Socks are widely used hosiery items in India. Men, women, kids and even infants use socks for the protection purpose. Sometimes speciality socks are used by athletics and sportsman. Socks are also a protecting apparel in some industry operation for their workers. Generally, socks come with a wide variety of design, pattern, color and size. Socks of various types and designs can be produced by using cotton yarn, acrylic yarn, and polyester yarn, nylon yarn of different counts, quality and shades.
Socks are commodity products. However, in recent years with the advent of luxury socks and socks for specific application, socks have transformed from commodity items to fashion pieces. Owing to the transformation of this traditional item into a luxury product, the growth of the socks market outpaces the overall growth of the apparel industry. Almost 50% of the men use socks every day. Hence, the robust growth of the men's apparel industry is expected to be the major driver of the socks industry during the forecast period.
The global socks market was valued at US$42.07 bn in 2016 and it is expected to expand at a CAGR of 6.7% from 2017 to 2025. Although an integral part of the apparel industry, the socks market holds a negligible part in the market dynamics of the apparel industry. However, taking the market growth rate into consideration, the socks market is projected to experience robust growth during the forecast period in contrast to the apparel industry in general. The rising demand for socks is primarily driven by improving fashion trends and the growing retail sector.