Shoppers’ attention to menswear brands continues to narrow to a core few, as department stores look to refresh their portfolios.

The insight comes from the International Association of Department Stores (IADS), which surveyed its members worldwide, including in Australia, to find that the menswear category contributed an average of 13 per cent of turnover in 2025 to 2026. This figure, IADS said, has not moved year on year, despite growth online.

But menswear differs from other store categories, with best-selling lists dominated by the likes of Ralph Lauren, Hugo Boss and Tommy Hilfiger. IADS said this concentration on fewer brands is “a point of fragility”, claiming that the performance of one or two brands can dictate the entire menswear department.

“Widening the brand assortment has proved too weak a remedy: it lowers productivity per brand and dilutes the presentation of the names customers come for,” IADS said.

“Finding a brand that sells is easier than finding one that scales. Carhartt illustrates the point: sell-through is strong, and the fit with department store assortments is good, and at one member it anchors the indie segment alongside brands like Fred Perry, but distribution restrictions cap how far it can scale.”

More than half of menswear purchases at several department stores surveyed were made by women. “Younger women are also buying menswear for themselves, which members accommodate by extending size ranges on brands such as Acne Studios and Ami Paris while keeping the product in its menswear location,” IADS added.

“Recruiting younger male customers remains a work in progress, with no single formula and an open question over how much they can actually spend.”

Source link