Resources · Study · Women's ready-to-wear
Women's Ready-to-Wear in Japan
A $53.8bn apparel market that imports 98.9% of its clothes, and how GANNI, Rouje and Isabel Marant got in.
For independent women's fashion brands that sell direct and are looking at Japan: where the market stands, who buys, how foreign brands got in, and what to check before you invest.
Sector report · 2027 edition · 34 pages · English · PDF
From the report
- $53.8bnJapan's apparel market, 2024 retail sales, women, men and kidsYano Research, Dec. 2025
- 62%of apparel sales are womenswear, Yano's last public figureYano Research, 2019 data
- 98.9%of clothing sold in Japan is imported, by quantityJapan Textile Importers Assoc., 2025
- 20.4%of Japanese adults buy used clothing at least once a yearRESTA, July 2026
What's inside
- 01The marketA large, flat market: its size, channels, cities and customers.
- The market in numbers
- Womenswear in 2026
- Five ways to sell
- Three markets in one
- Tokyo, Asia's shop window
- Who's buying
- Retail hotspots
- 02The landscapeWhat women wear, who you're up against, and four brands' paths in.
- What Japanese shoppers wear
- Who you're up against
- The price ladder
- GANNI, Burberry, Rouje, Isabel Marant
- SWOT for an independent foreign brand
- 03Going directKeep your price, your image and your customers, in Japan too.
- DTC or distributor?
- Marketing and sales channels
- Localize your offer
- Working with creators
- Shipping, customs, IP and labeling
- Retail calendar
- Your first year, step by step
- First-year budget
- What not to do
Written by
“We want to help you decide whether Japan makes sense for your brand, and how.”
Geoffrey Guyonnet
Founder, Eighty One