It was a roller-coaster ride for the global denim industry in the last two- and-a-half years as lockdown practices during the COVID-19 pandemic impelled people to stay at their home and work from homes practices were attributable to decrease the denim jeans market growth in 2020. Furthermore, closures of retail stores and production facilities and disordered export and import activities were some of the reasons for reduction in sales of the denim jeans in 2020.
However, denim is one of the major items that showed its true potential when it comes to export diversification with other apparel.
Besides that, the upcoming Christmas festival will see a reinstatement of fashion resilience in US markets, which will be more effective for the denim market.
NRF estimate that holiday retail sales during November and December will grow between 6% and 8% over 2021 to between $942.6 billion and $960.4 billion.
The global jeans market is expected to register a CAGR of 6.7% during the forecast period from 2020 to 2025.
For this, major manufacturers have undertaken several business strategies, such as geographical and capacity expansion, M&A, and R&D, to boost their sales.
Also, these leading market players in the denim jeans market are primarily focused on establishing new market opportunities by entering newer markets in the clothing industry that are still in their developmental phase.
In August 2022, H&M (Hennes & Mauritz AB) inaugurated its retail footprint in Costa Rica and North Macedonia and introduced an e-commerce site in Uruguay.
Customers of denim clothing desire lot of aesthetic appeal, fit, wearing comfort, performance, and sustainability in all aspects of its production. Numerous advances in fibre and textile technology are presenting newer concepts in denim. Conventionally, produced from 100% cotton and dyed from natural indigo, today’s denim is a highly transformed new generation fabric.
The highly flexible fashion denims are now worn by diverse people with mixed flavors. They are available in different varieties (stretch to bio-polished), colors (vegetable-based, indigo to sulphur dyed), fibre blends (most recent being softer, lighter, comfy silk for all weather denims), textures, drapes and embodiments suitable to the recent ‘athleisure’ trend.
In 2020, the global denim jeans market size was valued at $56.20 billion, in 2021 the market size was $70.71 billion, which is estimated to reach $88.13 billion by 2030. So, the increasing demand for denim boosting the denim market size significantly.
In the global denim market China, Bangladesh, Pakistan, India etc. are the main player as denim producing country.
Bangladesh denim – with its 40 mills who produce 80 million yards of denim fabrics — has maintained its top position in the US markets, exports 42.01 percent to $739 million in the first nine months of this year, when it was $520 million in January-September 2021, said Office of Textiles and Apparel (OTEXA).
In the same period, Mexico came second in the denim export segment in the US with 18.99 percent year-on-year to $561.38 million.
And, Pakistan was the third largest supplier, clocking a 36.63 percent growth to $376.95 million, Vietnam was in the fourth position after it shipped denim items worth $348.64 million, up 25.12 percent year-on-year.
China poorly performed in the US market. Between January and September, denim exports from the country to the US increased by only 6.12 percent to $291.45 million.
The main reason for the significant fall in Chinese merchandise exports to the US is the dragging tariff war between the two largest economies in the world.
It has been opening up opportunities for garment-producing countries like Bangladesh – who has 24.64 percent share in global denim market — since orders are shifting from China to other destinations.
Meanwhile, the 13th edition of Bangladesh Denim Expo held recently to showcase the country’s progress and new innovations in denim industry as well as attract new buyers.
Along with contributing to the country’s economic growth, the expo promoted sustainability, transparency, innovation, circularity, and responsibility in Bangladesh’s denim Industry.
Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) President Faruque Hassan said, “A lot of new investments have taken place. Many laundry washing plants armed with the latest technologies have been set up. And there has been the development of a lot of technical know-how in the country.”
BGMEA Director Mohiuddin Rubel said, “We have performed well in the denim sector over the last few years and the US is now our one of the major markets. However, due to the ongoing global economic crisis, our denim export earning began to decline from October. For this reason, the ongoing growth rate will come down at the end of the year.”
On the whole, to be an effective tool players Bangladesh needs to gain a competitive edge over their competitors to ensure long-term success in the global Denim market, which is constantly expanding.
Influence of the social media platforms is further expected to spur market growth. Moreover, the growing apparel market across the globe with the introduction of premium and branded products is likely to have a significant impact on the denim jeans market development.
Increase in demand for online shopping and availability of popular denim jeans brands on e-commerce platforms are expected to support the increase in sales of denim jeans during the forecast period.
Also, manufacturers are operating and owning their outlets to overcome counterfeiting practices, which further adds to the growth of the market.
