With a 16% value share in apparel and footwear specialist retailers, LC Waikiki was the market leader in Georgia as of mid-2020. It was followed by Inditex and Koton.
The main competitive advantage of Waikiki was positioning itself as an economy brand. Apart from that, the company entered e-commerce in September 2020, gaining additional value. During the reporting period, there were 1,220 outlets with 169 thousand sq. m selling space in Georgia.
Similar to other countries, apparel in Georgia was the worst affected retailer from COVID-19. “As of mid-2020, apparel value sales declined by 20% in current value terms compared to 2019,” Lilija Vladykina, Senior Analyst at EUROMONITOR International, told BM.GE.
EUROMONITOR International has researched Apparel and Footwear Specialist Retailers in Georgia in mid-2020.
According to the study, LC Waikiki generates a 16% value share in apparel and footwear specialist retailers in Georgia. Inditex, Industria de Diseño Textil SA (Zara, Massimo Dutti, Bershka, Oysho, Pull&Bear, Stradivarius et al) is ranked second, with 15% value share, and Koton Magazacilik Tekstil San ve Tic AS is ranked third generating 10% value share in apparel and footwear specialist retailers in 2020.
“LC Waikiki positions itself as an economy brand, which is the main competitive advantage of the brand.
Apart from that, the company entered e-commerce in September 2020, which brings additional value as this channel has surged during the pandemic period,” says Vladykina.
In her words, before the pandemic, only a minor part of apparel and footwear specialist retailers of Georgia operated in both online and offline channels. “However, in 2020, there was a notable movement to online. During the lockdown period, all players felt the need to be present in an online segment or scale online sales. Small and medium-size businesses focused on using social networks or collaborating with third-party deliveries like Glovo or marketplaces. Large players launched their own online store. One of the most notable – LC Waikiki online store launch. This trend is a long-term, which will emerge in 2021 and beyond”.
Pursuant to the observation of the EUROMONITOR’s researchers, the economy and premium segments of the Georgian apparel and footwear sectors are less saturated.
“We observe many mid-market and mass-market brands such as Zara, Massimo Dutti, OVS, and others. At the same time, economy and premium segments are less saturated. The only notable economy brand is Waikiki. Yet, it has a lot of potential for the successful entrance of international brands such as Pepco or Primark, which are among leading players in other European countries. Obviously, due to economic factors, demand for premium brands is rather low among local consumers due to high prices. However, the potential comes from international tourists, who enjoy both international and local premium segment brands,” Vladykina told BM.GE.
