$6.9bn
$XXX.Xm
14,613
2,487
$XXX.Xm
The Clothing Wholesaling industry has struggled with declining revenue in recent years. Clothing retailers are circumventing wholesalers by leveraging their global reach, instead directly tapping into countries like China and Vietnam, known for their low production costs. Small-scale manufacturers have also started using ecommerce channels to sell directly to consumers, completely bypassing the traditional wholesale route. Weaker demand from retail outlets, particularly department stores, has further pulled down industry earnings. Although, the COVID-19 pandemic has been a silver lining, with some large retailers localising supply chains amid global disruptions, benefiting wholesalers to some extent. Despite this, the industry's revenue is tipped to dip at an annual rate of 3.0% over the five years through 2023-24, rounding off at $6.9 billion, including an anticipated 3.9% drop in the current year. A stronger Australian dollar is influencing consumers to buy overseas in 2023-24, as are recovering supply chains and improved shipping times.Despite some wholesalers sourcing their inventory from countries with lower production costs, the industry's profit margins have shrunk over the years. A high base year and rising price-based competition are the root causes. While the COVID-19 pandemic initially devalued demand from clothing retailers leading to a significant dip in revenue in 2019-20, increased government aid has played a huge role in raising disposable income and consumer sentiment in 2020-21. This created a surge in demand for clothing retailers, ultimately boosting orders for wholesalers. Industry wholesalers who had online platforms or catered to smaller retailers executing omnichannel strategies saw some profitability from this trend, which helped cushion overall losses in the industry's bottom line.Industry revenue is projected to decline at an annualised 2.2% over the five years through 2028-29, leaving the industry worth an estimated $6.1 billion. Factors like disposable income and consumer sentiment are set to improve, supporting demand at the retail level. Yet, the rise in online shopping and bypassing of wholesalers is to continue, challenging wholesalers. The bright spot for wholesalers could be catering to niche markets and providing higher-end goods.
Industry revenue has declined at a CAGR of 3.0 % over the past five years, to reach an estimated $6.9bn in 2023.
Market size is projected to decline over the next five years.
Company | Market Share (%)
2024 | Revenue ($m)
2024 |
---|---|---|
Sunshine A Pty Ltd | 274.4 | |
Brand Collective | 205.8 |
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Industry revenue is measured across several distinct product and services lines, including Men's clothing, Women's clothing and Children's clothing. Men's clothing is the largest segment of the Clothing Wholesaling in Australia.
The women's clothing segment faces challenges despite high demand
Industry companies wholesale clothing by purchasing stock from clothing manufacturers and then selling the garments to retailers, generally with little or no development of the items. Most industry wholesalers perform sales and administrative activities, such as establishing relationships with manufacturers and retailers to ensure a reliable supply and demand of stock, marketing and advertising their products, and transporting and storing stock.
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ANZSIC 3712 - Clothing Wholesaling in Australia
Get an indication of the industry's health through historical, current and forward-looking trends in the performance indicators that make or break businesses.
The Clothing Wholesaling industry is struggling as retailers increasingly bypass them, leveraging their global reach to source directly from low-cost manufacturers. This shif...
Learn about an industry's products and services, markets and trends in international trade.
The Clothing Wholesaling industry responds directly to consumer preferences, replenishing retailers with in-demand apparel. This fashion-driven supply chain relies heavily on...
Discover where business activity is most concentrated in an industry and the factors driving these trends to find opportunities and conduct regional benchmarking.
The prevalence of wholesalers in New South Wales and Victoria can be attributed to these states' strategic locations. With most of these industry wholesalers importing from o...
Get data and insights on what's driving competition in an industry and the challenges industry operators and new entrants may face, with analysis built around Porter's Five Forces framework.
The Clothing Wholesaling industry is fiercely competitive, with wholesalers battling for those coveted licenses to distribute popular brands. Wholesalers carving out a niche ...
Learn about the performance of the top companies in the industry.
There are no dominant entities in the Clothing Wholesaling industry. Wholesalers often duplicate each other's inventory and discounting strategies, reducing their opportuniti...
Understand the demographic, economic and regulatory factors that shape how businesses in an industry perform.
Despite no direct government support, clothing wholesalers are influenced by any aid given to upstream manufacturers. The Federal Government’s push for trade liberalisation a...
View average costs for industry operators and compare financial data against an industry's financial benchmarks over time.
Wholesalers’ cost structures in various industries fluctuate based on their operational scale and product type. Purchases notably stand as the industry's heftiest expense, cl...
Including values and annual change:
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Key data sources in Australia include:
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The market size of the Clothing Wholesaling industry in Australia is $6.9bn in 2024.
There are 2,487 businesses in the Clothing Wholesaling industry in Australia, which has declined at a CAGR of 1.6 % between 2018 and 2023.
The market size of the Clothing Wholesaling industry in Australia has been declining at a CAGR of 3.0 % between 2018 and 2023.
Over the next five years, the Clothing Wholesaling industry in Australia is expected to decline.
The biggest companies operating in the Clothing Wholesaling market in Australia are Sunshine A Pty Ltd and Brand Collective
Men's clothing and Women's clothing are part of the Clothing Wholesaling industry.
The company holding the most market share in Australia is Sunshine A Pty Ltd.
The level of competition is moderate and increasing in the Clothing Wholesaling industry in Australia.