China and India to Be The Major Growth Centers for Apparel Consumption by 2025

China and India are expected to be the major growth centers for apparel consumption by 2025, and the combined size of the Chinese and Indian apparel markets will become bigger than that of US and European Union (EU), according to a recent report.
 
“The combined apparel market size of China and India will become US$ 740 billion by 2025, and is expected to surpass the combined market size of US and Europe, which will be US$ 725 billion in 2025,” states ‘Road to 2025: Textile and apparel sector report’, released by Wazir management consultants.
 
The present apparel market size of China and India are estimated to be US$ 150 billion and US$ 45 billion, respectively. Both markets have shown robust growth, despite global uncertainties and slackened demand, according to the report.
 
From 2007 to 2012, the Chinese market posted an annualized growth of 15% whereas the Indian market registered a somewhat lower growth of 12%.
 
However, both the markets have performed better than the other major consumption regions (US, EU and Japan) where the economic conditions led to lower growth in demand.
 
“Asia has already emerged as the largest manufacturer-supplier hub for textile and apparel products to the world, and the region is on the verge of entering into a new phase wherein its own consumption of textile and apparel products would become large,” the report states.
 
According to the report, the key reasons for the apparel consumption in the two countries to grow are high growth of economy and consumer income, market development supported by expansion of domestic brands, which have the bandwidth and exposure to go deep into the markets, and high growth of online retail in these countries.
 
The report also suggests that the consumption level in the countries would grow, as the Chinese consumer’s changing preference to buy more for fashion than replacement purpose would increase and the Indian consumer’s growing exposure to organized retail and branded merchandise would also increase.