Activewear market to grow in North America, Asia

"In North America, I expect the activewear market to show mid-single digit growth this year and the next, although certain segments of the market such as fashion basics and performance brands are growing at a faster rate. With international markets, it is hard to say; but we feel Asia, and China in particular, are positioned for double-digit growth," Mike Hoffman, president of Gildan Activewear SRL told fibre2fashion.com.

To complement the market trends, he says that they intend to pursue deeper penetration in fashion basics and sports performance product categories in the North American printwear market, where their participation in these categories has not been as extensive as in the basics category.

In 2014, Gildan's sales in international printwear market grew by approximately 17 per cent, with particularly strong growth in Europe and Asia-Pacific where sales increased close to 30 per cent, he informs. Gildan's consolidated sales in calendar year 2014 stood at US$ 2.3 billion, and it is targeting US$ 2.65 billion for 2015.

Gildan has achieved a leadership position in the US and Canadian printwear channels, particularly within the basics category servicing wholesale distributors. Hoffman believes that they can broaden their market opportunity through a number of initiatives.

They intend to continue expanding in the international printwear market such as Europe, Asia-Pacific and Latin America, which currently represents eight per cent of the company's total consolidated net sales, by expanding distribution and by leveraging their brands, he concludes.

Click here to read thecomplete interview

Fibre2Fashion News Desk