Unseasonable weather has become a key theme in apparel
company filings as changing climate impacts consumer choices.
Fast fashion
brands have been defying the traditional four fashion seasons for decades, as
products make their way to consumers faster than ever. Some online retailers
now introduce 1000s of products every week, blurring the once clearly defined
transitions between summer and autumn, winter and spring.
But will climate change make
seasonal shopping a thing of the past? In the UK, the Met
Office predicts that country will see an increasing number of warm
spells and a declining number of cold spells, leading to warmer and wetter
winters and hotter, drier summers – due to climate change.
Most recently, a number of
apparel companies cited unseasonable weather as a key factor in their financial
performance in Q3 2023, as most of Europe experienced a warmer-than-usual start
to autumn, when consumers would usually be purchasing coats, jackets and
jumpers.
Mentions of “unseasonable
weather” in apparel company filings 2019-2023
Company
filings data by GlobalData suggests the keyword “unseasonable weather” has
become a key theme in apparel company filings. The term has been mentioned 72
times in apparel company filings in 2023 so far, up from just nine mentions in
2019.
In 2023 so far, the term has
been mentioned more often than other key themes including “consumer
confidence”, which has been mentioned 18 times, and “climate change”, which has
been mentioned 20 times.
In response to unseasonable
weather, many apparel retailers resort to discounting in order to shift
unwanted stock.
In response to the ONS figures
in October, EY’s UK and Ireland lead Silvia Rindone said: “The increasingly
unpredictable nature of the weather is something retailers will need to manage.
There are currently high levels of unseasonal stock across the whole sector,
which may lead to increased discounting in the lead-up to Black Friday as
retailers look to stimulate sluggish demand among shoppers.”
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across each of the sectors we cover and the companies best placed to succeed.