The Men's Ready-to-wear Market | France

Men's “prêt-à-porter” includes different categories of clothing, accessories and shoes. The distribution of men's ready to wear can take place through different channels: physical, online, hybrid (such as "click and collect"). The global clothing and footwear market is growing slightly, driven in particular by the dynamism of the sportswear and children's fashion segments. Men's fashion is also very dynamic thanks to the increase in purchasing power in emerging countries and the continuous development of sales areas.

The men's ready-to-wear market in France is growing slightly and shows a positive forecast for the next years. It represents about half of the turnover of women's ready-to-wear clothing and just like the latter, the men's market is driven by an organized seasonality between sales and marketing periods (such as the Black Friday).

Competition is fierce in all segments of men's ready-to-wear, and marketing and communication campaigns are more than crucial to stand out. For example, increasing presence on social networks, engaging with associations for sporting or cultural events, recruiting brand ambassadors, all represent actions aimed at conquering a competitive advantage. Innovating on how to distribute and reach the final customer is also a clear market trend, as demonstrated by the growth of pop-up stores, the importance of e-shops and the customization of articles.

Critics of "fast fashion", French consumers are increasingly sensitive to the environmental impact of the clothes they buy. Many brands are investing in the segment with sustainable and more environmentally friendly fashion. Hence also the mania of second-hand ready-to-wear (used clothing stores and online resale sites).