On the surface, the last few years haven’t been kind to Canada’s clothing retailers.
Popular brands like Danier Leather, Maxx Canada, Smart Set and Jacob have all exited the marketplace.
Earlier this year, Le Chateau announced plans to close 40 of its stores, on top of the 11 it shuttered in 2015. American retailer Aeropostale also closed its Canadian stores, as it filed for bankruptcy in the United States.
Industry analysts have pinned the blame for retailers’ struggles on difficulty adapting to online shopping and other new realities.
But new data from Statistics Canada suggests that Canadians are spending more on clothing, footwear and accessories – and traditional clothing retailers are the biggest beneficiaries of that trend.
According to the data, which was released Tuesday, total retail sales in the clothing sector totalled approximately $41.9 billion in 2015 – a 38 per cent increase over a decade earlier, when that figure was closer to $30.3 billion.
Stores that primarily sell clothing and accessories accounted for 67 per cent of that total, which is slightly more than the 65.5 per cent they were recorded at in 2004.
Retailers of sporting goods, books and music saw their share of the clothing pie increase by 50 per cent in that timespan, to 6.6 per cent, while general merchandise stores now only account for 22.8 per cent of clothing sales, down from 27.5 per cent in 2004.
Statistics Canada’s report did make notice of the “numerous exits and entries” to the clothing retail landscape in recent years, noting that many middle-class retailers have been replaced by higher-end shops.
“Despite this turnover, the clothing retail industry continued to prosper,” the report reads.
Women’s clothing and accessories were by far the biggest subgroup of consumer spending on clothing, with $17 billion of the nearly $42 billion total falling into that category.
Men’s clothing and accessories accounted for $9.4 billion of spending, with footwear clocking in at $7.1 billion and luggage and jewelry at $4.4 billion.
With files from CTVNews.ca
