1.1 Presentation and definition of the market

Men's undergarments are all products intended to be worn by men on the skin underneath the garment. The undergarments that concentrate the vast majority of the market are of three types:

The briefs;
Boxers;
The underpants.

In France, the market players are suppliers of raw materials (cotton, polyester, modal...), manufacturers in the clothing industry, specialist manufacturers, brands, distributors (supermarkets, stores, online sales)...

The French market is experiencing a great time to grow for the past five years. While the latter will be impacted by the VIDOC-19 crisis in 2020, it should not remain in difficulty for very long, since a 4.6% growth is expected in 2021 in response to the fall in 2020

Consumption patterns differ greatly according to age, the boxers are still the kings of demand but the older the consumers are, the more they tend to prefer briefs to boxers. Similarly, it is interesting to note that the younger generations are more likely to take care of their looks and have average budgets that are closer to those of women. Purchases are primarily motivated by arguments of comfort and practicality, followed by the aesthetic aspect, which is becoming increasingly important.

The market has been boosted for the last 5 years by a segment top of the range made in France who's done a pretty good job of it. The success of brands such as Le Slip Français are a good example of this. These players have been able to rely on innovative designs, an original image and quality materials

1.2 A dynamic global market

The value of sales in the underwear market (***) decreased from **** to **** before experiencing sustained growth between **** and ****: the value of sales in **** was $***.* billion worldwide and reached $***.* billion in ****, to stagnate in **** around $*** billion.

A similar development can be seen in men's underwear worldwide.

Global men's underwear market size World, ****-****, ...

1.3 The French market

Underwear production in France

French companies manufacturing men's underwear 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 fabrics, lace, etc.

Among other things, INSEE lists the turnover of these companies. This does not therefore specifically represent ...

1.4 Imports and exports of men's underwear

The site UN comtrade provides information on imports and exports of underwear. The balance of trade below has been established by combining data from the following codes (***) [***].

Trade balance in men's underwear France, ****, in millions of USD Source: ****

France is therefore a major importer of men's underwear. The main countries of ...

1.5 Covid-19 impact

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 Different types of underwear for different customer profiles

In men's underwear offer three main products stand out: Boxers, briefs and underpants. These three categories are sufficient to meet the demand for men's underwear. The panty barometer is a survey conducted by BVA in ****, it helps us understand which of these three products is most popular with men.

Distribution of ...

2.2 Favourite colours and the notion of aesthetics

Tena Men's study conducted in ****, underwear and bladder weakness reveals the favourite colours of the French in terms of underwear

What are the dominant colors of your underwear? France, ****, in % Source: ****

Black is therefore an extremely dominant color in the men's underwear range, with more than two-thirds of the men surveyed ...

2.3 Purchasing habits

According to a study conducted by the National Union of Students of France, male students spend about ** euros on underwear per year, about *.*% of their total budget for clothing. As the graph shows, male students spend significantly less on underwear and clothing in general, compared to female students.

Average annual amount ...

2.4 Made in France, fashion effect or sustainable trend?

For some years now the sector has been singing the praises of new actors, who produce their underwear in the territory. Nevertheless, it is necessary to exercise caution as to these newcomers. Although the leader of this movement, Le Slip Français, is showing solid growth, it is nevertheless one of ...

3.1 The clothing industry in France

History and evolution

The production of underwear in France has kept pace with developments in the textile industry. We can thus observe two distinct stages in the history of French underwear production.

From **** to ****

First of all, a very significant decline in production with a volume index divided by more than ...

3.2 Simple market segmentation

The market can be segmented according to the following diagram.

The diagram distinguishes between French and foreign manufacturing:

Foreign Manufacturing

This is the method most common It is used by entry-level and mid-range brands and by private labels. In France, players who diversify the underwear market offer, whether in supermarkets or ...

3.3 Distribution of actors in the territory

The distribution of enterprises registered under the code NAF **.**Z (***) is done according to the map and table below

Burgundy Franche-Conté, Île-de-France and the Auvergne Rhône Alpes region together account for **.*% of French production sites

3.4 two brands dominate sales in supermarkets

The supermarket market has been dominated by the same two brands for many years. These brands are the best known by the French and compete in innovation and promotion to trigger the purchase

Share of the underwear market by number of users France, ****, in % Source: ****

These two actors are financed by ...

4.1 Typology of the offer

The offer in terms of men's underwear is wide and varied, and can be segmented in terms of typology and in terms of use.

The choices are broad and include the following:

choice in terms of model and size choice in terms of style: the main underwear brands combine practicality and ...

4.2 Products and prices

The offer can therefore be divided into * segments:

The entry/middle range segment: accessible and comfortable

This offer of underwear is very often the object of promotions so that the real price is better approached when we consider the reductions set up by the distributors. This table will therefore take them ...

4.3 New trends of the offer

Innovative offers

Julipet offers a compromise between classic boxers and briefs with the J-Boxer which guarantees maximum freedom of movement thanks to the presence of a very light brief inserted in the front part of a boxer in pure cotton canvas.

Sports offers

*UNDR , SAXX Underwear Co and MyPackage offers ...

5.1 Market regulation

The regulations for the men's underwear market are those that apply more generally to the marketing of ready-to-wear. Thus all products available for sale must first comply with the ERA ticking (***)

Labelling standards

According to the ministry of Economic Development the textile and clothing sector is governed by European Regulation No ...

5.2 Detail of UN comtrade codes

The following are details of the codes that were used to compile the trade balance for the study, based on the database: UN Comtrade

****** Men's, boys', cotton, knitted briefs or underpants; ****** Men's or boys' underpants and briefs, of man-made fibres, knitted or crocheted ; ****** : Men's or boys' underpants and briefs, of ...