Apparel manufacturing
The domestic textile, clothing, and leather product manufacturing industry in Canada has fluctuated in size since 2012, perhaps following the common trend of many developed countries of outsourcing manufacturing to developing countries, to keep costs low. The value of apparel imported to Canada increased from around nine billion Canadian dollars in 2011 to nearly 14.4 billion Canadian dollars in 2019. In 2020, this figure dropped due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on trade, falling to roughly 12 billion dollars.Apparel retail market
Clothing retail sales in Canada amounted to approximately 25.9 billion Canadian dollars in 2020, down from 35 billion Canadian dollars in the previous year, again due to the impact of COVID-19. Over the years, the retail sales of women’s, men’s, and children’s clothing has been consistently highest in the fourth quarter, most likely because of the holiday season.H&M is a Swedish clothing retailer that has become increasingly popular in Canada, generating revenues of almost 652 million Canadian dollars in 2020, up from around 300 million in 2010. In Ontario alone, there were 43 H&M stores, more than any other Canadian province. Although Reitmans, one of the most popular clothing retailers in Canada, is the second largest women's apparel chain, its store count has seen a sharp decrease in the past years, from nearly 1,000 locations in 2011 to 415 in 2021.
