Ranking of the most popular clothing retailers in Germany 2016-2020

In 2020, C&A was the most popular clothing and textile retailer in Germany, based on purchases made by customers in the last six months at the time of this survey. In fact, 38 percent of consumers had shopped at C&A. Other leading retailers in this category were H&M and Peek & Cloppenburg.

Textile manufacturing

The production and sale of clothing is the result of textile manufacturing, which has become an enormous industry in Germany and around the world. Textiles include a variety of products, not just clothing: specific uniforms for certain types of work, sportswear, textiles for home furniture, bedding items. C&A consistently recorded the highest customer numbers in Germany. As most textile retailers, however, they also outsource their production to other countries. The majority of its supplier factories are located in Brazil, China and Bangladesh.

Buying clothes

Compared to other European countries, German consumers are among those spending the most on clothing, sandwiched between the United Kingdom and Italy. In the last decade, German household spending on clothing has steadily increased. By 2023, revenue for the textile and clothing industry in Germany was forecast to amount to 15.8 billion euros.