The lingerie market - France

1.1 Definition and scope of the study

The lingerie market refers to the all women's underwear and sleepwear. The footwear segment is also included in the scope of this study, while swimwear and men's underwear are excluded, both markets being the subject of a full study.

The lingerie market can be divided into four segments: the corsetry (all types of bras), the daytime lingerie (panties, corsets, garter belts) the nightwear (babydolls, pajamas) and the footwear (stockings, pantyhose). Corsetry is the dominant segment, accounting for almost half of the market share.

The global lingerie market is booming. It is expected to grow at a CAGR (compound annual growth rate) of 9.4% between 2019 and 2027. The European market constitutes 39% of the world market and is expected to grow at a similar rate to it.

The French lingerie market is operating in a context of a structural decline of the women's clothing market in France. In fact, the French lingerie market is in decline due to the success of the comfortable lingerie, which is less expensive. Lingerie also represents 18% of women's clothing budgets.

The market is also characterized by its import dependency. The majority of players in the sector subcontract their production abroad, particularly in Asia. The "made in France", although it is increasingly successful, is therefore (for the moment) largely in the minority.

As for distribution, it is mainly divided between specialised chains (Etam, Dim) and ready-to-wear chains (Kiabi, H&M), which make up the a biggest share of the market, large-scale distribution (Carrefour, Auchan), pure players/ online retailers (Asos, Zalando), mail-order retailers (La Redoute, 3 Suisses) and the multi-brand independent retailers. The large-scale distribution, which represents a quarter of the market, as well as the multi-brand independant retailers, have been experiencing a drop in their number of sales in recent years. On the other hand, online purchases has grown rapidly in recent years to reach 13,9% in 2019.

The covid-19 crisis has largely affected the sector, to the detriment of physical stores and to the benefit of online and digital players. The lockdown has also highlighted the main purchasing criterion for lingerie: the comfort . The tendency of the "no bra", which consists of not wearing a bra, is indicative of the difficulties in finding lingerie that suits them. Purchases are thus becoming more and more functional.

However, there are many growth drivers in the lingerie market, in particular the digitalization of the market, the diversification of the offer for all bodies and the inclusive fashion, as well as the development of eco-friendly products.

1.2 The global lingerie market is growing rapidly

The world lingerie market was worth **.*** billion US dollars in ****.

The market is expected to grow at a CAGR of *.*% between **** and **** to reach $**.*** billion in ****. It is therefore growing strongly, as shown in the graph below.

Size of the global lingerie industry France, ****-*****, in billions of US dollars Source: ...

1.3 The French lingerie market in decline

The figures vary depending on the scope of the study. The market was worth *.*** billion euros in **** excluding hosieries, and *.** billion euros in **** excluding the night segment. [***]

Including the nightwear and slipper segments, the French lingerie market was estimated at *.*** billion euros in **** and is declining as it was worth *.** billion ...

1.4 The effect of Covid-19

The Covid-** crisis has largely affected the clothing market, as shown in the graph below which describes the evolution of the turnover of companies operating under the code:

**.**Z: Retail sale of clothing in specialised stores.

The analysis therefore goes beyond the scope of this study but allows us to ...

2.1 Consumer profile

Who is buying?

The graphs below study the period from January to October ****.

Women over ** years old buy the most lingerie since they represent **.*% of the French consumption of lingerie. The older they are, the more lingerie women buy. In fact, women aged **-** account for **.*% of consumption, followed by women ...

2.2 Determinants of demand

Purchasing Criteria

The chart below illustrates the main characteristics of the lingerie that women are looking for.

Comfort is by far the most important aspect for buying lingerie, cited by **% of the women surveyed. This condition is confirmed by another survey Ipsos which shows that when choosing between wearing lingerie that ...

2.3 Demand Trends

Lower budget, functional purchases and comfort

The average women's lingerie budget is falling. As an example, in ****, the average purchase price for a lingerie item was *.* euros, a decrease of *% compared to ****. This explains the Dim brand's first place in the ranking of favourite brands, as it focuses mainly on comfort ...

3.1 Production of lingerie

French companies manufacturing women's lingerie are registered in the INSEE register under the code:

NAF **.**Z: manufacture of men's, women's and children's underwear and nightwear from fabrics, knitted or crocheted fabrics, lace, etc.

If this code refers to a broader category than the scope of this study, it remains indicative of ...

3.2 International Trade: Import Dependence

The figures in this section are obtained from the following UN Comtrade codes:

Combinations and petticoats: ******, ******, ******, ****** Panties and briefs: ******, ******, ****** Pyjamas and night dresses: ******, ******, ******, ******, ******, ****** Babydolls, dressing gowns, bathrobes: ******, ******, ****** Bras: **** Tights and stockings: ******, ******

The coverage rate is calculated using the following formula: Coverage rate = (***) x ***.

On the lingerie market, the coverage rate for ...

3.3 Distribution of lingerie

The distribution of lingerie in France is dominated by the chains in city centres and shopping centres holding **,*% of the market in value. Large and medium-sized supermarkets and hard-discount stores account for **.*% of lingerie distribution in France.

Suburban chains, discount stores and sports stores account for **.*% of distribution, department stores *.*%, distance ...