Report shows jeans market is shrinking

Changing fashions and fewer young people have caused the jeans market to fall in volume by 8.5 per cent and in value by two per cent over the past year.

In the latest report from Mintel, volume is shown to have dropped by 4 million units to 43 million since it peaked in 1993. The reason is the rise of more glamorous and formal fashions and a drop in the 15 to 24-year-old age range.

The report supports recent predictions made in Marketing Week that the rise of designer jeans is causing prices to rise across the market, and that the likes of Diesel and Calvin Klein are taking share away from brands such as Levi’s at the premium end of the mass market.

Market leader Levi’s brand share has dropped 2.6 per cent by value in the past year, but Wrangler’s has risen by 6.1 per cent, and the niche brands have risen overall by seven per cent.

Despite the poor market conditions, more niche brands, for example Budweiser, are launching their own jeans. The report predicts that brands will concentrate on marketing to an older age range and to women.