Citizens of Albania and Kosovo have the lowest annual per capita expenditure on clothing and shoes, according to Eurostat data, an indirect indicator of their poverty. 

The less disposable income, the lower is consumer spending on non-essential goods, encouraging the purchase of cheap products. 

According to Eurostat data, the nominal expenditure per capita of Albanian citizens in 2021 was 147 euros, much lower than the European Union average of 681 euros. 

For Kosovo, the data is from 2020, with 130 euros per capita. 

All the countries of the region, which are also the poorest in Europe, spend less on clothing, where the highest is recorded in Montenegro, with 348 euros per capita per year. 

In total, spending on clothing and shoes in Albania for 2021, according to Eurostat, was 413 million euros. 

The European record for clothing is held by the Norwegians, Austrians, and Danes, with over 1,000 euros per capita per year, also influenced by the high prices of clothing in these countries, but the Italians are not far behind (943 euros), which, although not are so rich that the Nordic countries spend a lot on clothing, as if to "justify" the perception that they are the center of fashion. 

If you want to buy cheap clothes and shoes in Europe, the most useful is Turkey. The country, which is also a large clothing producer, has prices as high as 45.3% of the European Union average. 

Bulgaria ranks after Turkey, with 76.6% of the European average. The third cheapest is North Macedonia (78.7). 

You can find cheap clothes and shoes in the United Kingdom (85.6). 

In Albania, prices are 88% of the European average, almost at the same levels as Spain. 

In Italy, prices are slightly more expensive than the European average (103%). 

If you go to the Nordic countries, do well not to go to the shops as clothes and shoes have salty prices, about 30% more expensive than the average of the European Union and about 4 times more than in Turkey. 

The clothing market in the country is oriented towards cheap brands 

The clothing market in the country remains largely informal and fragmented. Operators claim that Albanians love luxury and stylish clothing, but due to low incomes, most of them continue to spend more on economic clothing. 

The low number of individuals with high income does not favor the expansion of the market of expensive brands, which are very few in the country with direct representation. 

In 2021, among many clothing brands with economical prices and contemporary style, for Albanians the most favorite were those of the brand "LC WAIKIKI", "Zara" and some brands marketed by the company "Fashion Group Albania". 

In 2021, the income of the company "ITX Albania" (which includes clothing stores such as: "Zara", "Bershka", "Pull & Bear", "Stradivarius", "Massimo Dutti" and "Zara Home") was 5 billion ALL, with a 56% increase compared to the following year, according to balance sheet data. 

According to the balance sheet, the income of the company "LC WAIKIKI Retail AL Sh.p.k." in 2021 they reached 4.6 billion ALL, about 37% more than in 2020. 

Revenues were increasing in 2021 even for "In Sport" companies, which is the third largest in the country, by 25%, to 1.5 billion ALL. 

The demand has also been high for clothing sold by brands such as "Aldo", "High Spirits", "Hoss Intropia", "Okaidi & Obaibi", "Pedro Del Hierro", "Mango", "Geox", "Springfield". ", "Cortefiel", "Women Secret", "Carpisa", "Parfois" and "Prenatal" of "Fashion Group Albania". The company's income in 2021 increased by about 26% compared to 2020, to 919 million ALL. 

Recently, H&M brand clothing also entered TEG. H&M is the second largest international clothing retailer, behind Inditex, Zara's parent company. 

(Source: Monitor)