Billionaire market: demand grows and plus size fashion plans R$ 15 billion in revenues by 2027

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Advancement is driven by small businesses, which represent more than 90% of the sector Marca Lambuzada sells clothes from the PP to the G8. Personal Archive/ Rodrigo Santos Debates about inclusion and acceptance of non-standard bodies have grown in the clothing market. And, driven by the reach of the internet and social networks, the theme is already beginning to change the configurations of the fashion segment — especially with regard to plus size clothing. According to the most recent data from Associação Brasil Plus Size (ABPS), the segment generated R$ 9.6 billion in 2021 and expects to reach R$ 15 billion in revenues by 2027. According to specialists consulted by g1, the movement It is not new, but it has gained strength during the pandemic and tends to grow even more in the coming years – the result of changes in the perception and behavior of consumers who, more empowered, demand a greater diversity of products and pieces that suit different styles. Out there, names like Dolce&Gabbana and Versace, for example, have been working for years with sizes larger than the conventional range. Over here, however, this movement is more recent, and the plus size market is only now starting to take larger steps towards greater participation in the apparel sector. Growth, however, is gradual. The segment is still feeling the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic, which brought a general drop in production in the clothing sector. Data from IEMI – Market Intelligence indicate that the production of plus size clothing recorded a drop of 5.4% in 2022 compared to the previous year, with approximately 178.2 million pieces manufactured. “There was, for example, the full impact of the appreciation of commodities, which worsened in 2022 with the war in Ukraine. In addition, there was also a price adjustment, which was delayed after a long period of reduced consumption due to inflation”, explains the director of IEMI, Marcelo Villin Prado. Increased weight of the population and new market demands Even with the slowdown in the segment due to the pandemic, however, the plus size market still collects good numbers, having grown 75.4% in the last 10 years, according to ABPS. For experts, part of what explains this advance is the increase in weight of the population and, consequently, the new demands that this public now has in the market. Data from the World Obesity Federation project that obesity will reach 41% of the Brazilian adult population in 2035. According to the executive director of the Associação Brasileira do Varejo Têxtil (Abvtex), Edmundo Lima, the different body configurations of the Brazilian population are still a challenge for the clothing segment, but the market has been working to expand its range of sizes and adapt collections to meet the demands that have arisen in the sector. “If a few years ago this was treated as a niche market, today it is a form of inclusion. These people also want to have their expectations and needs met, and companies have started to look at the development of this market”, says the executive. The role of large retailers Part of this movement can already be seen in large retailers. According to Lima, in addition to expanding the range of sizes, some of these companies already have their own brand or even a network of stores dedicated to selling plus size products. Among the major companies consulted by g1, C&A and Riachuelo reported that they maintain an “active listening” with their customers and that they are in a “constant search” to develop products that serve different audiences, having seen significant growth in the plus size segment. . “We run the graduation [de modelagem das roupas] respecting the particularities of a plus body and, for this type of product, we prioritize comfort. Our effort is to bring representation and reinforce the breaking of imposed standards, encouraging everyone to accept their bodies and their measurements”, says Riachuelo’s director of purchases and style, Claudia Albuquerque. Among the brands created by the company to cater to the plus size public, Filipa caters to sizes XL to XL and from 46 to 54. Allman, on the other hand, offers pieces from G1 to G4 and from 54 to 60. C&A, on the other hand, informed in an official note that in addition to creating a “Fashion Council” – a group composed of clients and guests to help the company’s teams understand the public’s expectations for the collections. It also maintains a multidisciplinary team dedicated exclusively to plus size customers, who have products from GG1 to GG4. Plus size fashion democratizes access to all types of clothing Small entrepreneurs account for more than 90% of the market But, even with the advancement of the segment within large fashion retailers, specialists say that the volume of people who still cannot find clothes with the appropriate size is still large. No wonder, an important part of the growth of this market also comes from the rise of entrepreneurs, many of whom decided to set up their own business because they also went through the difficulty of not finding modern pieces that had a good fit on the fat body. “Exactly because they already felt this pain, many of our entrepreneurs were not originally from the clothing area, but learned to make clothes in larger sizes to meet their own needs”, says the president of ABPS, Marcela Elizabeth. “This explains why, according to national statistics, more than 90% of the plus size market is made up of small entrepreneurs.” This is the case of Rodrigo Santos, 39, founder of the brand Lambuzada. The businessman says that, without finding pieces that fit him well and suited his taste, he started producing shirts for his own use – and the idea for the brand took off in 2015, when other fat friends and people on the street started asking about his clothes. Rodrigo Santos, 39, founder of the brand Lambuzada. Personal Archive/Rodrigo Santos But although Lambuzada meets sizes from PP to G8, Santos says that the brand still leaves people unattended, since there are people who wear larger pieces. In these cases, the businessman says that he produces personalized pieces, made based on the measurements of an outfit that the person already has and that fits well. “There are a lot of entrepreneurs emerging in the sector, but we still have a lot to grow. Especially because if we, who live in big capitals, can no longer find options, imagine those people who live in a small town and who don’t have access? We need to evolve because this sector does not only work with clothes, but with self-esteem”, adds the businessman. In addition, another point that should also start to evolve are the sector’s prices. Santos says that it is still common in the market to go into a store and find plus size pieces that are two or even three times more expensive than those in conventional sizes. “In the case of Lambuzada, today, we are right on the edge [dos preços] because I also need to work with a quality fabric that won’t shrink in the wash and is comfortable on the fat person. But there are still stores that go way beyond that value not because of the quality of the fabric, but because they think they need to increase the price just because of the size of the piece. This needs to improve”, adds the businessman.

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