1. No category

Leather clothing
in Austria
The market for leather clothing in Austria has grown. Austrian people spend
relatively much on their outfit, as they regard quality important. However,
fashion becomes more important with the fast fashion retailers. Younger people
look for items at the lowest possible price. There are more opportunities for
fashionable leather clothing in modern classic designs for trendy and affluent
women. There are also opportunities for partnerships with exporting Austrian
manufacturers looking for lower cost sources.
Market characteristics
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Consumer’s expenditure increased, despite the recession. The Austrian market for leather
clothing was valued at € 1.3 billion in 2010, a 1.2% annual increase since 2006,
representing 2.7% of EU market value (€ 47.6 billion). This was well-above the EU as a
whole, which registered a 0.8% decrease. Austrian performance for this product group
was lower than the leading EU Member States, but higher than Belgium or the
Scandinavian countries. See also the module on promising EU export markets with all
trade statistics.
In general, Austrian people are well dressed, but are less influenced by fashion trends
than Italy, France or the UK, but spend average on clothing (5.1% of all consumers
spending in 2010). The Austrian market is characterised by a majority of consumers
paying much attention to the quality and exclusivity. They are less influenced by the fast
changing trends in fashion than people in other EU countries. As more retailers open
up new sites, on-line clothing sales continues to grow steadily in Austria. Some other
characteristics of the Austrian market were:
o Around 80% of the Austrian leather clothing market were coats and jackets. There is
now much more variety in jackets in different styles, including biker jackets.
o Within the other leather clothing segment, skinny leather trousers and leggings
gained popularity among younger Austrian women. Other popular items were
dresses, skirts, waistcoats and vests.
o The most preferred leather for women’s fashion is lambskin and calfskin, both
very soft leather with a pleasing handle.
o The strong traditional part of the clothing market in Austria includes leather trousers
for men and children, the so-called Lederhosen. This product is also popular in
Southern Germany and Switzerland; specific trade fairs are even organized for this
niche market.
Source: CBI Market Information Database – www.cbi.eu • Contact [email protected]
• Publication date 30.07.2011
Leather clothing in Austria
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o Women aged between 25-45 years, are an important target group for the industry.
They spend relatively much on their outfit and trendy women within this group
regard leather clothing as a symbol of status, power and personal taste.
o However, for the (leather) clothing market there is a polarisation in terms of:
- Grading up by older consumers looking for leather jackets that can be used longer.
- Grading down by younger consumers who look for fashionable jackets and other leather
clothing at the lowest possible prices. They are sometimes referred to as ‘Smart
shoppers’ and buy at clothing chains, textile-discounters or online sellers.
According to Mintel, the Austrian clothing market is expected to grow by 2.1% in 2011.
However, most Austrian people remain careful in their spending, due to the rising cost
of living (energy, food) and the rising clothing prices. In addition, discounters (Kik and
Takko) have been successful in the lower to medium segments. This implies that more
people are expected to shop around to find the best leather clothing for the lowest
possible price. Foreign brands remain popular in the high-medium segments.
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Production continued to rise. Austria is a medium sized EU producer of leather clothing
valued at € 92 million, almost 2% EU production. Austrian production rose by 4.1%
annually since 2006, which was high, compared with -2.1% for the EU production of
leather clothing. Austria is a sizeable exporter of leather clothing and since 2009
exports were up and were valued at € 18.8 million.
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Substantial DC increase in imports. Imports of leather clothing were valued at € 692
million in 2010, a -1.6% annual average decrease since 2006. However, volume imports
decreased by -4.5% to 1,134 tonnes, mainly due to falling volume imports from China that
fell since 2008 mainly due to currency hikes and higher prices. There was more demand
for higher quality items and Austria imported more from Italy and India. The value
decrease in Austrian imports was below the EU decrease rate in the period of -0.8%.
Austria is a medium sized importer of leather clothing from DC’s and accounted for
4.6% of EU imports. Austrian imports from DCs were valued at € 94 million (14% of all
imports by value and 19% by volume), and increased by +0.6% over the period 20062010 (volumes were down by -9.8% at 216 tonnes), as the majority is being imported
from Germany and Italy.
Leading DC suppliers (by volume) were India (10%, 24% average annual growth by value;
+19% by volume), China (3.2% of total, -17% by value; -32% by volume), Pakistan (2.0%,
+4.6% by value; -1.1% by volume), Turkey (1.7%, -6.0% by value; -5.7% by volume) and
Ukraine (1.7%, -13.2% by value; -21.5% by volume).
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Figure 1 Top 5 DC suppliers of leather clothing
90
60
Quantity
30
0
India
China
Pakistan
2006
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Turkey
2008
Ukraine
2010
The top five DC suppliers (see figure 1) represented 19% of all Austrian volume imports,
but represented the lion’s share (97%) of all Austria volume imports from DCs.
India could benefit from the devaluation of the Rupee and there is much availability in
Source: CBI Market Information Database – www.cbi.eu • Contact [email protected]
• Publication date 30.07.2011
Leather clothing in Austria
good quality leather. Other growing DC suppliers were Vietnam, Argentina, Indonesia,
Brazil, Thailand, Panama and Mexico. Imports from China continued to fall.
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Average DC import prices increased substantially from € 29.85 to € 43.69 per kg in
2010, which can be partly attributed to imports of higher quality leather clothing. IntraEU prices increased to a lesser extent from € 62.31 to € 64.67, making intra-EU import
prices 1.5 times higher than average DC import prices.
Key opportunities
Due to the intensified competition, especially for jackets, the main opportunities should be
sought in other leather clothing in new variations for the medium-higher segments and in
outsourcing.
• New variations in leather clothing could be for example in terms of products, for
example, such as waistcoats, dressed trousers, jeans trousers, harem style trousers,
jeggings, multi panelled skirts, simple and casual dresses, T-shirts, tops, blousons or
cape coats. Austrian women become more conscious about their look. There is a
growing market for fashionable leather clothing in modern classic designs. For
seasonal designs – see the CBI fashion forecasts at www.cbi.eu
• Tourists. Opportunities can be found in the rising number of immigrants and tourists.
Next to the major cities, winter sports areas remain popular. Austria has around 15
million tourists and, increasingly, from neighbouring Eastern EU countries and Russia.
All sorts of leather jackets, trousers, shorts, dresses or accessories could attract this
target group.
• Plus-size fashion. Increasing obesity has meant more demand for fashionable or
vintage style (mix & match) leather dresses that flatter more the women’s shape and for
leather skirts or trousers with waistbands featuring self-altering tabs and side elastics.
• Lederhosen. There are specific trade fairs in München (South Germany) and Salzburg
(Austria). Some companies include: Meindl Fashions (http://www.meindl-fashions.de);
Hammerschmid (http://www.hammerschmid.de); Spieth Wensky (http://spiethwensky.de). They might look for low cost suppliers for leather or for outsourcing.
• The ethical clothing sector. The availability of fashionable ethical products has
stimulated sales in all clothing segments. Organic or vegetable tanned leather could
be used in leather clothing. More information can be found in the module ‘Compliance
with EU buyer requirement for leather clothing’ and the module ‘Promising EU export
markets for knitted and woven clothing’.
• Outsourcing – Many manufacturers in Austria have developed an outsourcing policy.
The rising demand for lower cost leather by the younger ‘smart shopper’ has
led to a further sourcing of leather products in low-cost countries.
How to approach the market
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The main trade channels for market entry are either via importing manufacturers,
wholesalers or via specialised retailers. It depends on what type of leather clothing
exporter you are (CMT, FOB, private label or own brand manufacturer). Some exporters
make use of fashion sales agents. This channel would be appropriate if you were
manufacturing on behalf of a known designer.
Many retailers, importers and fashion houses export to Eastern EU countries, Russia and Asia.
Exports were on the rise since 2009, reaching € 18.8 million in 2010. Austrian importers or
manufacturers would be interested in partnerships with new suppliers in low cost countries who
can offer products with an original design, as China has become more expensive. Austrian buyers
regard quality, price and the ability to produce small orders very important.
Source: CBI Market Information Database – www.cbi.eu • Contact [email protected]
• Publication date 30.07.2011
Leather clothing in Austria
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Most of the Austrian clothing (including leather clothing) suppliers can be found on
http://www.fashion-industry.at; this website includes an online directory of the 200
members of the Austrian branch organisation Fachverband der Textilindustrie
Österreichs (FBÖ). The number of manufacturers of leather clothing is limited and
includes: Walser GmbH (http://www.walser.net or http://lederwalser.at); Othmar
Helmut Meisl; Samuel Kern & Co and Steinbock Mode Gmbh (http://www.steinbock.at
– general fashion including leather).
Wholesalers/importers of leather clothing can be found on the site of the Austrian
Chamber of Commerce http://www.wko.at. Search under ‘Firmen A-Z’ for information
about Austrian companies for example under ‘Lederbekleidung’ (leather clothing).
Leather specialized Sportalm (http://www.sportalm.at) operates as exporting
wholesaler and owns seven stores in Austria.
Clothing specialists represented some 55% of the Austrian clothing market in 2010.
The Austrian clothing sector is relatively fragmented compared to other West European
countries. Only two operators have a market share of over 6%:
o C&A (http://www.c-and-a.com) from Germany, which has 85 C&A stores.
o H&M (http://www.hm.com) from Sweden, with 63 stores.
Most other clothing chains (including leather clothing) include:
o Vögele (from Switzerland with 150 stores; http://www.voegelemode.com/corp/en/home_en).
o Schöps 93 general clothing stores (from Austria: http://www.schoeps.at).
o 235 KiK stores (Tengelman Group), 168 Esprit stores, of which 11 directly managed,
78 New Yorker stores, 250 TPS stores (NKD), 42 Orsay stores and 108 Takko stores.
These chains came from Germany.
Clothing chains have been successful in cooperation with celebrities for example the
Kate Moss collection for Topshop. In addition, the release of Lanvin for H&M and
Valentino for Gap were extremely successful in many EU countries. H&M has been the
most successful high street retailer in regards to designer collaborations. In 2011, they
launched a new leather clothing line with Donatella Versace.
Home shopping, including online sales of leather clothing, has grown substantially.
Important players in the home-shopping sector came from Germany such as:
Universal Versand (http://www.universal.at; part of Otto), Neckermann
(http://www.neckermann.at; part of Arcandor), Quelle (http://www.quelle.at; part
of Arcandor) and Klingel (http://www.klingel.at). The French La Redoute
(http://www.laredoute.at) is also active on the Austrian market.
You need to decide whether to approach this market directly or indirectly. See the module
on distribution strategy for more information. Information on buyer requirements can be
found in the module on buyer requirements. As for labelling, buyer would highly
appreciate it if you can specify the composition of textiles, fibres used in the product in
German.
If you make a direct approach, it is recommended that there is some personal
communication before a trading relationship commences. Developing country exporters
may approach customers in the Austria through direct (e-) mail, personal visits (as followup), inviting potential customers to visit you in your country, building a network and
visiting international trade fairs. Please note that Danish fashion companies often do
double-sourcing, i.e. asking several supplier for a quotation and production samples.
Other interesting contacts
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The main trade association is the Fachverband der Bekleidungsindustrie Österreichs,
http://www.fashion-industry.at, the website includes a list of members.
http://www.austriantrade.org, website of the official Austrian Foreign Trade Promotion
Organisation.
No clothing trade fairs have been encountered in Austria; buyers visit foreign trade
fairs, especially German and French ones.
Source: CBI Market Information Database – www.cbi.eu • Contact [email protected]
• Publication date 30.07.2011
Leather clothing in Austria
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The leading magazine is clothing and textiles trade journal Österreichische Textil Zeitung
http://www.textilzeitung.at
Search under ‘Firmen A-Z’ on the site of the Austrian Chamber of Commerce –
http://www.wko.at – for information about Austrian companies.
Market information can be found at Regioplan Consulting - http://www.regioplan.eu,
at Makam Market Research - http://www.makam.at - and at Gfk – http://www.gfk.at.
Labelling of leather in Austria
According to a 1986 decree of the Austrian Ministry of Commerce, leather clothing have to
be labelled (clearly visible and in the German language by means of stamps, labels,
information leaflets). Mandatory labelling requirements for leather clothing in Austria
concern:
• Animal species: such as Rind (bovine), Kalb (calf), Ziege (goat), Schaf (sheep), Lamm
(lamb), Pferd (horse), Hirsch (male deer), Reh (deer), Antilope (antelope) and Schwein (pig);
• Material description: such as Volleder (grain leather), Narbenspaltleder (split leather – grain
spalt) and Fleischspaltleder (split leather – underpart);
• Type of leather: such as Velours (suede), Nappa (nappa), Nubbuk (nubbuck), Anilin
(aniline) and Sämisch (shammy).
This survey was compiled by Searce
in cooperation with Dhyana van der Pols
Disclaimer CBI market information tool: http://www.cbi.eu/disclaimer
Source: CBI Market Information Database – www.cbi.eu • Contact [email protected]
• Publication date 30.07.2011