The textile sector in Spain billed 41.26% less than the previous year, until it is 10.619 million euros, as a consequence of the strong impact of COVID-19 on the business, according to the annual report of the sector of the sector, Acotex.

In an unprecedented debacle, male fashion did not escape the impact.In the year of Pandemia, the sector reduced its income by 42.3%, up to 3.355 million euros.That is, 2.419 million less.

Caballero fashion represented 31.6% of sales, the smallest contribution since the employer collects data: 1999.

The complex situation facing male fashion has a victim that stands out especially: the suit.

"The situation of the suit is frankly bad"

Pandemia has shaped a new labor reality - and also social for many months - stripped of any social event.

The emergence of teleworking and temporary employment settings (ERTE), but also the cancellation of celebrations such as weddings, unleashed the perfect storm for a sector that now tries to rearm.

The number of costumes and shirts made by 66.78% in the first 3 months of the year compared to the same period 2019, when the pandemic nor stissed, according to the figures of the Spanish Sastrería Association (AES).

If textile giants are attended, such as Inditex or Tendam, the situation has not been better, although the big chains have more margin of maneuver than smaller businesses.

Massimo Dutti, teaches of the Inditex Empire focused on a middle-high-class male audience, cut in 2020 its income 37%, up to 1.197 million.It was the largest percentage fall in the entire group.

Strong close to teaching confirm the economic impact of a greater fashion casualization.Since then, they add, the firm would be "in full rethinking of its offer and DNA".

In Zara, internal sources detail that woman and child responded very well to the impact of COVID-19.The same did not happen with Caballero, where the departure of up to 80% of its managers would have occurred.

Although Inditex does not break down what is the weight of its divisions, internal voices explain that before the pandemia, in 2019, the billing of Caballero was around 4.000 million euros, which would mean around 20% of the income generated by ZARA in 2019.

In tendam - which brings together firms such as Cortefiel, Springfield and Pedro del Hierro - confirm internal sources that the gentleman's weight would be quite significant.As much as the fall in the sale of costumes has been."Today, the situation is frankly bad," they confess.

A sector with several actors

To talk about the suit sector, there is before differentiating 2 actors: the world of tailoring - for which the suit represents 80% of the income - and fashion titans.Each one moves on a different game board.

"It is not comparable the amount of costumes made by a textile giant to which a tailorría performs and, therefore, it is not the cost to carry it out," they point out from the association.

But, even, within the tailoring there is a place for 2 types: the industrial one, understood as the one that takes the measures in the client's store and delegates the preparation of the suit in factories (most of them Spanish, Portuguese, French or Italian);And, on the other hand, the artisanal tailoring, which is identified by having its own workshop, where the upper garment is always made or, failing that, all.All production goes to the end user.

Before the pandemic completely blurred the landscape, the annual average of garments made by the industrial sector was about 1.500.The most traditional in 200, according to the association.

Both figures, explain from the association, would have fallen to more than half in 2020.

The price range that explains the polarization of the sector

To prepare a handmade suit, at least 50 hours of clothing are needed.

"When you sell on a large scale, the objectives are others and the qualities and quantities, also," says the visible head of tailoring in Spain.

We Teach Professionals How To Protect Assets and Property From Being Taken In A Lawsuit.Contact US Today for More Information!

— Legally Mine Mon Mar 09 20:28:54 +0000 2015

However, among the fashion titans are nuances: while a suit of the firm Pedro del Hierro would be above 500 euros, in Massimo Dutti would be around 270.Far, in any case, of the 2.200 euros with which a handmade suit leaves.

In a cheaper sphere there are 174 euros on average that costs a jacket and pants in mango and the 120 euros if we talk about Zara.

Margins and rotation of garments: the variables that mark the rhythm

But, apart from the sale price to the final customer, you cannot understand the economic weight of the gentleman's divisions in textile giants without taking into account 2 variables: margins and garment rotation.

Sources linked to the suit sector explain that the gain is more in the margin that one achieves than in the amount of costumes that can be sold.

"The cost that earns a suit is marked by the country of origin, the type of fabric or the preparation used.This throws you some margins or others, "they point out.

This above, in turn, generates in another derivative: the rotation of formal cut garments is less than the casual fashion.Something that affects a higher price on average and in the useful life of the costumes.

"If you have 3 moderately good suits and take care of them, you are ready.On the other hand, when we talk about casual fashion, apart from being cheaper, it is easier to peck in season and combine, "says a source close to the Tendam group.

To the obligatory question of whether the sale of sweatshirts - many that are - compensates for the fall of the costumes -, the president of Acotex, Eduardo Zamacola, is blunt: "What really does not leave you margin is to have a hanging garment that Not for sale".

"When we talk about selling informal garments, it is true that it gives you a minimum margin, but they give you more rotation, with what you generate more business volume," other voices bet.

Given this, there are many firms that under the comfy concept seek a revulsive to fall on the current situation."You have to give the client what he asks, there is no other," says Zamacola.

Without going any further, mango sources explain that they have expanded more informal product categories and that, they confess, they did not have so worked.

Voices of the Catalan company detail that they now work on developing more relaxed and versatile collections that can find a place in a new hybrid labor model.

The client's profile and the 4 key edges

In general, the Spanish client opts for a classic style and rarely selling risky bets, such as linen or pastel tones, according to the employer's employer and experts.

“Spanish tailoring is halfway between Italian and English.We have the good spell of the English with the modernity of the Italians, "says Master Sastre Joaquín Fernández Prats.

The expert does recognize a greater demand for customs and more informal jackets.However, the suit, admits, remains the "strong point of our accounts".

When talking about profiles, the Association of Sastrería de España (AES) difference 4 edges to take into account.

The first would be age.The more mature the client is, the more classic and the more exquisite it shows when choosing the tissues.And vice versa.

The second is the bridal fashion, a key piece for the accounts of these businesses.For some time, they detail, there is an increasingly notable interest among the bride and groom to take care of every detail of their garment.

No less important in economic terms is the faithful in love with tailoring.It is, in the opinion of the association, a profile that seeks authenticity in a world marked by blue and gray costumes.

"There is no second chance for the first impression," appoints Agustín García, president of AES, in reference to Óscar Wilde.It does to explain to what extent the weight of the entrepreneur in the sector is vital.A world cannot be understood without the other.

Is there room for the suit in an environment with less 'Dress Code'?

"We will reach a balance and there are sectors in which the suit will continue to be present," explains Fernández Prats.

And he speaks with property: the entrepreneur is known as the tailor of the Ibex 35 for dressing a large part of his executives.Own names are part of professional secrecy.

To the question of whether the suit needs the office to survive, the teacher acknowledges that a total turn of companies would help maintain the demand for costumes among the youngest clientele.

Despite this, the tailor remains firm in his idea: "In the suit market, there are great fans and defenders".Teleworking, he adds, does not affect all profiles, as is the case of banking sector workers or lawyers.

Thus, it gives as an example the importance of the foreign client, especially that of Latin America, which he defines as a "great lover of custom suit", something that has not changed after the pandemic.

"It will never disappear," dares to predict the master tailor about the future of the garment.The binomial that forms the suit and the high business standing seems unbreakable.

A halo of hope for the rebound of events and uncertainty

Regarding the future, the Sastrería Association explains that the second quarter of the year invites some optimism: "We have consistent a considerable increase in sales during the month of July by the gradual return of weddings".

At this point, Zamácola also coincides, but it remains more cautious: "The rebound in bridal fashion is due to the amount of events that had postponed during the pandemic and that have been held at the same time".

However, he believes that the figures must be put in context: "It has been sold for sales and I always say that selling well during them is negative.It means you have not done it when you should ".

This certain reactivation is the most obvious proof that the numbers are still "anesthetized," explains in this regard.

"The suit will continue to suffer because it is the direct consequence of 12 months destroying economy and counsuum, which adds to the years that the sector has weighed," concludes Zamacola.