The men's underwear market in Portugal

The underwear market is a sub-segment of the broader clothing market, and is distinguished into men's and women's underwear. Men's lingerie covers several product categories, including mainly:

Boxers

Slips

Thongs

Men's lingerie is mainly distributed in large and medium-sized stores, in the form of lots, although the growth of online sales is also relevant. Like the global lingerie market, the men's lingerie segment is growing. The supply of men's underwear is expanding and men are spending an increasing amount of money on underwear.

Although the main purchase drivers are comfort and practicality, the "seduction" aspect is becoming increasingly important in motivating the purchase of men's lingerie.

The segment is dynamic: the main women's lingerie brands are also expanding their offerings for men and new brands dedicated to men's lingerie are emerging, often with niche positioning. The Portuguese men's underwear market grew at a CAGR (compound annual growth rate) of 4.6% during the period 2015-2019.

Traditionally, Portuguese men were less interested in fashion and shopping than women. They used to buy only the bare minimum. Nowadays, this mentality is changing and men are paying more and more attention to their appearance and choice of clothing (including underwear). In addition, many Portuguese men are still quite conservative when it comes to their clothing, buying many items in supermarkets and hypermarkets. However, with an increasing number of men paying attention to their personal appearance, supermarkets and hypermarkets are losing ground to specialized clothing retailers and internet retailing.