PLM sales to quadruple
Industry executives forecast that PLM software sales will grow 30-40% by 2013 as a growing number of fashion, apparel and footwear brands adopt the technology.
Yunique Solutions is forecasting sales will hit US$50m in five years from its estimates of US$10m in 2008.
Company executives say 20% of the apparel industry has embraced PLM software since 2005 and that market forces will prompt the rest of the sector to introduce the technology in coming years.
"We are just on the tip of the iceberg," enthuses Lenny Weiss, Yunique's vice president for marketing and sales.
Funded by software and apparel industry veterans, Yunique is rushing to introduce new LP functionalities into future versions of its plmON product suite which it sells alongside its srmON (supplier relationship management) product.
PTC, which claims to be the largest PLM supplier with a 55% global market share, is also bullish about the future. Mitford says the company's sales could leap 40-60% annually by 2014 to mirror a similar growth rate since 2005. The footwear retail and apparel market is the fastest-growing franchise for the company which supplies PLM applications for other industries including automobile and aerospace.
PTC has 30 apparel and footwear customers spread mostly in Europe and North America. The firm recently signed up French sports equipment firm Decathlon and Germany's largest department store operator Karstadquelle. It is making a big push into Europe where PLM "adoption is a little behind" the US, says Mitford. At the time of speaking with her, the company was on the verge of signing three or four big European customers after having a "great year" in 2007.
According to Mitford, the North American PLM market (for apparel brands with over US$2bn in sales) is maturing but she expects many sub-US$2bn firms to purchase PLM applications in coming months. However, in common with rivals, she says Asia is quickly becoming a hot expansion market for PLM software vendors. "We are seeing a significant increase in the number of Asian companies interested in PLM, specifically in China, which will be one of the largest consumers of PLM in five years," she points out.
Nathalie Gondoin, director of product promotion at Paris-based Lectra, agrees with Mitford. "Asia is the next big market," she says, adding that the fast-fashion phenomenon is starting to gather pace across the continent, particularly in China where retailers are staring to emulate Zara's model.
However, she says the market won't truly come of age until three to five years from now, when companies transform themselves into purveyors of fashion from being mostly manufacturers now.
"When Asian apparel manufacturers start to gain scale and develop their brands, they will need PLM solutions," says another industry executive. "Right now many companies are getting by with more basic PDM applications."
With prestigious clients such as Spain's Mango, Lectra has an established footprint in Europe. However, it has yet to develop a presence in North America, a goal it will move to accomplish this year, Gondoin notes.
