Global Market Review of Performance Apparel - Forecasts to 2012

The market for performance apparel is buoyant, and will continue to be so, as fabric technology makes ""better"" performance garments. Performance Apparel currently accounts for over 10% of the sportswear market and is forecast to be worth US$4.29bn by 2012 at wholesale. As Performance apparel is sold both to the individual consumer as sportswear at retail prices and as a business-to-business protective clothing sale at wholesale prices, the industry is divided into two segments: sportswear and protective clothing.

The performance apparel sector is now coming of age. A couple of years ago, the notion of performance was about function - that the clothing benefited from enhanced performance. Obviously, that is still the case, but the consumer is now becoming accustomed to the idea of ""performance"", and is beginning to expect performance from both garments and fabrics. Despite this pressure, protective fabric companies have continued to ""Sell"" the benefits of their products well - shown in the impressive growth of performance protectivewear since 2004. This growth is also a result of the increased health and safety legislation in the developed world.

This second edition report reviews the sector worldwide - analysing both the current state and future direction of sportswear and protective clothing. This includes definition of the market, wholesale and retail values, the performance (and importance) of fabric, industry issues and trends, and market forecasts.

Report coverage:

Chapters 1 and 2 provide an executive summary and introduction respectively.

Chapter 3 defines the market for performance apparel within the two clothing segments mentioned above, both of which have already been the subject of just-style reports. They are active sportswear and workwear.

Chapter 4 breaks down the market between these two elements, which are sold in completely different ways. Value forecasts are made for overall consumption of both segments of performance apparel (in their retail and wholesale values) for 2006 and as a forecast to 2012.

In Chapter 5, the product is reviewed in terms of how it copes with the various elements it has to combat, and the manner in which it safeguards the human body. Performance apparel covers most product types, both outerwear and underwear.

Moving on from product to fabric, Chapter 6 addresses the importance of fabric in performance apparel. Most of the performance characteristics come from the fabric, rather than from the garment itself.

Chapter 7 contains commentary and forecasts based on discussions with industry ""experts"" - which may be chemical companies, fabric weavers and knitters, or garment makers-up - about the issues and trends affecting their market segment. These are then used to predict product and fabric trends, and to consider again the prospects for this sector going forward.