
- The Chinese Mainland ranked fifth, with a 13.9% increase to €647 million, accounting for 6.8%.
- Spain, the sixth-largest market, saw a 9.9% increase.
- The UK market, ranked seventh, declined by 3.4%.
- The eighth and ninth markets, South Korea and Japan, saw increases of 18.1% and 19.8%, respectively.
- The Netherlands, the tenth-largest market, saw a 1.5% decline, representing 3.3%.
In 2023, Hong Kong was the eleventh-largest market for Italian menswear, with a 28.8% increase in exports.
Four other overseas markets showed positive growth with export shares between 2.5% and 2.4%: Poland (+21.2%), Russia (+44%), Austria (+0.7%), and the UAE (+45.3%).
Distribution channels:
- Chain stores dominated the domestic menswear market with a 47.4% market share, up by 1 percentage point, though value declined by 1.1%.
- Large retail stores held a 22.2% market share, with a value decline of 2.9%.
- Independent retailers continued to decline, with a value drop of 7.5% and a 17.8% market share.
- E-commerce, after a 7.1% growth in 2022, fell by 4.6% in 2023, with an 8.7% market share.
Two other retail categories, street vendors and outlet stores (each with around 1.7% of menswear sales), also saw value declines of 9.1% and 4.7%, respectively.
For the first two months of 2024, Italy’s menswear exports grew by 13% to €180 million. Both the EU and non-EU regions performed well, with increases of 5.8% and 19.6%, respectively.
By market: France remained the top export market with a 15.3% increase, followed by Germany (+0.2%) and the U.S. (+7.9%). The Chinese Mainland rose to fourth place with a significant 62.9% increase, while Switzerland continued to decline by 35.6%, falling to sixth place. Hong Kong’s exports grew by 56.8%, ranking ninth.
| Source: Pitti Uomo’s Official Data
| Image Credit: Pitti Immagine Uomo Official Website
| Editor: LeZhi
