Despite their higher price tags, hyper- and supermarkets are driving away clothes shoppers from rival Far Eastern retailers, according to the latest Consumer Tracking survey by research company GfK Hungária. The report says large retail chains took a larger bite of the otherwise shrinking textile market last year by offering more products with better merchandising.
„The reasons of the growing popularity of this channel in terms of clothing products are clear,” sector manager at GfK Hungária Krisztina Kovács said.
Kovács listed wide assortment, reasonable prices and well-designed marketing activities of as major factors contributing to the success of large retail units. The introduction of own brands and changes to store arrangements also catalyzed clothing sales, she added.
The report found that hypermarkets, on average, sell clothing items 17% under the market average, which compares to 27% at Far Eastern retailers. This means that people are increasingly willing to pay higher prices to shop at retail chains, the survey concluded.
The ratio of spending at budget clothing retail chains also grew in 2010, partly fuelled by their rapid market expansion, GfK said.
The three-year contraction in the overall spending on clothes finally came to an end last year, when Hungarian households spent HUF 329 billion on clothes, shoes and accessories, only 1% less than a year before. Still, this figure is only 4% of the Hungarian households’ annual consumer expenditures, it added. (ÁV)
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