The Polish clothing and footwear market has been resilient to the global crisis so far. The retail segment registered positive performance in 2011 and remained on the same upward path in Jan-Sep 2012. The textile, clothing and footwear retail sales increased y/y every month over the period, except for May, when they dropped by 2.5% y/y. However, the performance of the market in the second half of the year is particularly important, as sales in H2 generate some 60% of the full-year total.
Despite the positive outlook, the clothing and footwear market has not remained completely unaffected by the economic slowdown and shrinking purchase power. The smaller players in particular faced with the negative effects of changing consumer behavior and buying pattern. Most of the large players, however, managed to report improving results y/y in Jan-Sep 2012 and plan further expansion of the chains. Furthermore, several new entries announced this year show that Poland continues to be attractive for international players not yet present on the market.
Figure 1 Retail sales index in 2007-2012 (monthly, y/y)
Much more in the Intellinews report: Polish Clothing and Footwear Industry
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