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.