With the revenue of the global apparel market expected to grow by 11% in the next four years*, it comes as no surprise that more and more people are looking to start a fashion business.
With that in mind, the wholesale experts at JOOR conducted a study to find out which are the best countries to start a fashion business.
JOOR’s index study considers the following factors: country population, import and export figures, apparel market valuation, and number and valuation of ‘unicorn companies’ in the consumer and retail market (in business, a unicorn is a privately held startup company valued at over US $1 billion). After analysing all the factors above, a final score was created to identify the best countries to start a fashion business.
The BEST countries to start a fashion business
| Country | Population | Export/ Imports | Average Apparel Market Value Annual Growth (%) | Number of unicorn companies per 1 mil people | Unicorn Startups Sum of Valuation (Billion£) | Final Business Score/10 |
| United States | 331,002,651 | 6.9903 | 2.70% | 0.227 | 178.43 | 9.27 |
| United Kingdom | 67,886,011 | 5.5703 | 3.00% | 0.044 | 3.35 | 8.61 |
| Canada | 37,742,154 | 6.69 | 3.50% | 0.079 | 12.35 | 8.48 |
| Germany | 83,783,942 | 2.0868 | 2.20% | 0.107 | 11.08 | 7.93 |
| China | 1,439,323,776 | 0.1274 | 6.30% | 0.035 | 182.6 | 7.88 |
| France | 65,273,511 | 2.8178 | 1.40% | 0.107 | 14.42 | 7.83 |
| Colombia | 50,882,891 | 3.2831 | 10.90% | 0.039 | 4.8 | 7.77 |
| India | 1,380,004,385 | 0.2418 | 7.40% | 0.019 | 53.5 | 7.62 |
| Norway | 5,421,241 | 22.6293 | 1.50% | 0.369 | 1.52 | 7.54 |
| Singapore | 5,850,342 | 6.6794 | 2.90% | 0.513 | 3.1 | 7.53 |
Note: Export/Import ratio is a value that compares the value of a country’s exports (in the clothing and textiles industry) to the value of imports. A value greater than 1 suggests a country exports more whilst a value less than 1 indicates a trade deficit, the country imports more than it exports.
The full dataset can be found here.
JOOR can reveal that, based on the above factors, the best country to start a fashion business is none other than the United States, with a score of 9.27 out of 10. The ‘land of opportunity’ has an impressive valuation of £178.43 billion when it comes to consumer & retail unicorn startups, giving a lot of hope to new entrepreneurs who want to start a fashion business. Furthermore, the export/import ratio of 6.99 shows that there is a higher export efflux, suggesting a surplus of materials and a well-performing market. When it comes to market value, the study shows an annual growth rate of 2.7%.
In second place is the United Kingdom with a score of 8.61. Although the annual growth rate of the apparel market is higher than in the United States (3% annual growth), the valuation of unicorn startups in the consumer & retail space is significantly lower for the United Kingdom, at £3.35 billion. The United Kingdom also exports more than it imports, having an export/import ratio of 5.57.
Canada is the third best country to start a fashion business, with a score of 8.48/10. The value of unicorn startups comes to £12.35 billion, whilst the market value for fashion and retail grows at a steady rate of 3.5% yearly. Canada also exports more than it imports, having an export/import ratio of 6.69.
In fourth place is Germany, with a score of 7.93/10. When it comes to consumer & retail unicorn startups, the valuation sum for Germany is a whopping £11.08 billion. Furthermore, the export/import ratio is 2.08, showing that Germany exports more than it imports. The apparel market value in Germany grows at a 2.20% rate yearly.
China is the fifth best country in the world to start a fashion business, with a score of 7.88/10. When it comes to unicorn startups for consumer and retail, China takes the lead, being valued at £182.6 billion. Furthermore, China sees a tremendous annual growth rate for the apparel market value, at 6.30%. However, China also had the lowest export/import ratio in the top 10 countries, at only 0.12.
