Outerwear. - Business Location Switzerland

family. The German population is becoming oversized, so that
demand for clothes for the full figured man or woman is high and
increasing. Many companies started collections for larger sized
clothing.
3.2.3 Demographic characteristics
Figure 3 shows that the major population segment by age group is
between 40 and 44 years of age (approximately 7.5 million – male
and female), followed by those in the 35-39 bracket (approximately
7 million people). In other words, Germans in their early forties
represent the largest target group (in numbers only).
The younger generation under 25 is comparatively small, e.g. the
age group between 20 and 24 represents only approx. 4.5 million
Germans (5.5% of the whole population). The smallest potential
‘target group’, apart from those over 70, is the segment under 10
years of age. The consequences of this for clothing manufacturers
from foreign countries are evident.
Figure 3: Age structure of German population by gender, 2008
32
l Outerwear 2010
10 0 +
9 5 - 9 9
9 0 - 9 4
8 5 - 9 0
8 0 - 8 5
75 -79
70 -74
6 5 - 6 9
6 0 - 6 4
5 5 - 59
50 - 5 4
4 5 - 49
4 0 - 4 4
3 5 - 3 9
3 0 - 3 4
25 -29
20 -24
15 -19
10 -14
5 - 9
0 - 4
male female
4,0 3,5 3,0 2,5 2,0 1,5 1,0 0,5 0,0 0,0 0,5 1,0 1,5 2,0 2,5 3,0 3,5 4,0
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, International Data Base
Population in millions
The size and age structure of the population is one of the basic
determinants of how much will be spent on outerwear.
The German population is decreasing at a very slow pace from
82.5 million in 2003 to 82.3 million in 2007 and 82.0 million end of
2008. It is projected to decrease to 81.2 million by 2015.
The following positive trends influence the market for outerwear:
The older people amongst the aging population tend to spend
more on comfortable clothing, while outdoor activities are
becoming more and more popular among an important number of
active seniors.
Younger consumers are becoming more and more interested in
fashion trends.
The following negative trends influence the market for outerwear:
The German birth rate is projected to decrease over the next
years; this will affect the growth of the babies’ wear market.