Breaking out of conventional norms of being predominantly a sports apparel and men dominated market, ‘Activewear’ is standing out as a rapidly growing market segment, driven by fashion and the changing lifestyle of the new consumer. Global welfare, the need to be healthy and growing focus on one’s well-being are the key factors that are making activewear a rage globally, with an added element of design in order to cater to a larger trend-driven audience. Brands are eager to quickly roll out new merchandise as the core activewear shopper today is the ultimate consumer – female, fairly young, fashion-forward and willing to spend money. Supporting this market increase is also the well established trend of sportswear inspired clothing which has taken the fashion world by a storm. Retail analysts believe that activewear brands have successfully broken the barrier between workout attire and street clothes, which have further boosted sales… the fashion team at Apparel Online investigates the mass expanse of this market…
“There are people who don’t do anything athletic yet are wearing it; it’s become more of a fashion statement,” said Pamela Quintiliano, a research analyst at Oppenheimer & Co. Made up of fitness and sports apparel for men, women and children, in 2012, the global performance activewear market grew by more than 7.5% and exceeded US $ 244 billion according to Euromonitor International, a sales increase of 2.5%-3% is further predicted from 2012-2014. Analyst reports also claim that of the total sales in activewear have now reached just over one-tenth of the entire apparel market, making this segment the most dynamic for prospective growth, and “the” market segment to watch over the next few years.
Traditionally, activewear garments were designed to provide a high degree of functionality, incorporating innovative textiles and fastenings to aid performance, making the category a highly niche market for fashion retailers. Designed specially to cater to these needs, Lululemon currently dominates the market with Gap’s Athleta, Nordstrom’s Zella activewear line, Nike, and Under Armour entering the market as key players over the years. Pushing the sudden growth is a more recent phenomenon of women wearing activewear as fashionable casualwear on the streets as well. Even interesting to notice is the fact that women are pursuing active lifestyles with juggling pilates, spinning classes and hikes alongside their busy professional and personal lives. Market reports also suggest that women’s activewear sector is growing twice as fast as the fashion industry as a whole.
[bleft]Activewear labels can be broken into three layers: first, next to skin garments; second, thermals or light-weight protective garments; and finally outer, which includes ultra-resistant garments used to protect from extreme weather conditions supported by the addition of footwear and other accessories.
While US, China, Japan and Brazil – the four largest markets for activewear – collectively accounted for over half of total activewear sales in value terms during the year, Russia, Ukraine and Argentina are poised to become star markets boasting last year’s highest recorded growth rates. [/bleft]
Recognizing these emerging tastes well in time, mainstream and even fast fashion retailers have ventured into the market with a fleet of activewear collections pipelined, to be launched this year. Joining the likes of Forever 21 which began selling activewear in 2011; the most recent announcement is of Mango, investing into women’s activewear channels. The brands Sport&Intimates underwear and sports clothing range will include garments for fitness and running, made from synthetic fibres, including Lycra.
Another major player which is focusing on growth in their active business is Macy’s, whose chief merchandising officer, Jeff Gennette, was found saying “it became clear that active apparel presented an opportunity for growth”. He also claimed, “Our customer insights show that our millennial customers have significant crossover in shopping active where we have the assortment, so we believe that satisfying his and her total lifestyle must involve more fashion and function in our active offerings. We are working with the best brands in the category to bring our customers exciting merchandise that will serve their athletic interests in all endeavours – from the yoga studio to the weight room, to hiking and rock climbing.”
The assortment of brands in Macy’s will include Nike, The North Face, Under Armour, Calvin Klein Performance and Ideology, to more stores and the addition of Helly Hansen. While Nike offers trend-right, high performance activewear for running and training, The North Face offers the most technically-advanced products in the outdoor market for climbers, mountaineers, skiers, snowboarders, endurance runners and the active consumer. As part of its mission to start a global movement of Outdoor Exploration, the brand has also rolled out fleece, rainwear, down and tri-climate jackets.
Other recent launches include an activewear brand, called Express Core by Express, the Columbus-based fashion retailer along with sunglasses company Oakley, have just released a line of women’s athletic apparel under the brand. Comprising of shorts, sports bras, running pants, and tank tops, the price points are similar to Lululemon’s, with US $ 200 jackets, US $ 90 pants, and US $ 35 shorts. Although Oakley’s approach to activewear lies in their ideology of the biggest problems in activewear: women wearing their spandex yoga pants to brunch. To connect with women, the brand launched its “Made For More” advertising campaign, which focuses on the distinction between workout clothing and leisure clothing, and aims at encouraging women to make fitness a priority when they wear their gear.
INDIAN EXPORTERS EYEING THE OPPORTUNITY
In reaction to the market growth of the activewear segment globally, following is also a rise in product demand, which has started to place India in a good spot for new manufacturing opportunities. Divided between two distinct types of activewear – highly performance based and basic activewear merchandise, the Indian export industry, is still to make its mark into the former segment, the latter already being a booming segment. Giving a clearer picture of the ongoing impact of this trend, AO spoke to a few leading players in activewear…
ASHOK RAJANI DIRECTOR, MIDAS TOUCH EXPORTS
The activewear market is definitely on a rise, and for the first time we are getting so many enquiries for the same, as the buyer is very keen on such a product. They are asking for new items and designs, and at present we are majorly into knits, working on a lot of shorts and T-shirts for both ladies and men. A great response is coming from the European market also. The probable reason for such a positive demand can be that EU initially was always aligned towards buying active wear from China and Bangladesh, but due to the increasing prices in China and the unstable political situation in Bangladesh, brands are now moving to India for more options, and also smaller quantities. The quantities of casual activewear are only to increase in the future, starting S/S 2014, for which we have reasonably good orders, more than our expectations.
GAGAN GULATI DIRECTOR, MODELAMA EXPORTS
We majorly deal with outwear clothing, and buyers are asking us to make our outerwear more activewear. Even though we are sure that the market will increase, we are not yet working on these enquiries entirely, as the category involves the use of performance fabrics with water proof and weather proof properties. Considering that these fabrics are not made in India and are imported, we are still in the process of working out how to meet the demand competitively, and we may ship a few styles to test in the market this A/W season. The orders are coming from US market at the moment.
SAURABH JAIN DEPUTY MANAGER – MARKETING MARAL OVERSEAS
Right now we are working with a German customer for our activewear developments. Even though the business of our client has gone up in the last three years, it is still very difficult to say if it is entirely because of the growth in the activewear market in general. For this division, we focus majorly on basic and relaxed activewear such as T-shirts, multipurpose bottoms which are comfortable and relaxing, and basic jackets with front opening and small prints. Mostly in knits, a nice hand feel and softness in fabric are very important, including lycra for added comfort, mix of polyester and cotton blends are very much in.
