Fashion looks to the East: Rumania, Lithuania and Czechia, the consumption drivers in Europe

The growing mines are on the East. In the economic and consumption downturn in developed markets, East Europe courtiers keep escalating positions and leading an increase in consumption in the European Union. Even though, in absolute values, they are still far away from Western Europe, the strong growth in expenditure and purchase power in Rumania, Lithuania and Czech Republic opens up a new opportunity for a business so linked to consumption fluctuation as fashion.

The Actual Individual Consumption (AIC), prepared by the European Statistics Agency Eurostat, collects all the goods and services consumed by households. The indicator works in relation to the European average, which equals 100 base of the index.

Eurostat points out that, even though the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita is widely used to measure the economic welfare of a country, the consumption per capita is more useful to compare the relative level of economic welfare between countries. With all, both are related, is AIC is, in practice, the largest component of GDP.

During the last three years, the AIC per capita is relation to the European average has maintained relatively stable in the majority of the member states. However, three countries registered great advancements: Rumania, Lithuania and  Czechia .

In Rumania, the AIC went from 42% below the European average to only 32% inferior. The country, belonging to the European Union since 2007, is on a recurring basis the market where sales grow the most in Europe, according to figures provided by Eurostat.

As the report European Retail in 2018, developed by GFK consulting group, states, retail trade in Rumania is the one that most evolved last year across the continent, with a peak of 7.5%.

Bulgaria is the country with the lowest AIC, in contrast with the European average

Lithuania, member of the European Union since 2004, gets increasingly closer to the community average, from which it is barely 12% below, in comparison with 17% from three years ago. The country is usually among the engines for growth in fashion, with double-digit peaks every month. In Czechia, the private expenditure per capita is 18% lower that the European Union average, facing 225 from three years ago.

On the other hand, mature markets led the expenditure fall during the last triennium. At the head of the descent is Luxemburg, number one in the ranking, which went from 40% above the average in 2015 to 32% in 2017. Austria and the Netherlands, which complete the top 3 of countries where the expenditure was reduced the most in relation to the European average.

Ten member states have an AIC per capita superior to the community average. After Luxemburg, the second country with the greatest difference regarding the average is Germany with a 22% above.

Following them, we find Austria, Denmark and the United Kingdom, with figures between 15% and 20% above the average, and Belgium, Finland, the Netherlands, Sweden and France, with rates around 10% above the average.

Furthermore, in thirteen countries the AIC is below the community average. In Italy, Ireland and Cyprus, the difference was 10%, whereas in Spain, Lithuania, Czechia and Portugal it is between 10% and 20% below. The lowest rate is registered in Bulgaria, where the AIC is 48% inferior to the average.