Fashion in EU countries

Europe is a strong and growing apparel market, home to the world’s largest and most prestigious apparel companies. The value of the apparel import market in Europe was 127.4 billion euros in 2020, 146.9 billion in 2019. The significant decline of 13.3% is the result of the COVID-19 pandemic and the weakening of international trade. Until 2020, the market grew at an average annual rate of 4.7% from 2016 to 2019. Recovery of the market to 2019 sales values is projected for 2023.

The largest European markets are Germany, France, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands and Poland, which together account for almost 75% of all EU apparel imports worldwide and 79.5% of all intra-EU imports.

In 2020, Germany was the largest exporter in the EU at €14.8 billion, followed by Poland at €6.8 billion and Italy at €6.5 billion[1].

In 2021, France and Italy ranked first and second in the ranking of leading countries for the fashion industry worldwide[2].

[1] CBI Ministry of Foreign Affairs “What is the demand for apparel on the European market?” https://www.cbi.eu/market-information/apparel/what-demand

[2] Statista “Brands Countries IPX: ranking of the leading countries for the fashion industry worldwide in 2021” https://www.statista.com/statistics/1202694/fashion-industry-leading-countries-worldwide/