The West European Market for Women's Hosiery

22 pages, published in Issue 122, March-April 2006   Report price: Euro 395.00; US$ 520.00

The West European market for women’s hosiery—comprising nylon tights (pantyhose), stockings and hold-ups, knee-highs, and ankle-highs—amounts to 1.63 bn pairs a year, worth US$3.75 bn at retail level. This implies an average unit value per pair of US$2.30—although stockings are more expensive than tights while knee-highs and ankle-highs are less so.

The hosiery market has been in significant decline over the last decade. Between 1996 and 2005, sales fell by 28% in terms of volume, and by 33% in terms of value. Several factors have contributed to the decline, including the popularity of wearing trousers and jeans in preference to skirts and dresses, the trend for more hard wearing opaque products, technological advances in yarn which have also made the product more robust, fierce price competition from supermarkets which sell multipacks at low prices, and the movement of production to lower cost countries.

In this environment most of the major brands and manufacturers have suffered and there has been some consolidation of suppliers. Italy remains the largest European producing country and its exports are present in all the major country markets. The largest national market within Europe is Germany, followed by Italy, France and the UK. The only major country in which prices have not fallen is Italy—probably as a consequence of its highly fragmented retail distribution structure.

For the future, further falls are forecast in both volume and value, but they will be less dramatic than they have been in the last decade.

Buy this Report now	Buy this Issue (122) now	Subscribe

• Profile of KappAhl: A Nordic Fashion Retailer With a Distinct Product Concept, ( January-February 2007)
• Fast Track: targeting women, (3rd Quarter 2006)
• The European Market for Women's Swimwear, (July-August 2006)
• The European Market for Women's Lingerie, (May-June 2006)
• The West European Market for Women's Hosiery , (March-April 2006)

Six times a year, Textile Outlook International provides up to 200 pages of intelligence, expert analysis and insight on the global textile and clothing industry.

What's in it? Each issue provides an authoritative source of information on key industry topics, including: circularity; cotton; environmental sustainability; fibre prices; innovation; production and consumption forecasts; imports and exports; industry giants and emerging brands; international trade fairs; key geographical markets; recommerce; retail; supply chains; textile and clothing trade; textile machinery; trade and production trends; world markets; and yarn and fabric manufacturing. A single issue of Textile Outlook International includes: an editorial think-piece on a topical issue from an industry expert a report on textile and apparel trade and production trends a round-up of the latest international trade fairs a feature on textile and clothing imports and exports or fibre prices, production and consumption a report on a key geographical market insight and analysis of a key market leader or fast-growing start-up An annual subscription to Textile Outlook International is a cost-effective way to keep informed about trends and developments in the global textile and clothing industry. Subscriptions are available in printed and/or digital formats. Printed and digital subscribers receive each issue in printed format in addition to a digital PDF file, which is available immediately on publication. Like all Textiles Intelligence publications, Textile Outlook International is a reliable source of independently sourced business information, and it does not carry advertising. This is what our customers say: "I must congratulate your editorial team for the mammoth data collated from across the world, issue after issue; the data … is quite well researched and generally difficult to find." (Sanjay Chawla; Editor in Chief; DFU Publications)