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Category: Denim Data & Figures

  • China Apparel Market–Brands, Sales , More…

    An interesting report by Li and Fung brings out some of the important aspects of the Chinese apparel market and shows how it is growing rapidly making it an important destination for the brands worldwide.  Here are some excerpts from the report….

    Total Apparel Market size in 2010 : 587.1 Billion Yuan(about $92 billion)  . The growth in the market over last few years is given below :
    china apparel market growth

    Spending :

      • Urban households on average spent 1,444.3 yuan on clothing, accounting for 10.7% of their total annual expenditure in 2010; while rural households spent 263.4 yuan, which was 6.8% of the total annual expenditure on clothing in the same year.

    Consumers aged 26-35 spend more on clothing compared with other agegroups. Boston Consulting Group’s survey results show that urban residents aged 31-35 spent the most on clothing, followed by consumers aged 26-30.

    Distribution Channels :

    • Department stores and specialty stores are major distribution channels for branded apparel in China. Meanwhile, wholesale markets and hypermarkets are popular retailing channels for lower-priced apparel; many of which are with poor brand recognition or unbranded.

    Top Apparel Companies

    Top apparel companies by sales are :
    top apparel companies china denim

    How are foreign brands expanding in China :

    Established players accelerate their expansion in China
    − Zara planned to expand to 42 cities in China in 2011.
    − Uniqlo targets to open 100 stores in China each year starting from 2011.
    − H&M expects China to be one of largest expansion markets in 2011.

    Some apparel enterprises see Hong Kong as the springboard for China’s entry
    − FOREVER 21 planned to open flagship stores in the prime locations of Hong Kong in 2011; Abercrombie & Fitch’s sub-brand “Hollister” opened its first Asian flagship store in Hong Kong in August 2011.

    Recent Developments

    Some enterprises, especially luxury companies, prefer to retain full control over the ownership of Chinese operations from franchisors or distributors. − Bestseller, which owns ONLY, VERO MODA, Jack & Jones, etc., retained control of shops in Xi’an and Jinan; it also opened more direct-owned stores. − Burberry bought 50 of its Chinese franchised stores in a deal worth 70 million pounds .

    Online Retailing

    Online retailing is getting very important in China and accounted for about 3% of total apparel sales in 2010. This is a good number and expected to increase further . Apparel continues to be the most favoured product category for online purchase.

    Market Shares

    The market shares of top 10 brands in different sub sectors are given in the bar graph below. It is interesting to see that many sectors have a huge share of the market dominated by top players.

    market share apparel companies

    Share of different products

    Share of different products in Apparel , China

    Top Brands in Denim Wear

    market share denim companies china

    Share in Jackets space :

    market share denim companies china jacket

    The Chinese market will get more important as the buying capacity of buyers increases there.
    Chinese market is already larger than the US market  when it comes to denim fabric consumption and it is expected that over the years it shall maintain its growth and shall continue to be the  leading country in denim space.

     

     

  • US Denim Imports Fall 14.7 %Cent In 2011

    Denim imports downThe last year had not been a great year for the US denim market. The retail sales were not so great and for the first time since 2007, the imports of denim apparel fell by a large number – 14% over those in 2010.

    First lets see how were the imports of denim apparel into US were faring in the last 5 years from 2006 to 2010. As we can see below, the imports only fell in 2007 and thereafter there has been a steady increase in the quantities of imported products. However, the average price did fell in 2009 and 2010.

    US Denim Apparel Imports 2011

    Now, for 2011

    Total quantity : 521 million pieces
    Value : $4,344 million
    Average Price per piece :     $8.33

    The average prices for the imports rose significantly in 2011 due to average increase in prices of cotton and other fibers. The increase in price was actually huge – about +16.5%

    The countries which lost out the most during 2011 were the following :

    Country 2010 (million pcs) 2011 % Change
    China 192 151 -21.6%
    Bangladesh 82 66 -20%
    Egypt 28 23 -18%
    Pakistan 22 18 -17.5%
    Cambodia 25 21 -16%

    Among the gainers  or the countries not much affected were
    Mexico and Nicaragua  and some other countries like Lesotho , Guatemala etc.

    Country 2010 (million pcs) 2011 (million pcs) % change
    Mexico 132 127 -3%
    Nicaragua 19 24 +19%

    The statistics give an indication that the concept of near sourcing is catching on with the buyers in US. The effect of the rising costs in China is particularly being felt and though the options of shifting bases to countries in Asia like Bangladesh, Cambodia, Vietnam etc remains, the buyers also want to put more eggs in the South American markets !!

  • How Much Were US Apparel And Textile Imports in 2011?

    What is really the quantum of apparel and textile imports into US ?
    How do these imports compare to those made in 2009 and 2010 ?
    Did the recessionary conditions affect the imports of textile and apparel in 2011 ?
    How much of these imports were under Free Trade Agreements ?
    Lets find answer to these questions in the following  table :

    Import From 2011 (Jan –Nov) 2010 (Jan-
    Nov)     		2009 (Jan- Dec) 2010 (Jan – Dec)
    World $106.1 billion $96.7 billion $90.5 billion $104.6 billion
    Under Free Trade Agreements $15.7 billion $13.99 billion $13.6 billion $15.2 billion
    % under Free Trade Agreements 14.8% 14.46% 15.02% 14.53%

    Source: Otexa

    The total textile and apparel imports into US in 2010 were about $104 billion and those in 2011 (Jan-Nov) have touched $106 billion. Also when we compare with 2009, the imports increased from $90.5 billion significantly rose to $104 billion in 2010 and continue to rise in 2011. This reflects the inherent strength of the US market that  inspite of the economic recession the textile and apparel imports continue to rise .Though the increased cotton prices may have played some role in increasing the value of these imports, still the sentiment for imports seems positive for the entire industry..

    Also, it is interesting to note that almost 15% of all imports fall under the various Free Trade Agreements like CAFTA, AGOA etc. The govt. has been maintaining this figure at around 15% for last 2 years .

    What is the % of denim apparel imports out of these total imports ??
    Its around 4% !. Though it looks small, denim is still an important apparel category when viewed in comparison to other categories.

  • US Denim Imports Fall 14.3% Till August 2011

    us denim imports 2011There has been a general slackness in the denim and other apparel biz in the US since the beginning of the year . As mentioned in one of our previous reports , the fall in imports of denim apparel into US had been high – at about 6.3%  in the first two months of 2011. However, when we look at the figures that have come out for the period of Jan – August ‘2011 , the figures are more disturbing and indicative of a consistent fall in imports. Lets have a look :

    Imports of denim apparel into US from Jan-Aug ‘2010 vs Jan-Aug ‘ 2011

    Imports from 2010 2011 Change %
    World 408 million pcs 350 million pcs –14.3%
    China 132 million pcs 101.6 million pcs -23.5%

    China has shown the most significant fall in export figures and some other countries like Bangladesh, Cambodia etc also follow but in smaller percentages.

    The imports have fallen significantly in 2011 when compared to the same period in 2010.  This fall is significant since we have seen that denim sales have ditched the recessionary pattern in the past  that other apparel products have shown. In 2010 , apparel sales and (correspondingly imports) were falling for most of the products but denim continued to bulldoze its way to growth . This was reflective of the need by consumers to substitute other apparel items (specially trousers) with jeans as jeans is a  ‘Multi Occasion Apparel’ and buying a good pair of jeans actually cuts down the budget of some consumers who wish to substitute a number of other trousers with that jeans.
    However, the consistent fall this year reflects that there is some saturation point reached due to the continuous increased spending on denim . We need to , however, wait till the beginning of next year to see if this falling trend carries off in the next year.
    But there are no huge reasons to worry. Denim has always shown a trend where it surges ahead for 3-4 years and then goes down a bit for about 1 –2 years and then rebounds sharply. So , what we all can do at the moment is keep our fingers crossed and wait for some good news in the coming months.

  • Denim Apparel Imports Into US Continue To Fall In 2011

    Roller Coaster Denimy As we mentioned in our previous report on last quarter imports in 2010 , the denim apparel import continues to fall in the first 2 months of 2011. The fall is not small  –at about 6.3% – compared to the same period  in 2010. The fall is even more when one considers that the last quarter of 2010 , the imports had fallen by 6.8% .

    Period 2009 2010 2011 Fall %
    Oct – Dec 157 million pcs 148 million pcs   -6.8%
    Jan – Feb   74.5 million pcs 69.8 million pcs -6.3%

    This fall is even more surprising when we consider that retail sales of clothing in US is not falling and had in fact increased in the last quarter of 2010 by about 5% .

    What could be the possible reasons for this fall of denim imports ?

    There could be a number of reasons for this continued decrease in imports of denim jeans and apparels into US . Some of these could be :

    • The rising price of cotton had the max impact on the jeans costing and forced retailers to promote other bottoms as they were not really able to pass on the price increase to the consumers.
    • The continued boom in denim consumption in the last three years has peaked out and is in a consolidation phase where inventories need to cleared from the system.
    • The recession in US and EU had actually helped increase the sales of jeans since jeans are a- MOG- “Multiple Occasion Garment” -ie they can be worn on various social and even official occasions . Thus it made economic sense for consumers to buy jeans compared to other bottoms. Hence the increased sales of denim in past few years cannabalised on the sales of other bottom products.
    • The competing products of denim like piece dyed bottoms , corduroys have been suffering as compared to denim when it came to consumer choice . Is there time coming back ????

    Whatever the actual reason , it seems likely that the fall in consumption in jeans will continue this year. The industry needs to brace up for the situation in the short term . However,  there no long term worries as Denim is an Evergreen product and it only seems to be a correction phase.

    amefird leaders in denim threads

  • 4.6% Growth In Import Of Denim Jeans Into USA In 2010 Over 2009

     up-or-down-denim The denim apparel imports into USA has increased by a marginal 4.6% in 2010 over the volumes of 2009 . This is quite surprising as the increase in imports during the first 6 months of the year was 12.6% and as I mentioned in a previous report. This actually means that the imports in the second half of the year have actually dropped in second half. Let’s see from the table below :

    Imports Of All Denim Apparel Into US  2009-2010

    Period

    2009 million pcs

    2010  million pcs

    % change

    Ist Half

    238

    268

    +12.6%

    2nd Half

    346

    343

    -.87%

    Total

    584

    611

    +4.6%

     
     
    From the table above, we can clearly see that the volumes of denim apparel import into US have actually shown a declining trend in the second half of the year 2010 .  This declining trend actually set in the last quarter of 2010. The imports in the
    • last quarter of 2009 were 157 million pcs
    • last quarter of 2010 were 148 million pcs .

    That means that in the last quarter itself, the fall in imports is to the tune of 6.8% – a very large fall . If this trend of falling imports continues in the first half of 2011 , then we are looking at a very negative story on denim consumption in US . But since only one quarter in 2010 has shown a negative story, there is still hope and maybe the first quarter of 2011 will make the things more clear ..

    There can be many possible reasons why this fall is happening . One of the main reasons could be the increase in prices of denim due to rising cotton prices, which is making the highest impact on Denim as denim is almost the heaviest product using cotton. It would be interesting to study whether the sales of all clothing has also shown a similar downward trend during 2010. Though , there is a time lag between the imports of a product and its actual sales at retail stores, the imports also are indicative of the sentiments of retailers which are based on their sales forecasts which depend on actual sales happening in the stores.

    The following table shows the total sales in clothing stores in US during 2009 and 2010

    Total Clothing Sales in US – Last Quarter of 2009 and 2010

    Period

    2009  $billion

    2010
    $ billion

    Change

    Jan – Dec

    $152.21

    $158.91

    +4.4%

    Oct – Dec

    $45.93

    $48.42

    +5%

    Though these figures are for values (USD) , they clearly show that the sales of all clothing stores put together have actually shown a very positive increase during the year with about  4.4% increase in the year and about 5% increase in the last quarter itself. 

    The denim imported in the last quarter of 2010 would be retailed in the first quarter (mostly) and the actual retail sales of clothing stores in the first quarter of 2010 would indicate whether it is only denim which is losing steam or not..   Lets keep our fingers crossed..

     

     

     

  • 2010 :Increase Of 14% In Imports Of Denim Jeans Into USA During First Half

    US is the most important market for denim jeans exporters around the world. Any changes in demand in US affects a number of exporters worldwide . With the recession having hit US , the demand for most textile and related products had taken a hit . Luxury goods imports had been particularly hit . However, if we see the trend of denim imports over last 2-3 years , we find that that it has been mostly positive and quite encouraging in the current economic scenario. The year 2010 has seen a marked increase of over 14% in imports of these items into the US as compared to last year with both Mens/Boys and Womens/ Girls jeans showing a vast increase in imports over the same period last year . When we speak of Men’s / Boys jeans , they showed an increase of about 12.8% in volumes from 116 million pieces last year to 131 million pieces this year. In terms of prices, the same increased marginally by 1.54% adding icing to the cake . See the table below :

    Import of Mens’/ Boys Jeans & Breeches into US 2009 and 2010

    Year

    Volume

    Av. Price

    2009 (Jan- June)

    116.79 million pcs

    $ 7.01 /pc

    2010 (Jan- June)

    131.76 million pcs

    $ 7.12/pc

    % Change

    +12.81%

    +1.54%

    Source: US Dept of Commerce

    The total Mens/Boys jeans imported into US in the year 2009 was 241 million pieces reflecting that imports in the first half of the year are lower than those in the second half. This normally remains the trend in most of the years . Going by the rate of increase in imports in the first half of this year , we could see Men’s/Boys jeans touching a record import of about 270 million pcs in the year 2010 . It is also interesting to see who are the main exporting countries for Men’s/Boys’ Jeans into US . Let’s have a look at the table below :

    Major Exporters of Men’s / Boys jeans and Breeches to USA (figures in million pieces)

    Country

    2009

    2009 Jan- June

    2010 Jan- June

    % Change

    Mexico

    100.90

    42.98

    48.92

    – 5%

    Bangladesh

    45.52

    16.78

    21.07

    +28.30%

    China

    44.28

    15.33

    19.78

    +26.80%

    Egypt

    14.78

    5.98

    7.04

    +30%

    Pakistan

    14.70

    5.66

    6.48

    +37%

    Nicaragua

    8.29

    2.94

    4.24

    +105%

    India

    2.4

    0.75

    0.82

    +8.9%

    We see from the above table that most of the countries increased their exports of Men’s/Boys’ jeans to USA in 2010. However, certain South American countries like Mexico , Honduras etc suffered reductions in their export figures indicating clearly that the source of jeans is shifting to Asian countries. Mexico, however, remains the largest exporter despite the fall and maintains substantial lead over the second highest exporter – Bangladesh. Bangladesh stands out very strongly as a denim exporter and clearly overshadows its large neighbour – India – in terms of denim jeans exports. India has been poorly lingering at these levels of exports and is clearly non-competitive in terms of pricing and also not being a receipent of tariff and other benefits for imports into US.

    Lets also see if the average prices for exports of jeans has changed in this period from these countries.

    Country

    2009

    2010 Jan- June

    % change

    Mexico

    $ 7.45

    $ 7.31

    -1.88%

    Bangladesh

    $ 4.91

    $ 5.08

    +3.46%

    China

    $ 7. 64

    $ 7. 74

    +1.31%

    Egypt

    $ 6.82

    $ 6. 86

    +0.5%

    Pakistan

    $ 5.42

    $ 5.79

    +6.82%

    Nicaragua

    $ 6.06

    $ 6. 16

    +1.52%

    India

    $ 8.23

    $ 8. 26

    0.36%

    denim import figues

    As we can see from the graph above , Bangladesh is the cheapest source of denim jeans to USA . On the other hand , ironically , China is one of the most expensive country exporting denim jeans to US. The costs in China have been continuously rising and with their currency not remaining as favourable as it was before , China will not be looked upon as a source of cheap denim garments. However, it is also a fact that there is a renewed emphasis in the Chinese textile industry to move up the value chain and it is showing in their export figures as more and more value added garments are added. Pakistan got the highest increase in prices of 6.82% over 2009 on top of 37% increase in volumes and strengthened its place among the Men’s denim market in US .

    Now , lets also have a look at the figures related to imports of Women’s/ Girls denim jeans into USA during 2009 and 2010.

    Import of Women’s/ Girls’ Denim Jeans and Breeches Into USA

    Year

    Volume

    Av. Price

    2009 (Jan- June)

    110.86 million pcs

    $ 7.04 /pc

    2010 (Jan- June)

    129.10 million pcs

    $ 6.98/pc

    % Change

    +16.50%

    -0.90%

    The imports of the Women’s/Girls’ denim jeans into US have shown even more robust growth in the first half of the year with a whopping 16.%% increase over the same period in 2009. This growth trend in both the segments is indicative of strong growth in demand and sales in US for the entire denim sector. Though the prices of the women’s denim showed a slight decrease of 0.90%, it hardly dampens the positive sentiment on this front. This trend is expected to continue over the whole year and , like Mens/Boys jeans, expected to produce record import figures this year.
    It would be interesting to see where this increase in denim imports is mainly coming from :

    Imports of Women’s / Girls’ Denim Jeans and Breeches into US 2009-1010

    Country

    2009

    2009 Jan- June

    2010 Jan- June

    % Change (Jan-June)

    China

    115.72

    41.95

    60.70

    +44.70%

    Mexico

    27.09

    10.94

    11.32

    +3.5%

    Bangladesh

    23.14

    7.98

    10.64

    +33.38%

    Egypt

    14.72

    6.82

    5.97

    -12.47%

    Vietnam

    16.32

    7.78

    6.70

    -13.86%

    Cambodia

    11.07

    5.23

    6.02

    +15.13%

    Pakistan

    6.92

    2.94

    2.67

    -8.9%

    India

    4.17

    1.34

    1.62

    +20.53%

    As we can clearly see from the table above, China is totally dominating the scene when it comes to the jeans in the women’s category. It already has a share of close to 40% (of imports ) and which it is adding on to rapidly with a growth of 44% in 2010 export figures over last year. Women’s denim is high fashion oriented with smaller lead times , a large number of styles and washes which change frequently .. China’s dominance in this segment clearly indicates its strength in catering to these market needs and demands . Besides China the other countries showing great volumes and growth are Bangladesh and Cambodia. Vietnam and Egypt are also high volume exporting countries – though it seems that both have suffered a temporary setback in exports during 2010. Pakistan is not very strong in the women’s denim and India is again at the bottom of the table with hardly any impressive figures.

    To understand how prices are moving in a continuum over the last year , lets compare the prices of the whole year 2009 with those in the first half of year 2010.

    Prices of Women’s/ Girls denim jeans during 2009 and 2010

    Country

    2009

    2010 Jan- June

    % change

    Bangladesh

    5.27

    4.96

    -5.82%

    Mexico

    9.25

    9.31

    +0.60%

    China

    7.04

    6.92

    -1.79%

    Egypt

    6.30

    6.73

    +6.82%

    Pakistan

    6.31

    6.49

    +2.84%

    Vietnam

    5.50

    6.46

    +17.63%

    Cambodia

    7.47

    7.22

    -3.38%

    India

    7.43

    7.04

    -5.32%

    A look at the figures of prices from various countries throws up interesting facts. Jeans from Mexico are the highest priced , expectedly , as it provides enables turnaround and serves the quick fashion category. A large number of brands like to push products into the market quickly by getting them manufactured in nearby countries like Mexico and then based on customer response, place the repeat orders (with longer lead times ) in countries like China or Bangladesh. Bangladesh again remains the cheapest source followed by Vietnam and Egypt . Vietnam has shown a strong performance with a 17% increase in prices over last year .

    On the whole, the denim scenario in US seems quite positive in the near term. Coming during these recessionary times , this performance is highly encouraging and bodes well for the industry . However, it also needs to be noted that denim sales are actually cannibalizing on the sales of other non-denim products as consumers are looking for clothing which they can use at multiple occasions to reduce their overall expenditure. As the economy improves significantly , we may , ironically , see some negative impact on sales of denim jeans into US.

    jobs denim

  • Exports Of Denim Fabrics and Apparel From Turkey To USA 2009-2010

    Turkey is an important country for denim products – both as an importer and well as an exporter. As an importer, Turkey imports a large amount of fabrics from various Asian countries including India, Pakistan, Indonesia, China etc. As an exporer, Turkey is one of the most important exporter of Denim garments to EU. It has a special relationship with Italy and Turkey has imbibed a lot of Italian denim designing techniques – besides developing their own. 

    When it comes to US, Turkey has seen a mixed relationship . Whereas the exports from Turkey to US were quite strong , exports of denim jeans   have seen a fall in the recent times as US increased its imports from countries like Bangladesh, China , Vietnam, Cambodia etc.  However, it was quite interesting to note that the exports of denim fabrics from Turkey to US jumped more than 75% in the first six months of 2010 (Jan-June) as compared to same period in the last year .

    Exports of Denim Fabrics
    to USA  2009 – 2010

    Year Quantity  (million sq mtrs) Quantity (million mtrs @ 160cm width) Average Price
    (USD/mtr at 160 cm width) CIF
    2009 (Jan- June) 0.975 .609 7.35
    2010(Jan – June) 1.717 1.07 7.16
    Change + 76.1 % + 76.1% -2.35%

    Though the total exports of denim fabrics from Turkey to US are still miniscule at about 1 million mtrs p.a , the average prices at which they are exported are quite good indicating  . Denim jeans production in US is confined to making expensive premium denim and they require good denim fabrics in small quantities and it is to this market that Turkish denim exporters are catering partly.

    Lets see how the exports of denim jeans and other garments from Turkey to US fared during the last one year .

    Exports of Denim Jeans and other Denim Garments to US 2009-2010

    Year Quantity 
    (  pieces)    		 Value  in Million USD Average Price per pc (USD)
     
    2009 (Jan- June) 2,40,000pcs 3.879 16.16
    2010(Jan – June) 3,60,000 pcs 5.685 15.79
    Change +50 % + 46.6% -2.29%

    Again the market for Turkish denim garments in US is very small. The reason is probably the prices at which Turkey is able to export its denim jeans . Whereas US imports denim jeans from around the world at an average price of $71.5 ( in 2009) , Turkish prices are averaging about $16 . Turkey is basically catering to a small segment of garment importers who do not want to produce in US and still need to make high quality garments with prices that are much lower than that of Japanese denim or Italian denim . But the trend of exports of Denim fabrics and garments to US from Turkey aligns with the general trend of imports of these products into US. There has been a general increase in imports of denim jeans and fabrics into US indicating a strong trend in denim consumption .

  • Chinese Denim Market – Consumer Preferences

    The Chinese denim market is  growing   at a fast pace with almost all major world denim brands having established a presence there to tap the increasing disposable incomes of the growing middle and upper middle class. Being the largest producer of denim fabric and apparel has helped in the penetration of the denim apparel in China.  A  report by USFDA brings out various aspects of the patterns of consumption of denim apparel in China.

    Because of smaller housing in China, most Chinese consumers have smaller closets than Americans. Thus, Chinese tend to purchase and own fewer apparel. The report cites a survey by Cotton Incorporated – according to which -  Chinese consumers on average spent 7 percent of their apparel purchases on denim products, while the figure in the US was slightly higher at 10 percent.

    The survey revealed that denim jeans are getting more popular in China, especially among the younger set. Denim products’ share of apparel purchases is 8 percent among the consumer group aged 15 to 29, compared with 6 percent of those from 30 to 54.

    Denim jeans are the most purchased denim apparel. On an average, each Chinese consumer owns 4.2 denim jeans. The average unit purchase price of denim apparels is US$12 (RMB89). However, 26 percent of consumers said they don’t have any denim garments.

    Denim Products Owned By Urban Chinese Consumers

    Product Average Quantity
    Denim Jeans 4.2
    Denim Skirt 0.5
    Denim Short Pants 0.6
    Denim Jacket 1.0
    Denim Shirt 0.4
    Total 6.7

    The retail sector in China is getting sophisticated, from modern shopping malls to open market stalls. However, Chinese consumers’ buying habits differ sharply from that of the US. Nearly half of denim products are purchased at department stores, compared with only ten percent in the US. Thirty-one percent is purchased through supermarkets in the US, and only two percent for Chinese consumers. The clothing market – a traditional sale point – provides 16% of the denim sales .  

    Retailer Chinese Consumer(%) US Consumer(%)
    Department Store 44 10
    Speciality or Chain Store 25 58
    Clothing Market 16 N.A
    Small Clothing Shop 13 N.A
    Supermarket / Hypermarket 2 31
    Internet 0 1

    Sales and demand potential demonstrated by the China market has successfully attracted more international brands as well as luxury products. All top ten denim brands are available in the China market and Chinese consumers are becoming more brand conscious. When shopping for apparel, 38 percent of Chinese consumers prefer domestic brands and 22 percent prefer western brands. A quarter of Chinese consumers said they usually shop for a particular brand, which is very similar in the States at 24 percent.
    The following graph by Cotton Inc shows the Chinese love for denim across various age groups  . It shows that though the denim is , understandably, more popular with the younger age groups , the love is there even in higher age groups – portending well for the growth of the denim market in China.

    image

  • Bangladesh Export Of Denim Jeans To EU : 2005-2009

    Bangladesh is a major exporter of denim jeans to EU27. Being low priced and with special and indefinite duty free and quota free access under ‘Everything but arms’  initiative to EU , Bangladesh continues to dominate the EU denim import business.  Currently, it has about 19% share of the denim jeans import market in EU27 countries.

    Lets have a look at the figures of imports of denim jeans from Bangladesh for the last 10 years .

    Year Total Denim Jeans (million pcs) Value (million Euros) Average Price
    (Euro/pc CIF)
    2000 16.46 87.92 5.34
    2001 25.50 120.26 4.72
    2002 32.69 144.69 4.43
    2003 48.50 190.87 3.94
    2004 63.71 247.52 3.88
    2005 63.29 245.42 3.88
    2006 85.07 341.78 4.02
    2007 74.57 289.98 3.89
    2008 81.94 317.23 3.87
    2009 89.68 373.93 4.17

     

    denim prices bangladesh

    Thus we can see that the exports of denim jeans have increased by almost 400%  from 2000 to 2009 . There have been some years in which the exports increased by a large % as compared to the previous year . These years have been :
    2001    : Increase  54%
    2002   : Increase 28%
    2003   : Increase 48%
    2004  : Increase 31%
    2006 :  Increase 34%
    2009 : Increase 10%

    The prices from Bangladesh have been more or less moving in a narrow range of Euro 3.8  to 4.20 since 2003. Though in earlier years, the prices were much higher, but recent years have seen the prices move around in this range. There is no clear trend in the prices from Bangladesh if we consider these figures. However,  would it be the similar situation if the Euro prices were converted to dollar prices . In the table below, we have taken the average conversion factor (from Euro to USD) for each year from 2000 to 2009 and applied the factor to the average prices for that year. This gives us the average dollar prices for export of denim jeans from  Bangladesh to Eu . With this table we will come to know whether there is really no trend for prices from Bangladesh:

    Year Euro To USD
    average factor    		 Av Price  (Euro) Av. Price (USD)
    2000 1.09 5.34 4.89
    2001 1.12 4.72 4.21
    2002 1.06 4.43 4.18
    2003 0.89 3.94 4.42
    2004 0.80 3.88 4.85
    2005 0.80 3.88 4.85
    2006 0.80 4.02 5.02
    2007 0.73 3.89 5.32
    2008 0.68 3.87 5.69
    2009 0.72 4.17 5.79

    av prices of denim jeans

    In the table and chart above, we can see that actually the prices from Bangladesh are quite different than what Euro prices show. We can see that since 2002 the average prices  in Euro terms (from 2002 to 2009) have declined by more than 5% whereas there is an  uptrend in dollar terms  and the prices have increased from $4.43 per piece in  2002  to $ 5.79 in 2009 – actually showing an increase of  about 30%

    Dollar being the ruling currency worldwide, gives  a better picture of the prevailing price situation and it clearly reflects that the prices from Bangladesh are continuously and steadily rising over the years. This is despite the fact that the volumes have increased manifold during this period. The Bangaldesh denim export industry is only expected to grow stronger in the coming times . We have seen a number of denim mills also come up in Bangladesh and this strengthens the supply chain making it easier for Bangaldesh to go deeper into these markets.

    Also check : Exports of Jeans from Bangladesh to USA

  • China To EU – Denim Jeans Export Quantities , Prices etc : 2007-2009

    china exports denim jeans

    China is a major exporter of denim jeans – men’s and women’s to the EU.
    China is very competitive price wise and seems to have been continuously investing in improving quality also. The exports from China to EU have been continuously rising and China is currently the largest exporter of denim jeans/breeches to EU27.

    Let’s have a look at the figures of exports of denim jeans/breeches from China  to EU27 

    Year Jeans Exported  (million  pcs ) Total Value
    (Euro)    		 % inc.  in qty. over last year Av. Price
    per pc CIF
    (Euro)
    2007 101.24 559.42 +51.82% 5.53
    2008 180.85 827.13 +78.63% 4.57
    2009 195.80 926.71 +8.26% 4.73

    For the years 2007 and 2008, China has experienced a phenomenal growth in exports of denim jeans with more than 50% and 78% growth in the two years respectively. This kind of growth in exports over an existing large base is really good and shows the power of Chinese denim manufacturers to compete with the rest of the world , specially their competitiors like Bangladesh , Vietnam etc who are cheaper to them.  During 2009, the growth in exports slowed down during to general slowdown in Europe , but still maintained  decent 8% plus levels. We may see decent increase in exports in the year 2010 also.

    However, this growth that we are witnessing in the last 3 years would fade in comparison to the growth of 960% !that China got in the year 2005 over 2004 when quotas were lifted. China was only restricted by the quota regime and currently nothing seems to hold it back.

    Price wise , Chinese exports have registered slight downfalls but their prices still cannot be called as the cheapest as there are other countries exporting at lower prices. But China will not always remain very price competitive. It has issues on its currency – which it may have to devaluate slowly – and it may not always be able to provide the kind of export subsidies it is currently providing with export tax rebate at 16%.

    Note:      The EU27 region comprises of the following countries -:

    Austria , Belgium , Bulgaria , Cyprus , Czech Republic , Denmark , Estonia , Finland , France , Germany , Greece , Hungary , Ireland , Italy ,Latvia , Lithuania , Luxembourg , Malta , Netherlands , Poland , Portugal , Romania , Slovak Republic , Slovenia ,Spain , Sweden and United Kingdom.

  • What Quantity Of Denim Fabrics Is Used For Production In USA?

    denim consumption What is the actual quantity of denim fabrics consumed in USA? We have seen previously the reports on Per capita consumption of jeans in  USA,  imports of denim jeans into US and imports of women’s denim jeans.  

    But what exactly is the denim fabric used for production of various denim items in US ?. We can arrive at this figure only if we know the actual production of denim fabrics , imports and exports of denim fabrics. It would give us the net amount of denim fabric that has been used in US for various purposes . Lets have a look at this chart which gives the figures for the year 2008 . The figures for 2009 would be available shortly.

    Production,Imports And Exports of Denim Fabrics In USA

    Production (mill. sq. mtrs) Production
    (mill. linear mtrs)    		 Imports (mill. sq. mtrs) Imports (mill. linear mtrs) Exports(mill. sq. mtrs) Exports(mill. linear mtrs)
    141.66 88.53 40.61 25.38 125.57 78.48

    Note: Linear meters are taken at an average of 160cm

    The actual production figures for denim fabrics show the extent to which the denim fabric production has gone down in US. There were times when over 500 million mtrs of denim used to be produced annually .But this fall  is only to be expected since the costs of production in Asia are much lower and US mills find it difficult to compete with them.

    We arrive below  at the consumption figures for denim fabrics in USA.

    Consumtion Of Denim Fabrics In USA In 2008

    (In Million Linear Mtrs.)

    Production 88.53 million mtrs
    Imports 25.38 million mtrs
    Total 113.91 million mtrs
    Less Exports 78.48 million mtrs
    Consumption In USA 35.43 million mtrs

    Thus we can see that about 35 million mtrs was actually consumed in US in 2008 for various purposes . Though the figure seems small, it is not insignificant once we consider the costs of denim jeans production in USA.