The textile trade in Germany is currently doing good business with warm underwear, socks, gloves and slippers, as well as beaver bed linen and warm blankets.
“A number of customers appear to have already taken precautions to best compensate for the recommended reduction in room temperature in the coming weeks and months,” said trade association leather goods textile footwear (BTE) spokesman Axel Augustin. summarizing business development in September in Cologne on Thursday. Cozy sweatshirts and weatherproof jackets are also popular at the moment.
Despite markedly lower consumer sentiment in Germany, the textile and footwear trade can often look forward to a single-digit percentage increase in sales in September compared to a year ago. Prices for autumn products are mostly stable. “This is because, on the one hand, the production of clothing, shoes and textiles consumes relatively little energy, and, on the other hand, most of the current goods were ordered before the start of the war in Ukraine, so the recent jump in energy prices does not are appreciated”, said Augustin.
However, the fashion trade is worried about the coming months. The expected drop in customer demand coupled with horrendous price increases for lighting and heating in stores threatens to push many companies into the red in 2022. “High cost increases in energy alone are currently eating into the industry’s usual profits ,” said Augustine. Textile and clothing retailers, exhausted by corona restrictions, urgently need political support. “Otherwise, a number of businesses should not survive the coming winter,” warned the BTE spokesperson.