UK T-Shirts and Middle East Consumers

Wednesday 24th of September 2008 08:27:49 PM

UK T-Shirts and Middle East Consumers

The British Fashion Council is instrumental in promoting the UK fashion industry. One of their tasks is to track the source of global buyers of UK clothing ranging from wholesale t-shirts to elegant evening wear. The most recent trend has shown a somewhat surprising and significant increase in Middle East buyers.

Mr. Harold Tillman is chairman of the British Fashion Council. He said, "There are more Middle East buyers. I think that in certain parts of the Middle East new shopping malls are being built and luxury design is higher up on the agenda."

The British Fashion Council is responsible for arranging the popular London Fashion Week show and activities. This is a very important event for the UK clothing industry, because it generates high revenue and advertising pounds. It is estimated the total week generated at least £100 million.

Middle Eastern countries such as Dubai are not experiencing the economic woes and credit crunches that Europe and America is experiencing right now. Dubai consumers are often quite wealthy and can continue to purchase luxury fashion clothing and accessories. Those UK stores which sell to these consumers are keeping their revenues up despite a difficult economy by selling to Middle East shoppers.

But UK retailers are also aware all of this could change if inflation continues to rise as it has recently been doing. Just like in Europe and the USA, one of the first areas to be reduced will be luxury spending in Middle East households. Zahra Muhammad writes a fashion blog for Kuwait-Style.com and she said, "I predict that consumer demand for luxury goods will diminish over time, (because) inflation is hitting the region hard."

Several of the oldest mid-market UK retailers are reporting sales are remaining fairly stable so far. The John Lewis and Debenhams department stores have reported they are meeting sales goals despite a sagging economy. The mid-market retailers sell reasonably priced fashion clothing and practical items such as black t-shirts and sweaters. Primark, a discount UK retail chain, has reported their sales are flourishing as people search for clothing bargains.

(c)Damian Searles,www.sxc.hu