Global market review of corporatewear - forecasts to 2022 Image Forster Rohner Textile Innovations E-broidery Technology
Global market review of corporatewear - forecasts to 2022 By Malcolm Newbery 2018 edition Published by Aroq Limited Aroq House 17A Harris Business Park Bromsgrove Worcs B60 4DJ United Kingdom Tel: +44 (0)1527 573 600 Fax: +44 (0)1527 577 423 Web: www.just-style.com/market-research/ Registered in England no: 4307068
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CONTENTS Executive summary 2 Introduction to the corporatewear clothing market 2 Where is it sold? Where is it made? 2 Corporatewear product types 2 In corporatewear, the fabric comes first 3 Methods of doing business (routes to market) 3 Market share by routes to market 3 Corporatewear, a mature industry 4 Control of the decision process 5 Chapter 1 About this report 7 Purpose and approach for this report 7 Methodology for the calculation of the corporatewear market 7 Chapter 2: The corporatewear market, in numbers 11 The scale (US$ value and units) of the corporatewear sector within the overall apparel industry 11 The top-down method 11 The bottom-up method 11 Corporatewear units and wholesale values in US$ by garment type 12 The corporatewear garment manufacturing industry 13 World manufacturing by sub-regions for continental marketing regions 13 Chapter 3 Corporatewear product types 18 History 18 Corporatewear product types 18 Market evaluation by product type 19 Chapter 4: Corporatewear, the fabrics 23 Fibre share in the total clothing industry 23 In corporatewear, the fabric comes first 23 Fabric characteristics, common workwear and protectivewear attributes 24 Some characteristics of fabric performance 25 Chapter 5: Methods of business 30 Route to market approaches 30 Explanation of garment rental 30 Corporatewear percentages and units by method of supply 32 Chapter 6: Supply chain issues 37 Why the workwear supply chain is different 37 Total contract management and tenders 38 Catalogues 38 Rental 39
CONTENTS Chapter 7: Six decades of corporatewear; a mature industry 41 Supply methods in corporatewear 41 PLM, the product life cycle model 41 Six decades of expansion followed by consolidation 42 Mergers and takeovers, why so many? 43 Chapter 8: Control of the decision-making processes 46 Methods of supply 46 Supply decisions, garment choice and fabric choice 47 Who makes the decision about garments and fabrics? 48 Sale to a clothing manufacturer (garment factory) 49 Sale to a wholesaler/importer 49 Sale to a workwear brand 49 Sale to a mail order catalogue 49 Sale to a contract manager (managing agent) 50 Sale to a garment rental company 51 Sale to a specifier working for the end use company 51 A complex conclusion to a complex decision process flow 52 Chapter 9: The past and the future, 2012-2022 54 Winners and losers 54 Overall growth in corporatewear units by continent 54 Overall growth in corporatewear units by product type 55 Overall growth in corporatewear value by continent 57 Overall growth in corporatewear value by method of supply 59
LIST OF TABLES & FIGURES Trading exchange rates 9 Table 1: 2017 market for corporatewear, world total and major regions (millions units and US$ values) 12 Table 2: 2017 corporate wear manufacturing, by continent of issue, and continent of manufacture 14 Table 3: 2017 market for corporatewear, world total and major regions (% and volume share by category) 19 Table 4: 2017 market for corporatewear, world total and major regions (volume, price per unit, US$ values by category) 21 Table 5: 2017 market for corporatewear, world total and major regions (% and US$ share of supply method by category) 32 Table 6: 2017 market for corporatewear, world total and major regions (US$ value of supply method by category) 34 Figure 1: The Life Cycle Model 41 Figure 2: Porter s Five Forces Theory 44 Figure 3: The Decision-making process 46 Table 7: 2012-2022 market for corporatewear, world total and major regions (millions units and % share) 54 Table 8: 2012-2022 market for corporatewear by category (millions units and % share) 55 Table 9: 2012-2022 market for corporatewear, world total and major regions (US$ value and price per unit) 57 Table 10: 2012-2022 market for corporatewear, world total and major regions (US$ value by method of supply) 59
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1
Executive summary Introduction to the corporatewear clothing market The corporatewear clothing market is completely different from the consumer retail market. This is because it is a business to business sale at wholesale prices, providing clothing for employees that is given to them free to wear by their employer. Consequently, the accepted way of evaluating it is by using adult employed population, the number of them given corporate clothing, and the units issued freely each year. Using that method, for 2017 the global corporatewear market was XXXX garments worth US $XXXXXX at wholesale prices. This is approximately XX% of the wholesale value of the clothing retail industry, and therefore an important sector for marketers and for garment and fabric suppliers. Where is it sold? Where is it made? Of the XXXX units, XXXX (two thirds) are issued in North America and Europe. But only XXXX units are made in those two continents and only XXXX in North America and Western Europe. The imbalance between consumption and production is huge. It is in Asia where manufacturing totally outstrips garment consumption. Asia is estimated to consume XXXX units in 2017. China will produce XXXX the Indian sub-continent will produce XXXX and Southeast Asia will produce XXXX units of corporatewear. In total that is XXXX garments, more than twice what is consumed in those regions. The net export outside Asia is XXXX units, which is to say that half its production will be exported outside Asia. Corporatewear product types There are five accepted corporatewear product definitions which are: 1. General workwear 2. Health workwear 3. Corporate career clothing 4. Promotional casual clothing 5.Uniforms There is much overlap between these definitions, indeed just-style is now of the view that product categories are so blurred that they add no further value to understanding the workwear market. How the garment is sold provides a better perspective. 2
CHAPTER 1: ABOUT THIS REPORT 6
Chapter 1 About this report Purpose and approach for this report This 2018 edition of the just-style corporatewear report focuses attention on two subjects: 1. Industrial corporatewear, that is to say, clothes bought by employers for employees to wear at work 2. Factors affecting the garment and fabric decision choices made in the corporate workwear garment selection process As in previous editions, the subject has been addressed top-down. The global market for corporatewear is estimated from: Population To adult employed population To those given clothing, the wearers To the number of garments they are given per year Via the value at wholesale prices, of the garments they are given, to the US$ value of this clothing sector These unit and US$ numbers are also broken down into garment categories (product types), and by the method of supply (also commonly known as route to market). Both are important because they help explain the fabric decision process. Because the fabric chosen for the garments is so important in terms of its performance (which is not the same thing as its fashionability), then what, by whom, and how the fabric decisions are made is an important feature of this latest edition. Methodology for the calculation of the corporatewear market As has already been explained in previous editions of this just-style report, the corporatewear clothing market is completely different from the consumer retail clothing market. This is because it is a business to business sale at wholesale prices. Garments are provided for employees and are given free for them to wear by their employer. This is totally different from you and I buying clothes for ourselves at retail prices. Hence there has to be a different methodology for calculating the size of this market. It: Starts with population and derives from this the adult population Then moves from the adult population to the employed adult population. Self-employed people are excluded because they are not given clothing by their employers to wear for work. 7
CHAPTER 2: THE CORPORATEWEAR MARKET, IN NUMBERS 10
This has been used to derive an estimate for 2017 of XXXX workwear wearers in the world, who are given XXXX garments worth US$XXXXX at wholesale price. This is approximately XXX of the wholesale value of the clothing retail industry, therefore accounting for at least XXX of the fabric consumed, as there is little corporatewear in garments that use small quantities of fabric, such as underwear. We can also assume that corporatewear is a market accounting for around XXX of the world s fabric production per year. Corporatewear units and wholesale values in US$ by garment type Using the population, employment, wearers and number of garments given to them methodology explained in Chapter 1, a 2017 estimate has been made of the units and wholesale US$ values of the corporatewear market. It is given below as Table 1. Table 1: 2017 market for corporatewear, world total and major regions (millions units and US$ values) Units North America Europe Asia South America Rest of the World World total Population Adult population % Adult population Proportion employed Adult employed population % given workwear Workwear wearers Number of garments per wearer per year Garments issued per year 12
CHAPTER 3: CORPORATEWEAR PRODUCT TYPES 17
Chapter 3 Corporatewear product types History The nature of the clothing that we wear to work keeps changing, as our needs adapt. Some of these needs were specific to the industry that the person was working in. Others were specific to the needs of the wearer, particularly in the areas of safety and protection. Over time, but particularly from the 1990s onwards, the use of work clothing to promote a company s image developed. That is why the following definitions of corporatewear are being used in this report. Corporatewear product types The definitions given below have been adapted from the original British Clothing Industry Association 1989 sector report on the workwear sector of the clothing industry. At that time, there were four categories (workwear, protective wear, career wear and uniforms). Corporate casualwear, comprising polo shirts and jeans or chino trousers, was added later in the 1990s to accommodate the image idea. Because it is such a big industry sector, and because both the garments and the fabrics are unique, health garments have been separated from general workwear. Protective wear, which was once regarded as a different business, is now recognised as workwear with an extra twist, the twist being related to the fabric requirements, which will be considered in Chapter 4. Here are five current corporatewear product definitions: 1. General workwear These are garments of simple construction usually in poly/cotton fabrics. They include boiler suits and coveralls, bib and brace, coats, jackets and trousers as well as a wide variety of similar styles used in the catering and wholesale/distribution sectors.. The garments are frequently made specific to the company through badges and logos. 2. Health workwear Garments worn primarily in the health, food processing and pharmaceutical industries where clean is the number one requirement. Much medical and health clothing is now disposable, to further minimise the chances of infection. However, nurses reusable uniforms are still a large part of this product sector. 3. Corporate career clothing These garments are similar to everyday men s suits and ladies dresses, skirts, jackets and blouses worn in business environments such as banking, hotel receptions, airlines etc. Sometimes the corporate colours or logo of the employer is incorporated in the fabric. During the last few years corporate casualwear has enlarged this sector by adding promotional clothing such as sweatshirts and knitted outerwear to it. 4. Promotional casual clothing Over the last twenty years corporate casualwear has emerged as an alternative to both workwear and formal career wear. The garments are mainly knitted tops (polos, sweatshirts and knitwear) and jeans/chino style trousers or jog pants. For the purposes of evaluating the corporate market we have excluded merchandise sold for charity or at rock concerts (T-shirts) and T-shirts with transfers/screen prints that are not related to a company s corporate image. 18
CHAPTER 4: CORPORATEWEAR, THE FABRICS 22
Chapter 4: Corporatewear, the fabrics Fibre share in the total clothing industry It is difficult to give more than an informed guess about the split of fibre share by volume of the total apparel industry. Cotton, together with a variety of basic man-made fibres, such as polyester, viscose and rayon clearly are the main fabrics used in apparel. They possibly have 45% and 40% volume share respectively. Wool has less than 10% by volume but much more by value. A mix of other fibres from silk to top-end man-made polyester probably account for between 5% and 10% by volume, but again more by value. In corporatewear, the fabric comes first Fabric is very important in certain parts of the corporatewear industry, because the fabric has got to perform. In a relatively recent report on the sector from Frost and Sullivan it was remarked that fabric developments offered the best chance for workwear providers to create interest and growth in their industry. This comes in an environment today where there is a lot of interest in fabric. Some of that is connected with health and safety. Some has its roots in performance against the elements. Some is connected with today s interest in things organic, or for environmental, ethical or free trade reasons. Some combine all three. When reviewing the history of fabric innovation in workwear, the best trend information comes from one of the fabric industry leaders, Klopman. Although Klopman has many fabric brand names, most of them are just polyester and cotton in many different combinations and/ or weights, or with chemical properties such as flame retardancy added. Klopman s greatest historical business achievement was to convince garment rental companies to specify Klopman fabric to the garment factories making for them. Within that overriding marketing approach to the specification of fabric, major fabric developments have been: 1960s: Development by Klopman, in conjunction with DuPont, of the first polyester-blended fabric for industrially washed workwear, a 65% polyester, 35% cotton mix 1970s: Various poly-cottons are proven to have better laundering properties than 100% cotton and are taken up by garment rental laundry businesses 1980s: Cotton rich fabrics are introduced. They provide the feel and comfort (especially the heavy ones) of cotton, with the laundry benefits of the blend 1990s: Klopman separates its fabric brands into three divisions; image workwear, protectivewear and casual apparel, thereby admitting that the various fabrics perform better in different types of garment 2000s: Klopman introduces stretch poly-cotton, and business fabrics for careerwear 2010s: More fabrics with special properties are developed, examples are anti-static, liquid chemical splash, antimicrobial, and odour-defence 23
CHAPTER 5: METHODS OF BUSINESS 29
Methods of supply, or routes to market as they have been called in previous publications, are at the centre of the fabric making decision. The estimated % split of each product type into three generic supply methods is given below as Tables 5 and 6 in both % terms and in US$ value. Table 5: 2017 market for corporatewear, world total and major regions (% and US$ share of supply method by category) Basis for estimate, % share by method of supply (route to market) Units North America Europe Asia South America Rest of the World World total General workwear Direct sales by contracts and tenders Direct sales by catalogues and retail Sales into garment rental companies Health workwear Direct sales by contracts and tenders Direct sales by catalogues and retail Sales into garment rental companies Corporate career clothing Direct sales by contracts and tenders Direct sales by catalogues and retail Sales into garment rental companies 32
CHAPTER 6: SUPPLY CHAIN ISSUES 36
Chapter 6: Supply chain issues Why the workwear supply chain is different As explained earlier, the workwear clothing sector is a business to business (B2B), not a business to consumer (B2C) transaction. This makes the management of the supply chain completely different from that of normal clothing sold to consumers either in physical shops or on the internet. In the normal consumer clothing supply chain, there is no obligation to promise to provide continuity. The merchandise supply chain is driven by a number of business decisions. They are: Make a sales forecast, usually for a season of half a year or a shorter period Place a purchase order, either for the sales forecast quantity, of for somewhat more or somewhat less units Receive the purchase order, and either allocate it to shops, or make it available to consumers on the internet This last requires a conscious business decision, as to the quantities held for both consumer routes, whether they are held separately or in one pot of stock, and who gets priority if there is a stock shortfall against consumer demand Accept consumer purchases and watch the stock reduce If it sells well, either try to reorder (may not be possible because of the time constraints), or let it sell out If it sells badly, mark-down and take a reduced margin If it sells very badly, send it to outlet (mark-down) stores, move it to a different part of the world, or job it off (sell very cheap to T K Maxx or even Poundland, or in extremis, give it to a charity shop) Move on to new merchandise (something different) Workwear is completely different. Because a promise has been made to a business to business customer to provide clothes to be worn at work over a period of time, the supplier has to ensure continuity of merchandise in stock, in order to: Replace worn out garments Provide garments for the wardrobe for new employees (and there is no easy method of forecasting what physical clothing size those employees are going to be) Deal with existing employees changes in size or in wardrobe preference (trousers instead of skirts, tunics instead of blouses) 37
CHAPTER 7: SIX DECADES OF CORPORATEWEAR; A MATURE INDUSTRY 40
Chapter 7: Six decades of corporatewear; a mature industry Supply methods in corporatewear The analysis of supply methods (routes to market) in the corporatewear market, as explained the previous chapter, suggest that the industry is mature, and in decline in the developed world. The theory behind this idea comes from corporate strategy academic books, such as the one from which the figures used below have been taken, from Johnson, Scholes and Whittington. Two figures have been taken from that book, which explain what has gone on in corporatewear very well. They are: Figure 1, The Life Cycle Model Figure 2, Porter s Five Forces Theory PLM, the product life cycle model Figure 1: The Life Cycle Model Development Growth Shakeout Maturity Decline Users/ buyers Few: trial of early adopters. Growing adopters: trial of product/service. Growing selectivity of purchase. Saturation of users. Repeat purchase reliance. Drop-off in usage Competitive conditions Few: competitors Entry of competitors. Attempt to achieve trial. Fight for share. Undifferentiated products/services. May by many. Likely price-cutting for volume. Shakeout of weakest competitors. Fight to maintain share. Difficulties in gaining/taking share. Emphasis on efficiency/low cost. Exit of some competitors. Selective distribution. Source: Exploring Corporate Strategy, Johnson, Scholes and Whittington This idea that corporatewear is in the latter stages of the life-cycle theory, is supported by the fact that many of the major players now offer everything to everyone, through every method. They are capable of doing that because of their involvement in a steady stream of consolidations through merger and acquisition activities. A feature of decline, as expressed in the life cycle 41
CHAPTER 8: CONTROL OF THE DECISION-MAKING PROCESSES 45
Chapter 8: Control of the decision-making processes Methods of supply The main methods of supply that have been quantified in Tables 1-6 above are through: Catalogues and brands Contract managers Garment rental This approach to the decision-making processes is shown schematically as Figure 3. Figure 3: The Decision-making process Manufacturing process Methords of supply Purchasers Decision process 7 1 Material (fabric) suppliers Fabric Orders 2 3 Wholesaler / importer Workwear brands 4 Mail order catalogues Specifiers in end use companies Wearers 1 Clothing Manufacturers (Factories) Garment Orders 5 6 Contract managers (managing agents) Garment retail Source: Malcolm Newbery Consulting Ltd Most of the decisions on the garments and the fabrics are made by the main sellers of corporatewear, namely: Brands and catalogues (shown as methods 3 and 4 in the Figure) Contract managers (shown as method 5 in the Figure) Garment rental companies (shown as method 6 in the Figure) 46
CHAPTER 9: THE PAST AND THE FUTURE, 2012-2022 53
Chapter 9: The past and the future, 2012-2022 Winners and losers This report has investigated the various different ways that the corporatewear industry functions. It has concentrated on the decision making processes of both garments and fabrics, what they are, who takes them and how. As we always do at just-style, we are dusting off the crystal ball to estimate from where the winners and losers will emerge over the next five years in this mature and highly competitive clothing sector. Overall growth in corporatewear units by continent Table 7: 2012-2022 market for corporatewear, world total and major regions (millions units and % share) North America Europe Asia South America Rest of the World World total 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 Growth in units % 2017 over 2012 2022 over 2017 Continental unit % share 2012 2017 2022 54