“We know that online is changing the nature of clothing retailing, but it is less clear just how much and whether what we are seeing in the best developed online countries, notably the UK, will be followed elsewhere in Europe. We think that it will. Margins on branded ranges are coming under pressure. It is easier to compare retailers and brands, so that customers no longer have to give retailers the benefit of the doubt. That is raising the stakes in fashion retailing. We are seeing that at its most advanced in the UK, but the problems of so many major clothing retailers - from those that are struggling, such as C&A, to those that have failed, such as VD – owe much to the increasingly competitive nature of clothing retailing and that is driven at least in part by the growth in online. At the end of the day, that means that customers will be better served, though it may not be by the retailers that they are most familiar with now.”

– Richard Perks, Director of Retail Research

We cover the top five economies in detail in the individual country chapters of this report Clothing Retailing – Europe and in the Executive Summary – Market section we also provide data on up to 33 European economies. More details of retailing in these smaller markets, plus Russia and Turkey, can be found in Mintel’s European Retail Handbook – September 2018. Single country reports on clothing retailing are also available for the UK, France, Germany, Spain and Italy.