The European's New Clothes

UK consumers spent roughly 2.5 billion euro more on clothing than their German counterparts in 2018, making them Europe's biggest fashion buyers. Italy, in third place, spent almost as much as consumers from France and Spain combined. This might change in the future, however, as forecasts indicate that the apparel markets in Germany, Italy and France might slow down by 2022.

Europe's biggest fashion and clothing retailer was not from the United Kingdom or Germany. Spain's Inditex, owner of brands like Zara, Bershka and Pull & Bear, made revenue of around 17 billion euro in 2018. Sweden's H&M followed with a turnover of 14 billion euro.