Swedish clothing market grew well in March

Source: Svensk Handel *Inderes’ estimate

The March figures for the Swedish clothing market were published this morning. Sales grew by 6.5% from last year. In our opinion, the timing of Easter may be reflected in the figures for March-April compared to last year. In the first three months of the year, the market has grown by 2%. 

Sweden accounts for more than half of the Lindex chain’s sales

Sweden is Lindex's largest market and accounts for more than half of the sales of the Lindex chain (but not the whole group which is also called Lindex). Our Q1'25 revenue forecast for the Lindex segment is a good 1% growth in local currencies. Market development in Sweden in January-March was 2%, so slightly higher. Women's clothing, which plays a major role at Lindex, has grown by as much as 9% in the first three months of the year, and also by price range, the segments relevant to Lindex have performed better than the market as a whole. The development of SEK and NOK, which together account for around 70% of the Lindex segment’s sales, also affects the company’s figures. The FX impact is slightly negative in Q1’25 in our estimates and turns positive thereafter. For the Group as a whole, Lindex has guided for 0-4% growth in local currencies this year.

Sweden is also the main market for Björn Borg

Sweden remains the company’s largest market, accounting for approximately 35% of total revenue. We estimate that Björn Borg will achieve around 6% year-on-year growth in Sweden for Q1’25, above the 2% growth expected for the broader Swedish clothing market during the same period. This growth is primarily expected to be driven by strong performance in the company’s e-commerce channel, which we estimate to grow by around 17% year-on-year. Meanwhile, the wholesale segment is forecasted to see relatively stable growth of approximately 5%.

What we find particularly encouraging in the recently published figures for the Swedish clothing market is the strong performance of the footwear category, which grew by nearly 10% in March. Björn Borg brought the footwear category fully in-house last year, and as we have noted previously, we see this category as a key growth driver going forward.