Business information firm IBISWorld offers three fast facts on footwear retailing in Australia.
1. The footwear retailing industry's performance has been subdued over the past five years.
The industry is highly dependent on economic conditions and consumer confidence, which have both been largely unfavourable over the period. Volatile consumer sentiment, reduced discretionary spending, fierce competition and a difficult retail environment have all affected industry revenue growth over the past five years. However, the industry has received some support from online sales, particularly in 2014-15 and 2015-16, as many traditional footwear retailers moved to develop online platforms. Consequently, revenue is expected to rise by an annualised 1.8% over the five years through 2016-17, to $3.18 billion.
2. The footwear retailing industry is in the mature stage of its life cycle.
Over the 10 years through 2021-22, the industry's contribution to the economy (industry value added) is expected to rise at an annualised 1.0%, a weak performance when compared with annualised real GDP growth of 2.5% over the same period. This indicates that the industry is growing at a slower rate than the overall economy. This is characteristic of a mature industry. Retailers have been focused on consolidating their operations in response to growing competition from department stores and online channels. This has led to an increase in merger and acquisition activity, which is a key characteristic of a mature market.
3. The footwear retail industry is dominated by key players
These are Betts Group, Fusion Retail Brands, RCG Corporation and Super Retail Group. Looking at the industry more broadly, the footwear retail industry in Australia generates $3 billion in revenue per year and has seen annualised growth of 1.8% from 2012 - 2017. There are 1,284 businesses which employ 21,260 workers.
