Independent boutiques seize wholesale spotlight as Joor Unveils 2025 power list

Independent fashion boutiques are moving from the sidelines to centre stage in the global wholesale market, according to new data from Joor, the fashion industry’s largest digital wholesale platform. The company’s annual JOOR 100: Top Global Retailers 2025, released this week, charts a sector that is not just resilient but expanding rapidly despite inflationary pressures and rising operating costs.

This year’s list features 87 new entrants, including The Webster and Mitchells in North America, Dongliang and Beams in Asia, and Eraldo and Ekseption in Europe. Long-time standouts such as Marissa Collections in the US, Gaudenzi in Italy and Dover Street Market in the UK also return. In total, the Joor 100 covers retailers from 25 countries, split 49 per cent EMEA, 42 per cent North America and 9 per cent APAC.

Behind the names are striking growth figures. Transaction volume for this cohort of retailers rose 20 per cent year on year on Joor, with orders up 23 per cent and the number of brands purchased increasing 17 per cent over the past 12 months. More broadly, independent boutiques now account for 62 per cent of total wholesale transaction volume on JOOR, up from 49 per cent in 2020, evidence of their rising clout in a sector once dominated by department stores and large chains.

“The independent retail sector has achieved success through thoughtful curation and a deep understanding of its customers,” said Amanda McCormick Bacal, Joor’s senior vice-president of marketing. “We’re seeing sustained growth from businesses that are redefining excellence in the global fashion industry.”

For brands navigating wholesale upheaval and inflation, UK food inflation is expected to reach 6 per cent by year-end, and operating costs remain high across Europe, the message is clear. Boutiques with strong identities and loyal communities are increasingly attractive partners. Their agility in testing new labels and bringing niche designers to market offers a counterpoint to the homogenisation of bigger retail groups.

From a critic’s perspective, the Joor 100 reads less like a power list and more like a roadmap for fashion’s future: a wholesale market led not by scale but by curation, authenticity and customer intimacy. Whether these independents can maintain momentum under mounting costs remains to be seen. But for now, they are reshaping the balance of power in global fashion retail, from Alabama to Antwerp, Tokyo to Treviso.