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Asian consumption of intimate wear continues to rise
Issue date:01/06/2010
ATA Journal for Asia on Textile & Apparel - Jun 2010 Issue
Source:Journal for Asia on Textile & Apparel
Michelle Phong reports
Consumption of intimate wear has been growing relatively fast in Asia, especially in China and India. Sellers of undergarment products have put more emphasis on growth markets in the East
Chic intimate wear is increasingly accepted by Asian consumers. Pictured is Chantelle’s 2010 Africa Christmas Glitter Collection
Chic intimate wear is increasingly accepted by Asian consumers. Pictured is Chantelle’s 2010 Africa Christmas Glitter Collection
According to the Women Lingerie Study 2009 conducted by the French Institute for Fashion, the economic downturn had little impact on the lingerie market. In France, the average lingerie spending dropped 1.3% and in the first quarter of 2009, four lingerie items out of ten were purchased during on-sale periods. However, in lingerie emerging markets like China and India, retail sales were only slightly affected by the economic downturn and it was recovered immediately with the growth of premium lingerie brands segment, according to Eurovet, an international lingerie exhibition organizer holding trade fairs in France and Hong Kong.

Shapewear maximizes fabric technology for beauty and function

With the rising demand of lingerie in Asia, sellers have studied more on this area of the market and they found that shapewear is a promising lingerie product, said Véronique Bonnet, Office Manager of Eurovet Asia and Exhibition Manager of Hong Kong Mode Lingerie. Shapewear refers to any lingerie that makes a female body look better.


Valérie Lemant (left) and Véronique Bonnet
These two years have seen a global trend of the growing popularity of shapewear, which often makes the best possible use of new fabrics and creative design for added features, according to Valérie Lemant, Lingerie & Swimwear Shows Division Director of Eurovet.

More brands began to develop and launch new lines of shapewear with better foams and silhouettes to generate a "push-up" effect more often for Asian women. On the other hand, minimizer bras can help make a female upper half look slimmer. Plus-size women may prefer a shapelier silhouette, for instance, to avoid gaps between blouse buttons.

In India, premium lingerie market mainly made of foreign imported brands is growing and these brands are sold in specialized chain stores as well as department stores, according to Eurovet. Lingerie retail is also growing rapidly in China. Most of the leading local lingerie brands such as Aimer and Embry Form have established their retail channels covering China; however, department stores continue to be the favorite place for consumers to shop for their lingerie.


2009 estimates of female population profile of China and India (Source: CIA World Factbook)
"Consumption of intimate wear in China is exploding right now, but the growth rate curve is expected to slow down in the next two decades in comparison with India," said

Ms Lemant. The reason is closely linked with the projected number of young women in India in coming years. This is combined with the fact that the average family income of India is rising and that of women has also been increasing year after year.

(Source: Lingerie Française)

Despite the upside in the Asian markets, fitting, level of price and styles are some areas that international sellers are making adaptation to suit the new marketplace, said Ms Lemant.

In the meantime, undergarment as a fashionable item is more common in the developed economies and thus online commerce (of lingerie) works relatively well in Europe, Japan, Korea and other areas, observed Ms Bonnet.

The market in the US and Europe will be relatively stable in comparison in these two years.

The economy in the US showed signs of improvements these months, observed Ninabeth Sowell, Invista's Global Marketing Director, Intimate Apparel & Swimwear. However, consumers are still cautious. The unemployment rate has not shown improvement and apparel consumption of women was relatively flat. Fortunately, there is a positive expectation in female apparel consumption, she said.

Ninabeth Sowell of Invista
When buying a piece of apparel, what women in developed economies (e.g. the US) are looking for has changed from excessive luxury to joy. Emotional satisfaction to address the shifting consumer mentality is needed, Ms Sowell said. These women are more willing to pay for value for the money spent. "Fibers and fabrics is crucial for consumers to determine whether it is a quality product of apparel," she said, explaining that quality value rather than disposable value is more attractive to the consumer to-date.

Europe, Hong Kong, Thailand and other areas are better known for its capability and potential in lingerie design. At the 4th Hong Kong Mode Lingerie (HKML) exhibition held this March in Hong Kong, there were 160 exhibitors, and of which 29% came from Hong Kong, 28% from China, 25% from Asia and 18% from all around the world.

Invista is one of the exhibitors showing a collection of Lycra fiber innovations to address new consumer needs for lingerie and swimwear.

Lycra fresh FX fabric is a wicking fabric with soft touch and quick drying benefits to deliver all-day freshness and cool comfort, whereas Lycra Xtra Fine Collection fiber with weights of 120 grams/m2 or less can be used to make fabric designed to give wearers a feeling of well-being and lightness via "barely there" intimacy, according to Invista. In addition, Lycra 2.0 Garment Technology provides bonded hems, bands and seams for garments that stretch and recover in response to body's movements.

At the HKML 2010, Invista co-exhibited with Derun Textile (China), Haining Dejun Knitting and Dyeing Group (China), Guangzhou Tianhai Lace (China), Eci-European Stretch Fabrics Group (Taiwan) and more. Some downstream producers of lingerie and swimwear have also developed their new products with Lycra fibers, including those from Asia, e.g. Sun Hing (Hong Kong), Bogart (Hong Kong), Regina-Miarcle (Hong Kong), Honey Lady (Indonesia) and Clover (Hong Kong).

Invista believes that Chinese consumers today are no longer satisfied with one garment fits all situations. They are looking for intimate solutions that make them feel cool, comfortable and confident. In order to satisfy more diverse market demands in China, some lingerie brands have adopted multi-brand marketing strategies and expanded to more categories including active wear and shaping corsets, according to Michelle Rice, Invista's Global Director, Intimate Apparel and Swimwear.

Advanced Italian fabrics target functional swimwear

Apart from functional appeal, eco-friendliness is another buzzword in the lingerie sector. Eco-responsibility is the key word for Borneo, the latest fabric developed by Carvico SpA. Carvico is an international manufacturer of warp-knitted fabrics from Italy.

By using waste material, the Borneo eco-fabric saves resources, the company says. Made with 78% polyester fibre recycled from scrap PET bottles and traditional recycling, Borneo represents Carvico's green vision for eco-compatible production of fabrics in harmony with the environment and nature, the company explains.

Carvico also offers product innovations ideal for beachwear, including the fine and light Revolutional line of techno-fabrics that act as a total shield against UV rays (UPF 50+), and are quick-drying, resistant to pilling and abrasions and offer good breathability. There is a 155g/m²


Swimwear showcased at Hong Kong Mode Lingerie
version of the Revolutional Family fabric that is in black colour, with Schoeller Technologies AG's coldblack Sun Reflector - UV Protector finishing. Further, the new Igloo techno fabric in opaque white polyester designed to wrap around and protect the athlete's body like a second skin while providing freedom of movement, Carvico says. Ideal for transfer printing, this fabric gives an optimal yield

from all printed colours and ensures a brilliant white. Its elasticity is maintained after printing processes, and offers high resistance to abrasions, the company says.

On the manufacturing front, the growing need of fast fashion, small batches of products delivered in a shorter time and automation has led to more Asian producers to search for innovative ways to process so as to meet the rising expectation of buyers in both domestic and overseas markets.

Process improvement helps users aim higher

Andreas (Andy) Kim, Lectra's Managing Director, Greater China, believed that product life management (PLM) solutions point to the future of fashion production including lingerie.

Product life management (PLM) is a management tool allowing producers to visualize the happenings of the process from design to production, facilitating them in the process of planning to execution. The Lectra Fashion PLM, speaking the fashion-specific language, makes the entire fashion making process more transparent, added Philippe Ribera, Lectra's Marketing Director-Software.


Andreas Kim and Philippe Ribera of Lectra
By using the PLM solutions, users can do the product development more efficiently. After key parameters are defined including what to produce at which price, designers can start their work and develop a collection line for the new season. They can make use of the system to combine their propositions with the engineering and fitting of apparel and lingerie. Technical characteristics, styles and sizes are put into consideration.

It often takes about six months to execute a PLM-laden production process. Mr Kim continued: "The benefit can be immediate with the use of the Lectra Fashion PLM as soon as the user modernize the process. The user can save time in the process of fashion making, thereby reducing the lead time. Instead of taking a slow train, now you can take off on an airplane."

Mango, Arena, Une Mode Pour Tous, Please Mum, and Une Nana Cool have been using Lectra's PLM system to reduce collection development costs and lead times, while ensuring better quality, greater productivity and profitability, Mr Ribera mentioned. With 30 years' experience in the fashion sector, Lectra has about 2,000 customers in China and totally 30,000 in the world.

Traditionally, fashion and apparel manufacturers in China primarily served the export market, considering the homeland as a supplementary market. However, this has changed.

"In the last two years of the global economic crisis, Chinese users have been impacted in a significant way. The export market has seen a drastic drop and recovery might be slow, prompting more Chinese manufacturers to enter the domestic market," Mr Kim observed.

In the meantime, China is considered one of the most fast-growing consumption markets, offering an increasingly attractive prospect for Chinese apparel makers. By floating on the stock exchange or other means, Chinese textile and apparel manufacturers have financially strengthened supporting their technological upgrade.

Lectra presented its advanced solutions at the Prime Source Forum in Hong Kong this March. More solutions were on shown at the event including Enovia Apparel Accelerator of Dassault Systèmes. It explains that about 60% of a product's lifecycle involves design and development, thus advanced PLM solutions is important to improve vendor collaboration within the apparel supply chain by enhancing visibility and access to information so as to reduce costs, improve quality and efficiency.

"Our apparel industry solution is dedicated to enabling the fastest track from concept to rack for our customers around the world. Our goal is to help apparel and footwear companies create consumer-centric products in better, faster and smarter ways to combat fierce competition, tackle profit pressures and address changing consumer preferences," said Susan Olivier, Director of Industry Market Development, Retail, Footwear and Apparel, Dassault Systèmes Enovia.

China could enjoy a sharp learning curve

"It is estimated that there will be more new PLM users in China than those in Europe in the next three to five years, " said Mr Ribera, adding that the new Lectra Fashion PLM solutions were thus launched selectively in China, America, France, Italy and the UK.

Mr Kim shared this projection. He explained that China today does not necessarily need to go through all the learning processes that other countries went through. European and American customers had to wait decades before their textile industry could enjoy the advanced software solutions. This is now available for Chinese users, allowing them to achieve the same level of technology available with the best companies in the world. By adopting the internationally advanced technology and solutions early, Chinese users have the potential to gain an upper hand in the market and make an even better product that leads in the world.

"This was the case of Samsung in the past years. By well adopting the LED television technology, the Korean company has been advancing itself to be the top electric manufacturer in the world. This is the opportunity we can have in the apparel industry in China," said Mr Kim.
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