With a total import of US$ 87 billion in 2021, the United States is the world’s largest apparel market. The imports have been growing at a CAGR of 1.3% since 2010. China historically has been the largest apparel supplier to the US. However, the increasing cost of manufacturing and geo-political changes has caused US brands to shift their sourcing to other nations.
In the last decade, China has lost over 15% share in the US apparel imports which has mainly been taken up by Vietnam and Bangladesh. It is expected that China will continue to lose share in the US apparel market creating a massive opportunity for manufacturers worldwide to increase their share.
India is the fourth largest apparel supplier to USA, with a 5% share. Compared to other competing nations, India has several distinct advantages such as the presence of a complete value chain, active government support, a young workforce, compliant manufacturing ecosystem, etc. If Indian apparel exporters can capitalize on economies of scale by investing in large setups capable of handling larger volume orders from US buyers, India has a good chance of increasing its share of the US apparel market.