A:
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It seems “underwear” is often referred to differently in Japan – lingerie, foundation and inner. Is there any difference in definition?
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B:
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The Japanese language has more than one translation of the English word “underwear” or “body cloths.” “Lingerie” is primarily women’s decorative undergarments, such as slips, chemises, camisoles, petticoats, and panties. “Foundations” means women’s controlling undergarments, such as brassieres, girdles, corsets and body suits. “Inner” means innerwear, an opposite to outerwear. It refers to cloths you wear under the outerwear, but often means women’s sophisticated undergarment, instead of more general underwear or body cloths.
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A:
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I understand underwear uses either woven or knitted materials. Which is more common?
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B:
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Since underwear had to be “warm” in the past, heavy, woven types outsold than light, knitted ones; however, knitted underwear is expected to sell faster than woven underwear. After all, wherever you go in Japan, it’s well air-conditioned inside. If you don’t want to go out because it’s cold outside, you can wear a light coat. And the Earth is getting warmer because of green house gases.
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A:
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How much of them is produced domestically? And how big are underwear import and export?
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B:
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I looked for the statistics, but couldn’t find any data on domestic production of woven underwear. Here’s the unit production of knitted underwear.
| |
|
1999 |
|
2001 |
|
2003 |
| Domestic production |
|
215,022 |
|
141,180 |
|
112,441 |
| Export |
|
2,393 |
|
2,352 |
|
2,393 |
| Import |
|
611,721 |
|
768,843 |
|
784,739 |
| % import |
|
74.2 |
|
84.7 |
|
87.7 |
| Unit: |
1,000 pcs |
| Source: |
Domestic production; Monthly Textiles Report, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, Japan
Export/import; Trade Statistics, Ministry of Finance, Japan |
As the table shows, domestic production of knitted underwear is edging down, whereas exports are flat and imports are increasing gradually.
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A:
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Where in Japan are they produced?
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B:
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Tohoku and Shikoku regions. For domestic products, quality is more important than quantity.
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A:
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What about export/import values?
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B:
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Shown below are export figures.
| |
|
2000 |
|
2001 |
|
2003 |
| Woven |
|
58,753 |
|
55,458 |
|
48,843 |
| Knitted |
|
47,991 |
|
40,645 |
|
105,858 |
| Total |
|
106,744 |
|
96,103 |
|
154,701 |
Export Partners (2003)
| (a) Woven |
% |
 |
(b) Knitted |
% |
| Taiwan |
22,037 |
(45.1%) |
|
Hong Kong |
61,999 |
(58.6%) |
| Hong Kong |
13,142 |
(26.9%) |
|
Taiwan |
21,952 |
(20.7%) |
| Korea |
5,115 |
(10.5%) |
|
Korea |
12,303 |
(11.6%) |
| France |
1,706 |
( 3.5%) |
|
U.S.A. |
3,524 |
( 3.3%) |
| U.S.A. |
1,614 |
( 3.5%) |
|
France |
1,892 |
( 1.8%) |
| Others |
5,229 |
(10.7%) |
|
Others |
4,188 |
( 4.0%) |
| Total |
48,843 |
(100.0%) |
|
Total |
105,858 |
(100.0%) |
Unit: US$1,000
Source: Japan Trade Monthly
As you can see, woven underwear is on the decline, whereas knitted one is n the increase.
Import figures are shown below.
| |
|
1999 |
|
2001 |
|
2003 |
| Woven |
|
200,593 |
|
228,060 |
|
201,662 |
| Knitted |
|
95,495 |
|
127,681 |
|
118,213 |
| Total |
|
296,088 |
|
355,741 |
|
319,875 |
Import Partners (2003)
| (a) Woven |
% |
|
(b) Knitted |
% |
| China |
77,370 |
(38.4%) |
|
China |
98,838 |
(83.6%) |
| Italy |
3,482 |
(1.7%) |
|
Vietnam |
4,646 |
(3.9%) |
| Indonesia |
3,299 |
(1.6%) |
|
Thailand |
4,361 |
(3.7%) |
| Vietnam |
2,839 |
(1.4%) |
|
Korea |
3,265 |
(2.8%) |
| Thailand |
2,424 |
(1.2%) |
|
U.S.A. |
1,771 |
(1.5%) |
| Others |
112,248 |
(55.7%) |
|
Others |
5,332 |
(4.5%) |
| Total |
201,662 |
(100.0%) |
|
Total |
118,213 |
(100.0%) |
Unit: US$1,000
Source: Japan Trade Monthly
For import, woven underwear still outperforms than knitted one, and is imported from many countries and regions. The biggest import partner is China for both woven and knitted underwear.
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A:
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What about overseas operations by Japanese manufacturers?
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B:
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Manufacturers and wholesalers combined, about 200 companies are producing offshore or import. Some are operating in China, notably Shenzen, Dalian and Quingdao, and other Asian countries such as Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, and the Philippines. Others have European operations in France, Italy, and Spain. In Japan, there are 500 manufacturers of different sizes, over 5,000 wholesalers and 80,000 retailers.
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A:
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I guess European imports must be quite expensive.
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B:
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Yes. China-made bras are retailed at about 500 yen, but Italian ones fetch as much as 20,000 yen. If it’s a cashmere luxury underwear, you have to expect to pay 250,000 yen, and if it’s a silk one, four to five thousand yen. European underwear is mostly sexy and elegant, whereas American one is distinguished by its simple and casual make. Imports from China and other Asian countries are chiefly for inexpensive mass merchandisers.
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A:
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The Japanese are often dubbed as “brand lovers.” Do they care about brands or place of production when it comes to underwear?
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B:
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Senior consumers are brand-conscious, and they opt for Japanese brands. Younger consumers, on the other hand, don’t seem to care as much, but they put more weight on appearance, agreeable feel, and design. In Japan, there are many national brands (NB), but a few of private brands (PB). Some of the big-name national brands include Wacoal, Gunze, Charle, SilverOx, Triumph, Naigai, Renown, Atsugi and Lecien. When they buy underwear for a gift, about 70% of them choose because of brands. Much of baby’s underwear is bought for a gift. A lot of underwear for children bear some characters.
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A:
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Being a daily necessity, what do consumers want from underwear?
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B:
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Because it is washed almost daily, it has to be washing-machine resistant, yet thin and stretchable. Plus, underwear – some call it another skin - shouldn’t cause any skin problem. The Japanese’ skin has a fine texture. Consumers base their purchasing behavior on: material (45.1%), price (30.1%), ease of washing (9.6%), design (9.2%), brand (2.7%), color (1.8%), and other (1.4%).
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A:
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Where is it bought most?
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B:
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23.7% at mass merchandisers such as super markets, 20.1% at department stores, 16.9% at specialty stores, 9.2% via mail order, 8.8% at outlet stores, 5.8% at discount stores, and 5.7% via the Internet.
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A:
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Who actually purchases underwear in a family?
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B:
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I would say some 80% is bought by women, housewives in particular. So, they have to be packaged in a way that appeals to women. Housewives have the biggest say in underwear purchase, and they typically buy underwear for their children and husbands. Many housewives buy high-ticket ones for themselves and children at department stores and specialty stores, but, it is said, they go to mass merchandisers and outlet stores to buy underwear for their husbands.
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A:
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Who sets standards of underwear?
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B:
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They are governed by JIS (Japanese Industrial Standards). Standards of bras are given by the Nihon Body Fashion Association.
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A:
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What do they go about checking needles that remain in imports?
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B:
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Usually, a needle may be found in five out of every one million pieces. The check is done both at factories and in Japan, but cheaper ones are often checked in the production process only. Formalin check is also done at producing places.
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A:
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How do you view the future of the underwear industry?
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B:
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As the market has reached maturity, the unit sales should decrease going forward. Imports are peaking at present – as import inventories are already high, inventory adjustment has started. Import partners should shift from China to Pakistan and India Meanwhile, consumers should place more emphasis on quality than on quantity, like fashion value and better functionality. I expect there will be many more varieties of underwear with new functions, including “visible” underwear that you wear at hospital or when you’re relaxing at a hotel room, “diet” underwear, comfortable, casual underwear that you can wear outside while on a vacation trip, underwear for wedding dresses, for expectant women, for home nursing care, for senior citizens, and for breast cancer patients, underwear for atopic dermatitis patients that use organic dyes or is made of cotton, sports underwear like ones that keep golfers comfortable when they sweat, and even that helps burn body fat by giving you a continuous massage effect as you move.
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Courtesy of Takehiko Asaki (Y2 Journal, monthly Marilyn Times), the Japan Textiles Exporters Association, and the Japan Textiles Importers Association.
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