Apparel and Footwear Specialist Retailers in Greece

PROSPECTS

Apparel and footwear specialist retailers continues recovering

Apparel and footwear specialist retailers, a channel that had been disproportionally adversely affected by the recession, had stabilised towards the end of the review period and was displaying positive, albeit modest, current value growth in 2019, with further positive sales increases expected throughout the forecast period. Economic recovery and rising consumer confidence, along with the momentum coming from tourism – tax-free shopping for non-EU tourists, notably the Chinese, is a growing sales area – are generating positive potential for the forecast period, with womenswear and sportswear driving the expected growth.

E-commerce affecting sales at bricks-and-mortar stores

The momentum of e-commerce is overshadowing the performance of bricks-and-mortar apparel and footwear specialist retailers. Online sales are growing at a much faster pace than physical stores’ sales, a trend that is set to continue throughout the forecast period, as Greeks still lag behind the European average with regard to e-shopping.

Retailers need to invest in their digital presence

With digital technologies changing consumer habits and bringing about dramatic changes in the retailing industry, retailers will increasingly need to invest in online sales in order to complement their physical stores. Investments in website appearance, user-friendly navigation, digital marketing and graphics are currently deemed essential for any retailer that wishes to compete with e-commerce giants such as Asos.

COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE

Big multinational chains continue to lead

Big multinational chains continued to be the main players in apparel and footwear specialist retailers in 2019, having established strong positions in the Greek market. They are constantly investing in their store networks, e-commerce operations and services in order to maintain or even increase their value sales shares in what is a very competitive channel, characterised by the constant entry of new players.

Zara and H&M the leading players

Zara continued to be the leading player in terms of value sales in 2019, managing to increase its sales, with other Inditex brands, such as Bershka, Pull & Bear, Stradivarius, Massimo Dutti and Oysho, also holding strong positions in apparel and footwear specialist retailers, albeit with an increasing proportion of their sales taking place online. The e-commerce approach seems to be paying off for Inditex, with online sales increasing strongly year on year.

BSB moves into third place

Domestic players that managed to survive the recession are tending to reinforce their positions. The most successful example is that of BSB, which ranked third in 2019.

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