It didn't take long for women's lingerie to become one of the clearest icons of women's expression. These garments have been part of the key moments in their history and their fight for gender equality and the development of socio-cultural changes.
Producers and manufacturers know that for women, underwear occupies a very important place within their consumption priorities, since it has helped them define the purchase and behavior indices that they have in relation to this market.
Paola Alonso, creator of the underwear brand Alhandmade, comments that giving importance to the type of lingerie that women are going to wear means that they seek to understand their body, feel safe and awaken self-esteem.
When shopping, jeans are the favorite among Mexicans, followed by shirts and blouses, according to the Mercawise survey on clothing consumption habits.
In third place is underwear, which has an annual market value of $320 million.
Some of the challenges that female corsetry faces are related to understanding the needs and tastes that women are developing, because only through them can advances be achieved that conform not only to their expectations, but also to the changes that are taking place.
Pepe Zaga, CEO of the Mexican lingerie brand Vicky Form, shares that underwear is also a seduction tool that is part of the human being.
Transformation of the lingerie industry
Women in developing countries are experiencing the latest trends, slowly shaping their perspective to accept underwear as a casual affair, taking the time to choose and make a purchase.
Under the conditions that exist in between to keep one of these garments, the producers try to approach in an interdisciplinary way the set of raw materials, designs, technological advances, communication and advertising strategies.
Pepe Zaga comments that 2019 has been a year full of changes in Mexico, in which lingerie advertising has been punished, since consumers are more limited in their income so they choose more carefully.
“People are taking care of how and what they spend. An average Mexican woman buys between 1.5 and 2 bras per year”, shares Zaga.
Physical stores were once the success and the means to sell lingerie, but with the advent of digital platforms this market was changing to the point that some well-known brands had to close them.
In the third quarter of 2018, the L Brands group, to which Victoria's Secret belongs, registered losses of 41.1 million dollars, a figure that is equivalent to a decrease of 0.6 percent in sales, due to the fact that the cost of Production also increased 13.3 percent. This situation forced the brand to close 53 stores in the United States.
Online sales are the main global distribution channels for lingerie.
Smartphones among the young population also boost the e-commerce segment thus promoting retail sales.
The global lingerie market is expected to generate revenue of $5.15 billion by the end of 2024, according to the latest Lingerie Market by Product report from Zion Market Research.
Paola Alonso comments that, today more than ever, women are more interested in buying lingerie. especially in a social context that has been complicated for them.
“There is more social openness, many Mexican women are taking control over themselves from how they act, think, dress, to how they relate.”