U.S. Apparel Wholesalers Witness Recovery

The Great Recession had a dismal effect on the U.S. economy, including the apparel wholesaling industry. With decreased discretionary spending in 2008 and 2009, retailers offered deep discounts to consumers to retain sales. Due to weak downstream demand, wholesalers were left with excess inventories and slashed their own prices to move stock. In their ongoing quest to cut expenditures and sustain profit margins, powerful retailers set low prices, causing wholesalers to engage in fierce competition with each other.

"While industry revenue fell during the recession, it has been slowly recovering since 2010," says IBISWorld industry analyst Caitlin Newsom.