Significant recovery of the clothing-textile sector from the second quarter
Significant recovery of the clothing-textile industry and gradual return to normalcy is observed from the second quarter of 2021, after the difficult 2020, during which the pandemic brought about a significant reduction in the size of products in the area.
The total net profits of the approximately 100 largest companies in the sector decreased by 70%, with the purely export ones showing clearly better performance in all fields. The largest drop in turnover occurred last year in menswear and the smallest in lingerie, while sales of both sports and casual clothing fell, although they were worn a lot during the consecutive lockdown.
Analytically, based on the processing carried out by the Association of Knitting & Ready-made Garments of Greece (SEPEE) in the balance sheets of 102 clothing companies, their total turnover decreased by 20.8% and amounted to 592.1 million euros. Gross profit amounted to 215.3 million, reduced by 25.7% compared to 2019, with a small profit margin of 36%. The total net profits of the products decreased by 70% and amounted to 3.6 million euros. The net profit margin stood at 0.6%.
The turnover of products operating in the domestic market decreased by 24.7% and amounted to 430.5 million. Gross profit decreased by 29% (177.5 million) and net results amounted to losses of 8 million euros. The gross profit margin stood at 41.2% and the net profit margin at -1.9%.
For the purely exporting companies of the sample, turnover decreased by 7.1% from 174 million euros in 2019 to 161.6 million in 2020. Gross profit amounted to 37.8 million euros, recording a decrease 2.8%, while net profits amounted to 11.6 million, increased by 100% (nevertheless, the overall picture of profits was much lower, as losses of a large percentage of the sample products “threw” the total ). The gross profit margin stood at 23.4% and the net profit at 7.2%. Regarding the categorization of results by product, in the category of women’s clothing, which is the most important, a decrease in turnover of 30.6% was recorded.
In the category of menswear, the largest decrease in turnover was recorded by 34.7%. In the category of children’s clothing the reduction was limited to 20.7% of the turnover, while in casual-sports the reduction of the reduction amounted to 21.4%. In the category of underwear, the smallest decrease in turnover by 18.2% was observed. However, as shown by the data of the single January – September 2021, the situation changes from the second quarter onwards, there is a significant recovery of the industry and a gradual return to normalcy. Retail sales in the domestic market increased by 24.7%, while exports recorded an increase of 19.2%.