New Market Research Report: Menswear in Japan

Menswear in Japan increased by 1% in current retail value terms to ¥2.2 trillion in 2014. In casual wear, men’s jumpers registered the highest growth driven by the sporty trend, which was also a key trend in womenswear. Wearing a sweatshirt under a jacket was a popular style in 2014. Tying a shoulder cardigan was a continuing trend from 2013 and contributed to increasing sales of cardigans. In bottoms, combining these tops with cropped pants and sneakers or slip-on shoes was fashionable. Skinny pants were particularly popular among young men.

Competitive Landscape

Fast Retailing continued to lead in 2014. Its primary brand Uniqlo led sales, accounting for more than 80% of overall group sales. Uniqlo’s functional innerwear HEATTECH and AIRism continued to increase sales due to their affordable pricing and high functionality. The demand for AIRism innerwear remained high due to the Cool Biz attire as male business workers need to wear innerwear under shirts during the summer to have the innerwear absorb the sweat. Uniqlo also launched new fleece items to encourage consumers to wear fleece not only as room wear but also fashionable wear in town. One of the lines is called Windbreak Fleece, which is a highly functional fleece that can also be used for sporting activities. Uniqlo currently aims to steer away from its brand image of cheap products, and instead focus on its innovative technology and higher quality, raising product prices by an average of 5% on the 2014 autumn-winter collection.

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Industry Prospects

Menswear is expected to be flat at constant 2014 prices over the forecast period. Men’s jumpers and shirts are expected to grow driven by the casualisation trend and the constant demand for Cool Biz items. The men’s suits category is expected to shrink in volume terms due to the declining male workforce. According to the Labour Force Survey by the Statistics Bureau of Japan, the average number of male workers increased slightly in 2014, while the percentage of men in the workforce has been declining in contrast to women. As men’s suits is expected to decline due to the shrinking male labour force, major men’s suit retailers will continue to shift emphasis towards raising unit prices by promoting premium suits while expanding product offerings for women’s suits, as the female labour force is expected to increase over the forecast period.

Report Overview

Discover the latest market trends and uncover sources of future market growth for the Menswear industry in Japan with research from Euromonitor's team of in-country analysts.

Find hidden opportunities in the most current research data available, understand competitive threats with our detailed market analysis, and plan your corporate strategy with our expert qualitative analysis and growth projections.

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