Growth market China
China is an economically important market that is increasingly becoming the focus of the clothing industry.
Facts and figures first: China is the largest country in Asia in terms of area and the fourth largest country in the world. The total area of China is approximately 26.8 times the size of Germany, the gross domestic product was 12 trillion Euros in 2019, which is an increase of 6.1% compared to the previous year. This makes China the second largest economy after the USA.
But before entering the market, companies need to take a number of things into account, because not only is the country's culture different from ours, but the proportions of the Chinese are also quite different from those of Europeans or Americans, as a comparison of representative data from past series measurements and studies shows[1].
| China average adult women | Germany average adult women | SizeNA (USA) average adult women | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Body height [cm] | 158,6 | 165,8 | 162,7 |
| Chest girth [cm] | 86,7 | 99,3 | 104,9 |
| Waist girth [cm] | 83,2 | 85,6 | 94,9 |
| Hip girth [cm] | 93,2 | 103,4 | 110,6 |
| China average adult men | Germany average adult men | SizeNA (USA) average adult men | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Body height [cm] | 169,3 | 179,0 | 175,7 |
| Chest girth [cm] | 89,6 | 106,7 | 111,0 |
| Waist girth [cm] | 78,8 | 95,6 | 100,7 |
| Hip girth [cm] | 90,1 | 103,1 | 106,4 |
With the overall strong growth of the Chinese economy, the Chinese fashion market is also growing - increasing industrialisation and urbanisation are accompanied by an increased demand for brands and luxury goods. Goods from Europe and the USA are in high demand. In addition to the image of the product, awareness from TV commercials, word of mouth and online shops, a strong interest in the sports-specific footwear and apparel sector are among the decision factors of customers. The desire of the Chinese to own their own car has also increased dramatically. Today, 2.6 vehicles are manufactured every second. China accounts for almost a quarter of this. In 2020, there were already over 200 million registered passenger cars in China. Nevertheless, only about 15 percent of the population owns a car. If the penetration were like in Germany (57 percent), there would be 763 million vehicles. One more reason to invest in China.
[1] Data for Germany and North America are from representative size surveys performed with 3D body scanners from 2006 to 2008 for Germany and 2016 to 2019 for North America. The data from China come from the GB 10000-88 study.