Agriculture is not the only economic activity damaged by high temperatures. The unusual heat of the last month and a half – this September has been the warmest in the world since there are records – has put a damper on clothing sales for the new autumn-winter season, the most profitable for retailers due the higher price of the products.
“The summer worked more or less well, but September has been a drama due to the high temperatures and October is not much better; sales don’t start”, summarizes David García, general director of Modacc, the association that integrates 150 companies in the fashion sector in Catalonia. Companies of different sizes and segments consulted share the diagnosis: transition seasons no longer work as before.
With the 27 degrees marked by the thermometer on Friday at noon in Barcelona, ??no customer was going near the turtleneck sweaters or the woolen coats on display in the many shops on Rambla Catalunya or Avinguda Diagonal. “We hid jackets and took out finer clothes, but not like that; people are trying to hold on until the real cold arrives”, says a clerk.
Retailers have been trying to boost sales with discounts ahead of the big Black Friday sales period. So much so that September saw the only drop in prices for women’s clothing since the beginning of the year, with a 0.5% drop year-on-year, according to INE data. And children’s clothing has barely risen by 0.8% at the start of the school year, below the general inflation of the last month (3.5%).
However, these advanced discounts have not helped to boost trade either, emphasizes Laura García, from the Comertia traders’ association and head of Benitosports. “Consumers haven’t had the need to buy new outerwear, and you can’t change that no matter how many discounts you make,” he says. Inventories of lighter and short-sleeved garments are also at lows after the summer season and the economic context is also not helping to sell non-necessity items. “Customers think a lot before buying anything,” adds García.
Comertia puts the decrease in sales in September at 1.1% and a quarter of its associates attribute it to the high temperatures, a situation that the Madrid-based Acotex also warns in its latest barometer.
Textile companies are now hoping to regain ground with the change in temperatures expected from next week. The pent-up spending on fashion could finally begin to be released if the cold arrives and pick up speed in the run-up to the crucial Christmas campaign, David García underlines.
But beyond the conjunctural changes in time, the sector is debating how to act in view of a trend that seems to be consolidating. Summer temperatures are lengthening in Spain by around ten days per decade and a summer now lasts 40 days longer than 40 years ago, according to research by the State Meteorological Agency (Aemet). “Perhaps we have to start rethinking the collections and adapt them to the new climate”, points out Laura García, from Comertia. Also when they are put on the market. Luis Sans, owner of the historic Santa Eulàlia and president of the Passeig de Gràcia merchant association, draws attention to the time that winter clothes stay in the windows. “In June, when summer has just started, the pre-collection is already in the stores; only big fans of fashion buy so far in advance,” he points out. Industry sources consulted indicate that some brands are reacting and this year have launched autumn and winter collections with lighter pieces, more similar to the spring ones, although adapting the colors.
The climate is impacting the textile business, a change in which industry giants are leading the way thanks to better inventory control and a very high turnover of assortment, which allows rapid adaptation to circumstances. Independent retailers and small chains now fear that the climate challenge could contribute to a greater concentration of sales. A process that has been accentuated in recent years, according to data from the large consumption employer Anged. Independent and multi-brand stores have lost market share, falling from 40.5% in 2008 to 20.3% last year, while chains stood at 41.5% in 2022. The end of the intermediate seasons adds new pressure.
