Category Archives: Footwear

Personal Luxury Goods

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Personal luxury goods include high-end apparel, leather goods, accessories, watches, jewelry, perfume, beauty products and other high-end goods for personal use. Today’s market size shows the total global sales of personal luxury goods for 2018 and projected for 2025.1 Top companies in this sector, ranked by 2018 sales, include LVMH ($53.66 billion), EssilorLuxottica ($18.57 billion), Richemont ($16.05 billion), Kering ($15.71 billion), Swatch ($8.71 billion), Chow Tai Fook ($8.71 billion), Hermés ($6.88 billion), Ralph Lauren ($6.42 billion), Tapestry ($5.96 billion), and Capri Holdings ($5.38 billion).2

Traditionally consumers who wanted to purchase personal luxury goods shopped at specialty boutiques or high-end department stores such as Nordstroms, Bergdorf Goodman, or Saks Fifth Avenue. But, just as other brick-and-mortar retail establishments have been affected negatively by online retailers, so too have personal luxury goods retailers. Several online sites such as Net-a-Porter offer multiple brands of high-end merchandise for sale, free shipping and the convenience of shopping from home. Overall, in-store traffic decreased by 30% from 2012 to 2018. Still, according to EY Advisory, although more than 70% of purchases are influenced by online channels, nearly 90% of purchases are made in store.

Increasingly, many shoppers in their 20s through 40s who can afford high-end merchandise do not want to pay full price for their purchases. In addition, while many Millennials and Generation Z consumers want to be seen in new styles often, they are also concerned about sustainability. They see clothing resale and reuse as a way to conserve resources while also satisfying their want of a new wardrobe. Overall, 26% of luxury shoppers also buy secondhand. While wealthy consumers are unlikely to shop at places such as Goodwill or other thrift stores, they are shopping online at sites such as Fashionphile and TheRealReal which allow consumers to buy, sell and consign used luxury clothing and accessories and at sites such as Rent the Runway which allows consumers to rent high-end clothing for a monthly fee. Millennial and Generation Z consumers made a third of luxury purchases worldwide in 2018 according to Bain & Co. Purchases made by consumers in these two generations combined contributed to nearly all of the growth in the luxury goods sector in 2018.

Some luxury brands such as Gucci and Louis Vuitton have been opening boutique stores and expanding their website offerings in order to control their exclusivity while at the same time their merchandise is discounted at resale sites. Some luxury retailers are focusing on experiences and services to compete with online retail, resale, and rental sites by offering customers champagne and hors d’oeurves while they shop, having cafés and beverage bars in store, and hiring style advisors to help customers. Nordstrom partnered with Rent the Runway to offer customers the ability to drop off their Rent the Runway fashion items at their store. After learning that half their customers also buy or sell used merchandise, Neiman Marcus invested in a minority share of Fashionphile, however, they do not plan to sell secondhand merchandise in their stores or on their website.3 They may want to rethink that strategy, however. In ThredUp’s 2019 Resale Report, GlobalData, a retail analytics firm, found that 33% of consumers would buy more from luxury retailers if they offered secondhand clothing.

1 For the projected 2025 data, the source mentions the “luxury goods market.” The article in which this appears reports only on personal luxury goods, therefore, our editors assumed that this figure was for personal luxury goods only.
2 The source reports sales figures in euros. Our editors used the December 31, 2018 conversion rate of 1 Euro = 1.1466 U.S. dollars given on the Market Insider website here to convert the sales figures to U.S. dollars. Rankings do not include cosmetics companies. If they did the following companies would be in the top 10: L’Oréal ($30.84 billion), Estée Lauder ($13.99 billion) and Beiersdorf ($8.26 billion). Cosmetics sales include products at all price points.
3 Through the partnership with Fashionphile, Neiman Marcus has designated a few of their stores as drop-off points for customers who want to sell their merchandise on Fashionphile. Sellers receive an immediate quote from Fashionphile for their merchandise and immediate payment if they choose to sell. Neiman Marcus is hoping that customers will then want to use that payment to buy merchandise in their stores.

Note: Any mention of brands or companies in this post does not constitute an endorsement.

Geographic reference: World
Year: 2018 and 2025
Market size: $286.53 billion and $445 billion, respectively
Sources: Anne D’Innocenzio, “Luxury Stores Adapt to Changing Shoppers,” The Denver Post, December 29, 2019, pp. 1K, 6K; Florine Eppe Beauloye, “The 15 Most Popular Luxury Brands Online in 2019,” Luxe Digital, April 20, 2019 available online here; “Tailoring the Luxury Experience: The Luxury and Cosmetics Financial Factbook 2019 Edition,” EY Advisory S.p.A., 2019 available online here; ThredUp 2019 Resale Report, March 2019 available online here; Tom Ryan, “Are Secondhand Sales the Right Branding Move for Neiman Marcus?” RetailWire, April 23, 2019 available online here.
Original source: Bain & Co.
Image source: FranckinJapan, “bag-luxury-accessories-japan-ginza-2060110,” Pixabay, February 13, 2017 available online here. Use of image does not constitute an endorsement.

Diabetic Shoes

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Diabetic shoesAccording to the World Health Organization, more than 400 million people in the world were living with diabetes in 2014, up from 108 million in 1980. The International Diabetes Federation predicts this number will reach 645 million by 2040. Type 1 diabetes, sometimes called juvenile or childhood-onset diabetes, occurs when a person’s immune system attacks the pancreatic cells that produce insulin. As a result, people living with Type 1 diabetes must take insulin on a daily basis. There is no known way to prevent Type 1 diabetes. Type 2 diabetes occurs when a person’s body cannot effectively use the insulin it produces. Most of the people with diabetes have this form of the disease, including 90-95% of people with diabetes in the United States. People with excess body weight and who are physically inactive are at a higher risk of contracting Type 2 diabetes as are those with a family history of Type 2 diabetes. Type 2 diabetes used to be called adult-onset diabetes, but in recent years this condition has been seen in children also. While some people with Type 2 diabetes can control their blood sugar with diet and exercise, others need medications to do so. Some classes of medications to treat Type 2 diabetes either help the body secrete more insulin or improve the body tissue’s sensitivity to insulin in order for the body to use it more effectively. In some cases, those with Type 2 diabetes have to take insulin also. Other types of diabetes include gestational diabetes, which occurs during pregnancy and goes away after the baby is born; monogenic diabetes, which is an inherited form of diabetes; and cystic fibrosis-related diabetes.

If a person’s blood sugar is not properly controlled, high blood glucose levels can contribute to an increased risk of heart disease, stroke, kidney disease, eye problems, dental disease, nerve damage, poor circulation and foot problems. Because of poor circulation, any injury to the foot may take longer to heal or lead to infection. If there is nerve damage, a person may not realize that they have a foot injury and the problem could be exacerbated. Nerve damage can also change the shape of the foot making regular shoes feel uncomfortable. Diabetic shoes are a type of orthopedic shoe for people with neuropathy, nerve damage, a foot deformity or an existing foot injury. They are designed to relieve excess pressure on the foot, reduce shock, reduce joint motion and provide extra room for custom orthotics. These shoes can be custom-made from a mold of a person’s foot to provide a better fit.

Today’s market size shows the total global sales of diabetic shoes in 2015 and projected for 2024. In 2015, more than half of sales—$2.54 billion—were in the United States. As the number of people with diabetes increases, the population ages, disposable incomes rise, and innovations in design create more comfortable and stylish shoes, the market for diabetic shoes is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 8.1% from 2016 to 2024.

Geographic reference: World
Year: 2015 and 2024
Market size: $5.0 billion and $9.9 billion, respectively
Sources: “Diabetic Shoes Market,” Transparency Market Research Report Preview, February 2017 available online here; “Diabetes,” World Health Organization, November 15, 2017 available online here; “What is Diabetes?” National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, November 2016 available online here; Stephanie Watson and Kathryn Watson, “Do I Need Diabetic Shoes?” Healthine, July 15, 2016 available online here; “Type 2 Diabetes,” Mayo Clinic available online here.
Image source: Brainy J [CC0], from Wikimedia Commons, July 8, 2014 available online here.

Women’s Footwear in China

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Women's footwearWhere were your shoes made? More than 60% of shoes sold globally are manufactured in and exported from China. In China, the market for women’s footwear has seen a compounded annual growth rate of 8.7% over the past 5 years. As disposable income rises, many consumers want to buy higher quality footwear. Several foreign luxury brands such as Bally, Christian Louboutin, Gucci, and Louis Vuitton, to name a few, are courting the Chinese consumer by using social media marketing and partnerships with Chinese influencers and celebrities, as well as employing Chinese actresses as spokespersons in order to increase their market share. Today’s market size shows the total sales of women’s footwear in China in 2016 and 2018. The figure for 2018 is projected.

Geographic reference: China
Year: 2016 and 2018
Market size: 224.7 billion RMB ($33.8 billion) and more than 260 billion RMB ($39.1 billion), respectively
Sources: Christine Lee, “Fashion Houses Fight for Market Share in the Booming Chinese Shoe Market,” Jing Daily, July 19, 2018 available online here.
Image source: Capri23auto, “high-heeled-shoes-pumps-2812638,” Pixabay, November 2017 available online here.

Sneaker Resale Market

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When one hears the word collectibles one may think of antiques, figurines, baseball cards or comic books. But something many of us wear on a daily basis has also become a collectible: sneakers. Rare sneakers are now being sold through social media and at trade shows. In some cases, shoes bought at retail for $200 four years ago are now listed at close to nine times that. In some cases, sneakerheads—as buyers and sellers of rare sneakers are called—are paying more than $5,000 a pair for the most coveted styles.

In the United States, about 9 million pairs of sneakers are resold each year. Today’s market size shows the estimated value of the sneaker resale market in the United States in 2016.

Geographic reference: United States
Year: 2016
Market size: $1.2 billion
Source: Diamond, Michael L., “Teen Finds Fortune, Heartbreak in Sneakers,” Lansing State Journal, August 28, 2016, page 6B.

Online Sale of Clothes and Shoes

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The market size presented here is the total value of clothing and shoes that were sold electronically in 2003 and 2008. It is interesting to see that online sales of clothes and shoes have grown briskly over this five-year period since it was believed that such merchandise would be harder to sell online than other things, things that people would not wish to try on before purchasing. Four Census Bureau product codes are included in this market size calculation, they are 20200 (Men’s wear); 20220 (Women’s wear); 20240 (Children’s clothes), and 20260 (Footwear).

Geographic reference: United States (based on the location of the selling entity)
Year: 2003 and 2008
Market size: Sales: $5.13 and $17.06 billion respectively, representing a 233% increase.
Source: “Table 1055. Electronic Shopping and Mail-Order Houses—Total and E-Commerce Sales by Merchandise Line,” Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2011, U.S. Census Bureau, page 663, available online here in a spreadsheet format, and here as a PDF file.
One word of clarification to help prevent any confusion about just what is being presented here. The data in the source table are provided in two columns per year, the first one called “Total,” and the second is “E-Commerce”. The column headed “Total” refers to the total sales for the industry “Electronic Shopping and Mail-Order Houses,” [NAICS 4541], and the second column is the e-commerce portion of that industry’s total. Do not confuse the “Total” column for a measure of total sales of the product line listed in that row. It is, rather, the total sales of that product line made electronically and through mail-order houses.
Original source: U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census.

Size of the Market for Running Shoes

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The market sizes presented here were calculated based on total retail sales for the years shown.

Geographic reference: United States
Year: 1988, 1998, 2008
Market size: $987 million, $1.47 billion, and $2.31 billion respectively
Source: Running USA’s State of the Sport Report, July 15, 2009 available online here.
Original source: National Sporting Goods Association