Danish fashion industry’s turnover rises 4 percent in 2017

The Danish fashion industry’s total turnover amounted to 45 billion Danish krone (7.5 billion dollars) in 2017, 4 percent ahead of last year, driven by exports of 28.7 billion Danish krone (4.8 billion dollars), with Germany playing a key role in the industry’s development, reveals a recent analysis from Dansk Fashion and Textile, the Danish fashion industry association ahead of Copenhagen Fashion Week.

"There is still a great deal of demand for Danish fashion abroad, and the exports have again developed nicely in 2017, growing by 5 percent. Thus the positive trend remains in place, and there is no indication that the appetite for Danish fashion abroad has been sated," said Michael Hillmose, Head of International Affairs and analyst, Dansk Fashion and Textile, in a statement.

Germany – largest importer of Danish fashion in 2017

Germany, the report added, emerged the largest international purchaser of Danish clothing with sales to the country rising by 14 percent reaching 9 billion Danish krone (1.5 billion dollars). The Netherlands, the third largest market for Danish fashion, also reported a 13 percent sales growth. However, Dansk Fashion and Textile noted that the lack of growth in Norway in particular negatively impacted the overall positive performance of the Danish market owing to the fluctuations in Norwegian currency and development of retail sales for the first half of 2017, significantly below previous levels.

"The industry continues to grow, and this underlines that the fashion industry is one of the country's most important export industries, and we continue to see great opportunities for growth abroad," Hillmose added.

Dansk sees growth prospects in Central and Eastern Europe

Quoting figures published by McKinsey, the report further said that the global sale of clothes in 2018 will be 3-4 percent higher than in 2017, so the Danish fashion industry is confident about the future. Two thirds of the Dansk Fashion and Textile members expect increases in turnover in the coming six months.

"Hopefully, that optimism can be translated into higher growth rates. There is still a lot of potential in the Danish fashion industry. This applies to the markets where Danish brands are already established, and also in new markets such as Central and Eastern Europe, where a lot of Danish brands are witnessing growing demand," Hillmose said.

Picture credit:Dansk Fashion and Textile website