WORLD WRAP
Lingerie market gears up for
momentous changes
Niche brands challenging the dominance of lingerie giants
G
rowing at a steady rate over the past
few years, the dependency of lingerie
for functional as well as fashion purposes
has propelled its growth further resulting
in the global lingerie market being valued
at US $ 33.18 billion in 2015, which is
expected to be worth US $ 55.83 billion
by the end of 2024. The global market is
estimated to rise at a CAGR of 6.4 per
cent during the forecast period – 2016 to
2024, according to Transparency Market
Research. With this growth, the lingerie
market is seeing an overflow of niche
brands, and Amazon is definitely not
behind. The brand is preparing to launch
its own private label, as the industry
witnesses a major overhaul in the lingerie
market, challenging leading international
lingerie brands such as Victoria’s Secret.
On the basis of product types, the global
lingerie market is segmented into bra,
knickers and panties, loungewear,
shapewear and others. Various research
and reports indicate that the bra segment
holds the biggest share in the global
market due to its indispensable usage,
while the knickers and panties segment
too is expected to make a significant
contribution to the overall market as these
are considered essential items as well. As
per market research company Just Style,
the world lingerie retail market is now
valued at US $ 28.75 billion, while Europe
accounts for US $ 11.67 billion of the total
figure, and North America for US $ 7.93
billion. Together they have a combined
share of 66.3 per cent of the world’s total.
The ‘Global Market Review of Lingerie –
Forecasts to 2022’ also estimates that the
world bra market for 2016 is worth US
$ 16.42 billion, as bras account for 55.5
per cent of the world lingerie market. In
unit terms, bra sales account for 1596
million units per year. While the world
briefs’ market is estimated to be at US
$ 9.90 billion, representing 33.5 per cent
of the total lingerie market, in unit terms,
briefs sales constitute 5,260 million units
per year.
This notable progress is propelling niche
lingerie brands to grow as against the
existing giants such as Victoria’s Secret,
making room in the market for other
small players. One such brand is Aerie,
the American Eagle Outfitter’s lingerie
and activewear brand, which has been
performing strongly for the past several
quarters despite weak mall traffic and a
soft macro-environment. The company’s
game-changing campaign was in 2014,
when the lingerie brand decided to feature
only un-airbrushed models in its ads,
which truly worked for the company! Its
sales increased immensely thereafter
(20 per cent growth in 2015), and is
currently showing no signs of slowing
down. As an extension to its #AerieReal
campaign, the company in April revealed
its #AerieMan campaign. This marks
its pledge to forego retouching even
male models in their underwear and
swimwear products, beginning Holiday
2016 (23 per cent growth in 2016). With
growing internet penetration, a consistent
44 Apparel Online Bangladesh | JULY 2017 | www.apparelresources.com
customer shift from store to online
shopping and the increased usage of
smartphones and tablets, the company
is led to shrink its store count and focus
more on e-commerce channel.
Meanwhile, the market major Victoria’s
Secret, which still dominates the lingerie
segment, worth at least US $ 1 billion in
US alone, is struggling to gain momentum.
The retailer sales is seeing a slump,
decreasing at 13 per cent in March,
year-over-year, as the company continues
to feel the impact of discontinuing its
non-athletic apparel and swimwear
ranges in 2016. Experts believe that
while many retailers are catering to the
millennials, Victoria’s Secret being one
of them, millennials are against logos,
which Victoria’s Secret resonates with.
Also, Victoria’s Secret product images on
the website are not a representation of an
average woman, resulting in millennials
opting for other lingerie brands. The
brand has also received flak for its
‘Perfect Body’ campaign, whose impact
was so negative that the retailer had to
pull out the campaign.
This gap in the market and a curiosity
to tap the potential of millennials has
provided room for niche brands to grow in
the lingerie segment such as Lively, Naja,
Negative Underwear and Third Love who
are promoting their products by providing
an inclusive, female-centric identity that’s
more about the wearer and less about
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