Lingerie market will continue to grow by 20% until 2011

20 Jun '08

6 min read

Retail space of the Russian market of brassières, day- and night underwear, homewear and swimwear doubled in size between spring 2005 and spring 2008, covering close to 82.000 square meters.

This is a result of the latest edition of the market research study, assessed by ITMM GmbH, Stuttgart, and published by Igedo Company, organisers of the specialised lingerie trade fairs BODY LOOK, Düsseldorf, and CPM LINGERIE, Moscow.

Whereas in 2005, the share of Moscow against the total Russian retail space of lingerie accounted for around 70 per cent, the study projects a decline of the Muscovite share to some 40 per cent, this year.

Obviously, the transformation of growth from Moscow to the provinces concentrated on thirteen regional capitals, composing a population of close to or well over 1 mn, as well as on further nine large cities with in between 400.000 and 900.000 inhabitants.

According to the study, 48 per cent against the Russian total retail space offering lingerie is allocated to 22 such cities in the regions.

The final balance of 12 per cent is shared by further 41 medium-to-larger sized provincial cities which the study characterises as growth oriented retail locations for lingerie.

As the study further assessed, the Russian lingerie retail trade composing an approximate total number of 1.800 specialist stores in spring 2008, reached revenues of US $ 2,5 bn (Euro 1,6 bn) against US $ 1,26 bn in 2005, generated by around 900 doors.

There are three main reasons given in the study for the tremendous deepening and widening of the Russian lingerie retail market:
1. Growth of Real Income
As a result of increase of wages and salaries at an annual average rate of 12,8 per cent over the past years, Russia has seen and continues to observe a surge of a money spending middle class.

2. Mushrooming Points of Sale for Lingerie
The enormous expansion of specialised lingerie retail chains and shops is the result of billion heavy investments in the construction of 545 shopping centres as of against 316 of such centres in 2005. Without this significant growth of 72 per cent, allocation of lingerie retail shops would have been impossible.

3. Diversification of the Offer
Russian retailers of intimate apparel have paid keen attention to diversify their portfolio in terms of fashion, function, target group orientation and wearing occasion. Preparedness to take a risk in opening specialized shops dedicated to just men's underwear, large sized intimate apparel or petites as well as to homewear, or swim- and beachwear is noteworthy and tends to sustain.

New speciality shops and affiliated chains in Russia like "VI Legion" or "XO" for men's underwear, "Bikini", "Bikini Boom" or "Jemini", focusing on swimwear in Samara may be taken as examples for this obvious trend.

The new edition of Igedo's Study offers a deep insight view on the most recent development of almost any significant Russian retailer in terms of its company profile and expansion of retail activities.

The analysis refers to all key specialized lingerie retail chains, including both, multi-brand multiples as well as mono-brand multiples such as larger-to-medium sized independent lingerie stores and boutiques located in Moscow, St. Petersburg and further twelve large regional capitals.

The Study further features allocation of the new vertical mono-brand lingerie chain "Défilé", recently launched by Wild Orchid Holding in provincial cities as well as the large sized multi-brand lingerie and hosiery store concept invented by the Muscovite import distributor Edinaya Evropa Elite under the trade mark of "Style Park".

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