The French fashion retail sector is preparing for yet another year without growth. This year, the market contracted by 1.3 %, mainly due to declining footfall. This comes largely at the expense of independent stores. Customers do not grasp the difference between price and value, warns the Institut Français de la Mode (IFM).
Only women are holding their own
Gildas Minvielle, director of the economic observatory at the IFM, paints a rather bleak picture of 2026 — after an already disappointing 2025. While Minvielle predicted a slight growth for this year, in reality the sector shrank by 1.3 %. For 2026, the IFM sees three possible scenarios: an optimistic + 1 %, a pessimistic – 2 % and a median expectation of – 0.5 %.
