Confidence
US Retail: distressing times for footwear retail
In an environment of widespread destocking, footwear retail sales have been declining since the start of the year in the US, and despite good news such as a continuous moderation in price increases. The problem remains with the rising consumer price index for all categories, whose decreasing pace is not enough to generate an overall positive impact. Consumers are still attending to more pressing needs, and footwear is not on that list
UK Retail: a too-long string of ifs damps the mood
Consumer confidence in the UK has yet to take off to somehow improve retailers’ mood in the textile and footwear sectors. Rising wages, falling energy bills and even slightly lower inflation may help brighten the atmosphere, but the uncertainty surrounding all of these factors doesn’t help retail much at present. For now, except for sticking to their previous conservative import decisions and watching closely for upcoming changes in consumption patterns, there’s little to be done
Germany Retail: a bleak horizon for both the physical and online retail
Consumers seem to have definitely pulled the rug out from under footwear companies, as can be seen by the wave of insolvencies observed in the footwear sector in recent months, in addition to the store closures recorded in 2022. And the online channel is having no better luck, with sales progressively losing the momentum of the positive results recorded in the summer of last year. Overall, the future of retail looks set to remain a little gloomier in the coming months
Spain Retail: good signs for retail in the first quarter of the year
Several indicators showed that consumer confidence is improving, reversing the downward trend seen after the invasion of Ukraine, but overall, consumer sentiment remains rather pessimistic. On the other hand, retailer confidence has been on the rise since January. In fact, the TCF (Textile, Clothing and Footwear) Retail Index (seasonally adjusted, by Eurostat), which had been recovering modestly from June to November 2022, soared thereafter as if Christmas were an uninterrupted season for the entire first quarter of 2023, and even the imports’ behaviour seems to have anticipated a sales boom. Meanwhile, expectations for online sales in 2023 are overall positive, but comparisons with the pandemic period might be misleading
France Retail: prospects for the clothing and footwear sectors are still far from positive
The stabilization of the pattern of weakening French consumer confidence in the first quarter of the year cannot mask the pessimism that is still being felt in the country, especially in the context of social unrest. Moreover, in this reality of high inflation, neither do price increases hide the contraction in volumes sold nor is it possible to ignore the difficulties faced by companies more exposed to the domestic market due to increased operating costs (rents and energy) or even the stagnation of the online channel. Retail prospects for the clothing and footwear sectors are, therefore, still far from positive
LAST CALL!! Join the 8th edition of the World Footwear Business Conditions Survey
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Final Call!! Join the 8th edition of the World Footwear Business Conditions Survey
The WorldFootwear.com is asking all experts within the footwear industry to share their views on the current business situation. Join the new edition of the World Footwear Business Conditions Survey. We want to hear you!
Second Call!! Join the 8th edition of the World Footwear Business Conditions Survey
The WorldFootwear.com is asking all experts within the footwear industry to share their views on the current business situation. Join the new edition of the World Footwear Business Conditions Survey. We want to hear you!
Join the 8th edition of the World Footwear Business Conditions Survey
The WorldFootwear.com is asking all experts within the footwear industry to share their views on the current business situation. Join the new edition of the World Footwear Business Conditions Survey. We want to hear you!
US Retail: slower growth for retail in the coming months
The available data suggests that footwear sales dipped in the last quarter of 2022. With inflation eating the wage growth and impacting the stability of the labour market, US consumers appear to have deemed footwear purchases as not essential. This situation is somewhat corroborated by the negative performances of several companies in the fashion category, such as Capri, Nordstrom and VF Corp, in the fourth quarter of the year. Their main concern relates to the excess inventory, which led to a highly promotional environment and caused imports to reduce. Accounting for the mixed feelings on the consumers’ side, it is safe to endorse cautious prospects for retail for these first months of 2023
Germany Retail: one swallow doesn’t make a summer
Despite the upturn in consumer confidence observed in the last quarter of 2022, there is still much concern among retailers. Footwear imports are following an upward trend since October, which could be read as a good sign concerning the health of retail, but German businesses are quite familiar with the sensitivity of their consumers to slight changes in overall economic conditions, and inflation is still expected to impact directly sales. Caution seems definitely to be the watchword at the start of 2023
UK consumer confidence rebounds to the highest level in almost a year
The latest data by GfK shows that UK consumer confidence hit in February the highest level since April 2022, thus displaying households’ resilience despite the cost-of-living crisis
Spain Retail: retailers and consumers have shown themselves resilient at the end of 2022
The Textile, Clothing, and Footwear (TCF) retail sales index has improved in the fourth quarter of last year and several companies in the category appear to be less fearful about 2023, especially after their positive annual results. Moreover, retailers’ and consumers’ confidence indicators are showing that despite some lingering pessimism due to the challenging macroeconomic environment, things won’t get necessarily worse in the short term.
France Retail: inflation will yet impact retail, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel
Figures by the Banque de France suggest that retailers may have felt some relief in December 2022, but the weight of inflation in these results must not be overlooked, with turnover growing quite faster than the production itself. Moreover, the impact of inflation on footwear might yet be to be felt. French consumers tend to purchase the category during sales, but retailers may not be able to make the big discounts that would make consumers shop in a context of still significant inflation due to the need of preserving margins. However, there are signs of light at the end of the tunnel, as retailers’ and consumers’ confidence indicators show that there is room, at least, for the ceasing of confidence deterioration in 2023.
UK Retail: bad odds for retail should consumer confidence remain on the floor
The Textile, Clothing, and Footwear (TCF) by the ONS stood above the 2019 baseline in the last two months of 2022, no doubt sustained by Christmas sales. But forecasts for the coming months are not so positive. The strain on household budgets due to the cost-of-living crisis will prove to be a challenge for retailers as well because while ongoing inflation will make sales appear to be rising, volumes will decline. Consumer confidence may be key in this equation. Even if it slightly improved in December, it was the first time in the GfK’s consumer confidence survey in the nearly 50-year history that a run of nine successive months of -40 pp or worse occurred. Should this continue, the odds are not good for retail-
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