Apparel and Footwear Specialist Retailers in France

2020 IMPACT

Huge sales declines registered as consumers focus spending on daily essentials

Sales of apparel and footwear fell off a cliff in France during 2020 as the negative economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic drastically undermined demand for non-essential products. With the pandemic situation having caused significant disruption to key sectors of the French economy during the second quarter of the year, household incomes came under severe pressure, with consumer confidence standing at very low levels throughout the year.

A partial recovery during late summer based on casualwear and childrenswear

While France’s apparel and footwear specialist retailers endured a very negative situation during the second quarter of 2020, sales picked up substantially during the third quarter of the year and remained reasonably strong during the fourth quarter as well as consumers who had postponed purchases of essential apparel and footwear during the quarantine lockdown realised their purchases during July, August and September. Childrenswear was among the best-selling categories of apparel and footwear during this time as items in this category are widely regarded as more essential than womenswear or menswear due to children often growing out of their clothing and footwear.

Players focused on sportswear register some of the best sales performances

As mentioned above, the shift towards more comfortable and practical styles of clothing in France during 2020 due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic meant that demand for sportswear took off over the course of the year. This had a positive impact on retailers that specialise in sportswear and, in particular sports footwear.

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