Inflation has hurt apparel enterprises

Many small and medium-sized apparel companies are relying on this year’s holiday shopping in order to make up for the lost turnover of previous years and return to pre-pandemic levels. 

While in August 2022, according to market representatives, the sector’s sales and exports approached pre-pandemic levels, since September, the rise in inflation and the consequent reduction in disposable income have led the apparel market to decline.

“Clothing is the industry that has suffered the biggest loss in turnover in the past decade. In the summer, thanks to people’s need to go out, the tourism revenues but also the better psychology of consumers, the picture of the market was clearly better compared to 2021, but not close to the levels of 2019,” says Theodoros Kapralos, president of the Piraeus Chamber of Commerce and vice president of the Hellenic Confederation of Commerce and Entrepreneurship (ESEE).

He notes that in October-November 2022, a decrease of 10-15% was observed compared to the same period before the pandemic, a loss that is connected to the fact that consumers choose to cut such spending.