UK could see shortage of comfort clothes and trainers

A surge in demand for comfort clothes including jogging bottoms, leggings, sportswear and trainers has seen retailers scramble to keep stock.

As the ensuing pandemic continues to fuel sales of casualwear some stores are seeing a dip in supply as online sales continue to grow and supply chains have issues fulfilling demand.

Many factories short-shipped retailers this season having either been closed or needing to implement social distancing changes, often resulting in not fulfilling orders 100 percent and prompting late deliveries.

According to the Guardian, running shoes and sportswear items like hoodies, are currently in short supply. Fashion analysis firm Edited said that the number of sportswear items sold out online over the past month had increased by 17 percent compared with last year and it expected that to rise further should the UK face a second lockdown.

Online fashion retailer Asos told the Guardian it had less stock than usual because of a worldwide shortages of items including sports shoes, jogging bottoms and hoodies. Asos Chief Executive Nick Beighton said the online giant was “working hard to make sure we have supply”, but he did not expect the issue to improve until spring because of an “airpocket” in supply caused by factory closures.

No Nike clothing in Sports Direct

In September retail analyst Jonathan Pritchard said Sports Direct stores have “virtually no Nike clothing anywhere. In a note to investors, Pritchard wrote: “Immediately clear in stores was the almost complete lack of Nike apparel, and lower footwear stock (less noticeable).”

Many apparel and footwear companies at the onset of the pandemic previously canceled or deferred orders. As online sales continue to surge, some stores cannot cope with demand.

While the retail industry faced unprecedented blows at the onset of the pandemic - dealing with store closures, bankruptcies and shopper migration from physical retail to online - a shift in consumer demand has re-written the fashion playbook, with comfort clothes replacing the traditional working wardrobe.

Image via Pexels