Asia Pacific

The overall rate of retail volume growth in menswear slowed in 2023, compared to the previous two years. The high rate of inflation, at least during the first half of the year, meant that consumers continued to suffer from reduced levels of…

Vintage classic jeans brands are seen to stand the test of time and are known for their quality. The growing popularity of vintage classic jeans in the Philippines has been due to a combination of style preferences, sustainability concerns, cyclical…

Demand for jeans continues to grow in 2023, driven by the ongoing popularity of street casual. The beginning of the endemic era in South Korea and consumers’ increasing outdoor activities are also helping to boost demand for durable jeans. The…

Jeans experienced a significant drop in sales in 2020, followed by a year of stagnation in 2021 as COVID-19 prevailed in the country in these two years. Home seclusion, or “sugomori” in Japanese, was a hot term at this time. As society began to open…

Following a two-year period of steady growth, demand for both men’s and women’s jeans declined in 2023, as cash-strapped consumers cut back on non-essential expenditure Compared to many other items of apparel, a pair of jeans is less subject to…

Filipinos, in general, are not fans of layering. Instead, the tropical climate of the Philippines means that they are usually fairly minimalist in terms of clothing. Hosiery products are widely seen to be too hot and often unnecessary to wear. As an…

With the lifting of the mask mandate in 2023 amid the waning impact of COVID-19 in South Korea, local consumer are enjoying outdoor activities, including participating in sports, without restrictions. In particular, demand for non-sheer hosiery has…

2020 was a year of decline for overall apparel and footwear, but for hosiery it was a disaster. One-third of the category’s volume and value sales vanished in just this year. 2021 and 2022 also saw declines, although at a much slower rate. Even in…

Retail volume sales of hosiery in Indonesia managed to achieve only modest growth in 2023, with demand remaining well below pre-pandemic levels. The category saw a better performance in 2021 and 2022, following the return of Indonesians to their…

The transportation industry is undergoing a paradigm shift away from fossil fuels amid growing global pressures to reduce carbon emissions. The report assesses the market for EV batteries and essential metals such as lithium and cobalt and points out…

The trend towards athletic and sports-inspired footwear in the Philippines reflects a growing desire for comfort, functionality, and a fashion forward approach to the active lifestyles of Filipinos. It combines practicality with style, catering to a…

In 2023, sports footwear continues to post healthy sales growth, as South Korea enters an endemic era where all social restrictions, including the mask mandate, have been fully lifted and consumers have returned to normal outdoor activities. As…

Footwear saw significant declines in retail volume and current value terms in 2020 due to the pandemic, followed by minimal declines in 2021, as many consumers did not need as much new footwear due to spending more time at home. The category saw a…

Footwear in Indonesia continued to see positive growth in volume terms in 2023, with women’s footwear leading the way. Sales were boosted by the post-pandemic revival of social activities, such as weddings, parties and other gatherings, alongside the…

The COVID-19 crisis had a differing impact on birth rates in different countries. In the Philippines, there was a baby boom, as an increased birth rate resulted from families being cooped up in their homes during the period of lockdowns. This has led…

In 2022, the total fertility rate in South Korea reached a new low of 0.78, with the number of newborns also dropping below 250,000 for the first time. The ongoing decline of new births in the country is resulting in falling retail volume sales for…

Childrenswear did not perform well even before the pandemic, as the number of children has been continuously decreasing in Japan. Growth was then hit hard in 2020, experiencing a double-digit decline, followed by a year of little movement in 2021 as…

Childrenswear saw more modest growth in retail volume terms in 2023, relative to the two previous years. Compared to other areas of apparel and footwear, such as menswear, womenswear and hosiery, sales were comparatively unaffected by the COVID-19…

According to the Philippines Statistics Authority, the Philippines saw a population increase of 1.5% in 2023 compared with the previous year. The growth in the population is expanding the consumer base for apparel and footwear. In addition to this,…

Apparel and footwear is posting positive but slower current value and retail volume growth in 2023 compared to the previous year, as many consumers’ needs/wants for new apparel and footwear have been largely fulfilled following the lifting of social…