T-shirts in Spain
Per capita consumption of T-shirts in Spain is amongst the highest in
the EU. The market for T-shirts deceased as the recession continues,
while volumes increasing to a certain degree. Even if Spain is the
largest producer of T-shirt, there are still opportunities for ethical
T-shirts and for T-shirts, polo shirts or singlets that are thinner and
with more styling.
Market characteristics
•
•
•
•
•
Consumption continued to decrease. The Spanish market for T-shirts was relatively large
and was valued at € 2.9 billion in 2010, a 1.1% average annual decrease since 2006,
representing 11.4% of EU market value (€ 26.2 billion). This was below the EU as a
whole, which registered a 0.7% increase. See also the module on promising EU export
markets with all trade statistics.
In volume terms, market demand decreased from 2.68 kg per capita in 2007 to 2.66 kg
in 2010, according to Textrends. This compared with the EU average of 1.82 kg per capita
in 2007 decreasing to 1.76 kg in 2010. Spanish performance for clothing, including Tshirts has weakened since 2008, as the recession continues and the unemployment still
being 20% and a very weak housing market.
In general, the Spaniards are well dressed and are well aware about brands. Nowadays
people think more practical, use their clothing longer and try to get the best value for
money. T-shirts are particularly popular garments in Spain, primarily due to the
climate, which makes them ideal for general indoor and outdoor use. The universality
of T-shirts has led to the availability of a wide range of styles for many occasions, both
casual and fashionably smart.
Women represented 51% of sales, men accounted for 31% and children and babies the
remaining 18%. Winter sales accounted for 20% of the turnover and summer sales a
further 15%. Regions are important in Spain. According to Acotex, Madrid and
Barcelona were the principal centres of consumption, with 17% of national sales
respectively, followed by Andalucia (16%) and Valencia (10%). There is a significant use
of T-shirts for sporting use.
According to Mintel, the Spanish clothing market is expected to grow by 1.5% in 2011.
However, we expect this to be less, as the recession has not ended in Spain and retail
prices are expected to rise in 2011. Price and design remain important criteria when
buying T-shirts in addition to comfort, fit and durability. Foreign brands remain
popular in the high-medium segments, whereas many local brands, available at
affordable prices, will gain ground in the medium-low segments.
Source: CBI Market Information Database – www.cbi.eu • Contact [email protected]
• Publication date 30.07.2011
T-shirts in Spain
•
Production was on the rise. Spain is a large producer of T-shirts in the EU, valued at
€ 449million, being smaller than its neighbouring country Portugal (€ 556 million),
but still representing 25% of EU production (€ 1.8 billion in 2010). Spanish production
increased at a rate of 2.1 % per annum since 2006. Spain is also a large exporter of
T-shirts, which amounted at € 722 million or 149 million pieces in 2010, which includes
a proportion of re-exports to other EU countries. Information on manufacturers of
textiles for clothing can be found at http://www.textilesfromspain.org.
•
Increase in Spanish imports well above the EU. Imports of T-shirts were valued at
€ 1.2 billion in 2010, a 2.1% annual average increase since 2006 (representing 535
million pieces, a 9.3% increase in volume). The value increase in Spanish imports was
well above the EU increase rate in the period of 0.7%.
Imports from DCs grew substantially. Spanish imports from DCs were valued at € 590
million in 2010 and rose by 5.8% over the period; a substantial 7.9% increase by volume
from 234 to 318 million pieces. Spanish imports from DCs accounted for 51% of all
imports by value and 60% by volume. Spain was the fifth largest importer of T-shirts in
the EU after Germany, the UK, France and Italy.
•
•
•
Leading DC suppliers (by volume) were Bangladesh (23% of total, +9% average annual
growth by value; +7% by volume), China (13%, and substantial growth +13% by value;
+33% by volume), Turkey (11%, +6.8% by value; +9.4%% by volume), Morocco (4.2%, 2.4% by value; +0.4% by volume) and India (3.5%, -1.3% by value; +2.7% by volume).
The top five DC suppliers (see figure 1) represented 55% of total Spanish volume
imports. Other important suppliers were Thailand (1.5%, +8.3% by volume), Vietnam
(1.1%, +20.7% by volume), Egypt (0.3%) and Madagascar. Imports from Bangladesh and
China continued to rise, but large increases were also registered in the supplies from
Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Laos and Honduras.
Figure 1 Top 5 DC suppliers of T-shirts
90
60
Quantity
30
0
Bangladesh
China
Turkey
2006
•
Morocco
2008
India
2010
Cotton remains dominant. In terms of Spanish T-shirt imports from DCs by material, the
trends are: cotton (75% of volume imports, 0.8% average annual increase), man-made
materials and wool (24.1%, +5.2%) and a substantial growth in T-shirts of other textile
materials (1.4%, +28%).
Average DC import prices decreased from € 2.01 to € 1.85 per piece in 2010, while average
prices of Spanish imports from intra-EU sources decreased from € 4.41 to € 4.09 making
intra-EU import prices 2.2 times higher than average DC import prices. Retail prices of Tshirts vary considerably. For example, at Zara, women’s T-shirts were priced between € 5-20,
with the average being € 12. At Mango, T-shirts were priced between € 4-30.
Source: CBI Market Information Database – www.cbi.eu • Contact [email protected]
• Publication date 30.07.2011
T-shirts in Spain
Key opportunities
•
•
•
•
•
More personalised T-shirts. There will be more interest in personalised
messages or slogans on T-shirts that reflect a person’s attitude or favourite
campaign.
Popularity of street styles. The growth of urban fashion and street styles
in Spain has helped T-shirt sales, since T-shirts are the main item of clothing
for these styles. Flexible and multi-dimensional are the keywords for street
fashion in 2010. T-shirt designs are following teenage rebellion styles from
1950s America as well as the break dance styles from the 1980s.
Thinner shirt and more styling. Many T-shirts have become thinner,
making it easy to print messages on them. Women are demanding T-shirts
that are carefully styled and can be used in a fashionable/smart situation
rather just a casual item for wearing at home. See also the Annex of the
CBI factsheet ‘T-shirts in France’.
Accessories. Lower priced fashion accessories (shawls, hats etc.) that go
well with your T-shirt collection, are interesting to consumers. Even if they
do not buy the shirt, they could buy just the accessory as a cheaper way to
refresh their look.
The ethical clothing sector has been dominated by T-shirts but as yet they
account for a very small part of the T-shirt market. Nevertheless, sales of
organic and fair trade T-shirts have grown strongly in recent years. The introduction
of fashionable designs has fuelled this niche by more than increasing interest in
sustainability issues. See also the module ‘Trends and segments for knitted and
woven clothing’.
How to approach the market
•
•
•
•
The main trade channels for market entry are either via importing manufacturers,
wholesalers or via specialised retailers. It depends on what type of clothing exporter
you are (CMT, FOB, private label or own brand manufacturer). Some exporters make use
of fashion sales agents. Many T-shirts are sold in street markets and some wholesalers
supply T-shirt printers, of which there are many that sell personalised T-shirts direct to
consumers either online or via retail outlets.
The textile B2B portal - http://www.solostocks.com/venta-productos/textil/confeccion and the Spanish Fashion portal - http://www.fashionfromspain.com/ - have links to
companies. Similar portals are http://www.spanishmoda.com and
http://www.sitiosdemoda.es.
Small retailers continue to contract as specialised chains and department stores grow
further. E-commerce is also growing strongly in this sector. The leading retailers are El
Corte Ingles – http://www.elcorteingles.es, Inditex - http://www.inditex.es - which
includes Zara (514 outlets), Bershka (262 outlets) and Stradivarius (265 outlets), and the
Cortefiel Group - http://www.grupocortefiel.com - which has 785 outlets across various
fascia, including Springfield. The leading international retailer is the Swedish H&M,
which has 99 outlets. C&A (108 outlets) and Mango (265 outlets) are also strong.
Leading hypermarkets account for a large proportion of T-shirt sales, particularly
Carrefour, Alcampo and Hipercor.
The ethical sector is a growing niche channel. Interesting companies include Ideas –
http://www.comerciojustoideas.com, Intermon Oxfam –
http://www.intermonoxfam.org, Fairtrade – http://www.sellocomerciojusto.org – and
Alternativa3 – http://www.alternativa3.com. Leading mail order company La Redoute
sells bio-cotton T-shirts and many other leading fashion retailers are following this
trend.
Source: CBI Market Information Database – www.cbi.eu • Contact [email protected]
• Publication date 30.07.2011
T-shirts in Spain
Retail market shares: Clothing chains were taking up a share of 27% of the Spanish clothing
market, followed by the clothing specialist shops (27%), department stores (12%),
super/hypermarkets (23%) and others (11%). Factory outlets are important in Spain.
Home shopping is still low, but grows fast.
You need to decide whether to approach this market directly or indirectly. See the module
on distribution strategy for more information. Information on buyer requirements can be
found in the module on buyer requirements.
If you make a direct approach, it is recommended that there is some personal
communication before a trading relationship commences. Developing country exporters
may approach customers in Spain through direct (e-) mail, personal visits (as follow-up),
inviting potential customers to visit you in your country, building a network and visiting
international trade fairs.
Other interesting contacts
•
•
•
Interesting trade fairs include the Brandery – http://www.thebrandery.com – dedicated
to urban and contemporary fashion, Madrid International Fashion Week http://www.ifema.es/web/ferias/simm/default.html - and Barcelona Fashion Week –
http://www.moda-barcelona.com.
The main trade association is the Federation of Clothing Businesses –
http://www.fedecon.es. The Textile and Clothing Information Centre –
http://www.cityc.es, the Association of Fashion Creators – http://www.creadores.org,
the Cotton Textile Association – http://www.aitpa.es – and the Textile and Accessories
Association – http://www.acotex.org – are also important contacts.
Modaes – http://www.modaes.es, Asmoda – http://www.asmoda.com – and Pinker –
http://www.pinkermoda.com - are digital fashion portals. Textil y Moda and Punto
Moda – http://www.edicionessibila.com. MM Moda – http://www.condenastprofesional.es/moda - is more high fashion. Protextil – http://www.protextil.es - and
Noticiero Textil – http://www.noticierotextil.net – cover the textile trade. Collezioni
Close Up T- shirt – http://www.logos.info - is the first magazine on the market, which
focuses exclusively on T-shirt designs and trends.
This survey was compiled by Searce
in cooperation with Dhyana van der Pols
Disclaimer CBI market information tool: http://www.cbi.eu/disclaimer
Source: CBI Market Information Database – www.cbi.eu • Contact [email protected]
• Publication date 30.07.2011