The global epidemic continues to escalate. The clothing industry has been severely hit, and sales have plummeted. Mainstream Market imports dropped sharply. In the first four months of this year, clothing imports from the United States and Japan decreased by 18% and 8% respectively. In the first three months, clothing imports from the European Union decreased by 15%.
China’s market share in the United States, Japan and the European Union has decreased by 8, 3 and 2 percentage points respectively. Who has taken the share?
Vietnam: Became the biggest winner and increased its share in the mainstream market. In the first four months, Vietnam’s clothing exports to the United States were basically flat, while its clothing exports to Japan increased by 6.6%. In particular, Vietnam’s market share in the United States is close to that of China, with a difference of only 2 percentage points.
Bangladesh: The gains are not small. Even though overall U.S. apparel imports fell by 18%, Bangladesh’s exports to the U.S. actually increased by 2%.
Cambodia: Although the scale is limited, its apparel exports to the United States increased by 19% in the first four months, an astonishing growth rate. Exports to Japan also remained stable, growing by 0.7%.
Myanmar: Exports have been relatively less affected by the epidemic and it is the only exporting country that has maintained growth in all three major markets. In the first three months, clothing exports to the EU increased by 15.4%, exports to Japan in the first four months increased by 16.1%, and exports to the United States increased by as much as 46%.
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, down 0.7% year-on-year; share 17.9%, an increase of 3.1 percentage points year-on-year;
◆Bangladesh: US$2.08 billion, an increase of 2.1% year-on-year; share of 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%, a year-on-year increase of 0.7 percentage points;
◆India: 1.43 billion USD, a year-on-year decrease of 12.4%; its share was 5.9%, a year-on-year increase of 0.4 percentage points.
►Japan
From January to April, Japan imported clothing 89.2 billion US dollars, a year-on-year decrease of 7.6%; clothing imports from China were US$4.75 billion, 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 It was 16.2%, an increase of 2.2 percentage points year-on-year;
◆Bangladesh: US$440 million, a year-on-year decrease of 1.3%; the share was 4.9%, an increase of 0.3 percentage points year-on-year;
◆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 USD, a year-on-year increase of 16.1%; its share was 4.4%, a year-on-year increase of 0.9 percentage points.
►EU
From January to March, the EU imported clothing 221.9 billion US dollars, a year-on-year decrease of 9%; clothing imports from China were US$5.84 billion, 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 five largest suppliers of EU clothing imports are:
◆Bangladesh: US$4.44 billion, down 5.2% year-on-year; share 20%, a year-on-year increase of 0.8 percentage points;
◆Turkey: 2.45 billion US dollars, a year-on-year decrease of 5.2%; the share was 11%, a year-on-year increase of 0.4 percentage points;
◆India: 1.31 billion US dollars, a year-on-year decrease of 9.5%; share is 5.9%, a year-on-year decrease of 0.04 percentage points;
◆UK: 1.03 billion USD, a year-on-year decrease of 26%; its share was 4.6%, a year-on-year decrease of 1.1 percentage points.
U.S. clothing retail sales surged 188% month-on-month in May and fell 63% year-on-year
The U.S. Department of Commerce released U.S. retail sales data for May on June 16. 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 and prolonged recovery for the economy. 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 VijayBhupathiraju, a retail analyst at GlobalData, 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 COVID-19 epidemic will lead to 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 US 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.
</p
