Spanish designer fashion brands increased their sales by 8% in 2021; still lag 21% on 2019 figures

Spanish fashion designer brands began to recover in 2021, increasing their business by 8% and generating an aggregate turnover of €763.6 million in 2021, still 21% below 2019 figures recorded before the outbreak of Covid-19, according to data from the latest edition of the report ‘El diseño de moda español en cifras’, promoted by the Spanish Association of Fashion Designers (ACME).

Despite a year marked once again by pandemic restrictions and uncertainty, the companies that make up ACME experienced a recovery in indicators such as employment, which has already reached pre-pandemic figures. In 2021, the number of direct jobs in the sector was 7.2% higher than in 2020 and 3.5% more than in 2021, to 6517 workers.

Production also returned to growth with an 8.3% increase to around 13.1 million garments and accessories. The figure was 25% lower than in 2019, when it reached an all-time high. In terms of distribution, the number of points-of-sale of designer brands increased by 1.1%.

E-commerce, critical during the pandemic year, continued to gain momentum, with growth of 55.8% to €120 million. This is the highest growth this figure has experienced since records began in 2015. In comparison to 2019, the increase was 137.2%. In addition, designer labels have continued to achieve success internationally: in 2021, their sales abroad soared by 30.9% and already contributed 40.6% of the sector's total business.

Collaborations and internationalization

Some 61% of the companies associated with ACME believe that the main future trend in the sector is partnerships and collaborations, a phenomenon that has grown stronger after two years of pandemic. Another future trend of designer labels is internationalization, which also appeared at the top of the 2020 list.

Modesto Lomba, president of ACME, pointed out that "Spanish designer fashion firms have faced this enormous challenge by making good decisions, sometimes very difficult ones; responsibility, localization of production, skilled labor and quality are the key pieces for a recovery that is slowly beginning to emerge.”

For her part, Pepa Bueno, executive director of ACME, stated that "the data clearly shows a growing demand for Spanish designer fashion from abroad; internationalization is both a challenge and an opportunity for the sector.”

ACME is a non-profit association founded in 1998 by designers Modesto Lomba, Jesús del Pozo, Elio Berhanyer, Antonio Pernas, Ángel Schlesser and Roberto Verino. It is currently made up of 84 fashion designers from all over Spain who participate in leading fashion events and platforms both nationally and internationally.

Since its inception, the association works primarily to defend the interests of fashion designers in Spain, offering tools to increase their competitiveness and acting as a representative of the Spanish fashion design sector before institutions and public and private entities.