Ready-to-wear clothes shops include articles for women, men, mixed, children, childcare and lingerie. In 2020, 4,082 of these shops were listed in Paris. Their location, however, does not correspond to the resident population. These destination marketing stores are grouped within 5 hubs (Les Halles / Rivoli, rue des Francs Bourgeois and the Marais, Haussmann/ Opéra, the Champs-Élysées and Saint-Germain / Saint-Michel on the left bank) which overlap with the International Tourist Zones (ITZ) created in 2015 and fifteen or so major roads (rue Saint-Dominique, rue du Faubourg Saint-Antoine, rue du Commerce, rue de Passy…).
The number of ready-to-wear shops, which remained stable until 2014, have since suffered from the ever increasing competition of online retail. The effect of this competition has no doubt worsened in the past few years with the Covid-19 health crisis and shop closures imposed by lock-downs and curfews. Over 700 businesses closed down between 2017 and October 2020 that is a 15% decrease.
The ready-to-wear sector, of which almost half the shops belong to retail networks, has experienced an extremely high turnover rate of almost 40% in three and a half years. The drop in the number of ready-to-wear shops has affected those belonging to chain store networks, proportionally more than independent shops. In recent months, we have seen the disappearance of several mid-range chains such as Camaïeu and C&A and safeguard procedures (Celio and Pimkie), which have been closely rivalled by chains of lower ranges such as Pimark and H&M, brands found only on internet like Shein and second hand brands found in main street shops and online (Vinted etc.).
