French www.lefigaro.fr reports that in June 18th, the price of food and gasoline in the international market surged and the purchasing power of French residents declined under the pressure of inflation. In the first 4 months of this year, French clothing sales also fell to the lowest level since 1994.

According to statistics from Institut Francais de la mode, sales of French textiles and clothing decreased by 3.5% in the first 4 months of 2008 compared with the same period in 2007, falling to the lowest level since the beginning of 1994.

Moreover, the ready-made clothing sales curve has gone down this year, down 9.1% in March compared with the same period in April, down 9.4% in the same period last year, and slightly rebounded in May, but it continued to decline in early June.

In April, French clothing sales fell by 9.4%, among which the largest retail stores (-19%), such as La Halle and Kiabi, were the biggest drop, followed by large supermarkets and clothing brand stores.

According to the French French Fashion Institute statistics, in France, except for tourists buying more concentrated stores, clothing sales rebounded in April (+5.1%), but sales of other types of shops were still low.

For example, in the same period, the total sales volume of independent clothing sales stores in France dropped by 2.7%; the total sales volume of monopolized chain stores decreased by 11.1%; the total sales volume of large retail chain stores dropped by 19%; the total sales volume of the popular stores decreased by 9.2%; the total sales of long-distance sales (mail order and online shopping) dropped by 8.8%; and the total sales volume of supermarkets / large supermarkets decreased by 11.5%.

With the slowdown in French economic growth, the slump in sales has almost covered all aspects of the French textile industry.

Whether it is Etam, C & A, Zara, Celio and other brand representatives, the French clothing chain operators Federation (Conseil des succursalistes de l`habillement), France and France Fashion Institute experts and scholars, the French clothing sales market in the second half of 2008 forecast, and even 2009 trend forecast, are very pessimistic.