Companies in the Zacks Textile - Apparel industry continue to strengthen their omnichannel frameworks, seamlessly blending physical retail with digital platforms to enhance customer engagement. As consumers increasingly gravitate toward online and hybrid shopping experiences, e-commerce and direct-to-consumer channels remain central to industry growth.

While higher marketing spend, promotional intensity and potential tariff-related pressures pose near-term margin challenges, strategic brand investments are helping companies stay resilient. Product innovation, disciplined pricing strategies and targeted expansions are enabling players such as Ralph Lauren Corporation ((RL Quick QuoteRL - Free Report) ), V.F. Corporation ((VFC Quick QuoteVFC - Free Report) ), Crocs, Inc. ((CROX Quick QuoteCROX - Free Report) ) and G-III Apparel Group, Ltd. ((GIII Quick QuoteGIII - Free Report) ) to reinforce brand equity and capitalize on favorable industry momentum.

About the Industry

The Zacks Textile - Apparel industry includes companies and lifestyle brands that manufacture, design, distribute, source, market and sell apparel, footwear, and accessories for men and women. These include fashion apparel like dresses, pants, skirts, shorts, shirts, jackets, blouses and knitwear, and intimate apparel like underwear and shapewear. The industry also comprises companies offering apparel for a healthy lifestyle and athletic activities, such as yoga, running and training. Some companies also deal with fitness-related accessories like gloves, bags, headwear and sports masks. The industry participants operate through direct-to-consumer (brick-and-mortar and online), wholesale and licensing distribution channels. Most players operate through stores and digital networks in the United States and internationally.

3 Trends Shaping the Future of the Textile - Apparel Industry

Improved Store Traffic and Strong Digital Trends: As consumers seamlessly shift between physical and digital channels, textile and apparel companies are reimagining the end-to-end customer journey. Brands are prioritizing investments that elevate experiences across every touchpoint — strengthening in-store engagement to revitalize brick-and-mortar sales while simultaneously capitalizing on the rapid growth of e-commerce. This dual focus is driving upgrades to digital platforms, enhanced mobile applications, modernized payment systems and tighter integration between online and offline operations.

To keep pace with rising expectations for speed and convenience, companies are expanding fulfillment capabilities and offering flexible options such as buy online, pick up in-store and curbside delivery. At the same time, the adoption of AI technologies is optimizing customer interactions, improving inventory management and streamlining operations, enabling greater efficiency, agility and customer engagement across channels.

Brand-Enhancing Endeavors: Textile-apparel companies are reaping the rewards of strategies aimed at strengthening their brands through diverse marketing efforts, licensing agreements, acquisitions and partnerships. The introduction of new products is a vital component of their growth strategies. Continuous innovation in product offerings is essential for maintaining competitiveness and meeting the evolving demands of consumers.

Cost Concerns: Textile-apparel companies remain exposed to challenges related to elevated input costs, which may affect their profitability. Higher selling, general and administrative costs stemming from increased marketing investments and enhancements to physical and digital retail channels are concerning. Many firms are vulnerable to shipping disruptions, which can result in delays and higher freight expenses, squeezing overall profit margins. The competitive labor market adds another layer of difficulty, posing threats to the profitability of these companies.

Zacks Industry Rank Indicates Bright Prospects

The Zacks Textile – Apparel industry is housed within the broader Zacks Consumer Discretionary sector. The industry currently carries a Zacks Industry Rank #46, which places it in the top 19% of more than 243 Zacks industries.

The group’s Zacks Industry Rank, which is the average of the Zacks Rank of all member stocks, indicates bright near-term prospects. Our research shows that the top 50% of the Zacks-ranked industries outperform the bottom 50% by a factor of more than two to one.

The industry’s position in the top 50% of the Zacks-ranked industries is a result of a positive aggregate earnings outlook for its constituent companies. Since the beginning of October 2025, the industry’s consensus earnings estimate for the current financial year has improved 1%.

Let’s look at the industry’s performance and current valuation.

Industry vs. Broader Market

The Zacks Textile - Apparel industry has underperformed the broader Zacks Consumer Discretionary sector and the S&P 500 composite in the past six months.

The industry has declined 6.9% compared with the broader sector’s fall of 2.2%. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 has increased 17.3%.

Six-Month Price Performance

Industry's Current Valuation

On the basis of forward 12-month price-to-earnings (P/E), commonly used for valuing consumer discretionary stocks, the industry is currently trading at 16.39X compared with the S&P 500’s 23.35X and the sector’s 18.56X.

Over the past five years, the industry has traded as high as 32.36X and as low as 12.76X, with the median being 17.34X, as the chart shows.

Price-to-Earnings Ratio (Past 5 Years)

4 Must-Watch Textile - Apparel Stocks

Crocs: The designer, developer, manufacturer, marketer and distributor of casual lifestyle footwear and accessories currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). Crocs is progressing with its long-term strategy and key initiatives aimed at delivering sustainable growth. The company is strengthening brand relevance by protecting its iconic clog franchise while driving innovation across clogs, sandals, cozy footwear and personalization offerings. Crocs continues to invest in high-potential Tier 1 markets through targeted marketing, digital engagement and retail expansion to build market share. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Product diversification remains a priority to attract new consumers and expand usage occasions. Strong demand for both the Crocs and HEYDUDE brands, supported by disciplined pricing and improved channel segmentation, underpins margins. In addition, the company is optimizing SKU complexity, expanding digital and social-commerce capabilities and driving cost efficiencies to support long-term value creation.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Crocs’ current fiscal-earnings per share (EPS) has remained unchanged in the past seven days at $12.13. The stock has declined 16.8% in the past year.

Price and Consensus: CROX

G-III Apparel: This Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) company designs, sources and markets women and men's apparel. G-III Apparel’s impressive growth is driven by the strategic focus on expanding its own brands, including DKNY, Karl Lagerfeld, Donna Karan and Vilebrequin. The company is executing a strategy centered on brand portfolio strength, disciplined growth and operational flexibility to drive long-term value.

G-III continues to build and scale both owned and licensed brands by enhancing product design, sharpening brand positioning, and expanding direct-to-consumer and wholesale partnerships. Inventory discipline, selective pricing actions and improved demand planning remain key priorities to protect margins. In addition, the company is advancing digital capabilities, supply-chain agility and global sourcing efficiencies to support sustainable profitability.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for GIII’s current fiscal-year EPS has moved up 17 cents in the past seven days to $2.88. Shares of G-III Apparel have declined 8.7% in the past year.

Price and Consensus: GIII

Ralph Lauren: This Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) company is a major designer, marketer and distributor of premium lifestyle products. Ralph Lauren is on track to surpass its revenue and profit goals with the “Next Great Chapter: Accelerate Plan.” This strategy focuses on streamlining the global organizational structure and enhancing technological capabilities. The company is making significant strides in expanding its digital and omnichannel capabilities, with key investments in mobile, omnichannel integration and fulfillment solutions.

Ralph Lauren's digital business, which includes directly operated websites, department store sites, pure-play e-commerce platforms and social commerce, has shown impressive growth. Looking forward, management is optimistic about sustaining business momentum and executing the long-term strategy, further elevating the brand and strengthening its market position.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Ralph Lauren’s current fiscal-year EPS has remained unchanged in the past seven days at $15.41. Shares of RL have gained 62.7% in the past year.

Price and Consensus: RL

V.F. Corp: This Zacks Rank #3 company designs, manufactures and markets branded apparel and related products. VFC is making significant strides with its Reinvent transformation program, which focuses on brand building and improving operational performance. The company is advancing its four key strategies for transformation, reducing costs, strengthening its balance sheet, revitalizing the Americas segment and turning around Vans.

VFC is effectively lowering its cost base through targeted savings, with plans to invest a portion of these savings in boosting creativity, enhancing product development and elevating marketing efforts. This includes leveraging consumer insights, refining targeting strategies and standardizing processes. The company also aims to reinvest in product innovation and brand building to drive growth.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for VFC’s current fiscal-year EPS has remained unchanged in the past seven days at 71 cents. Shares of the company have declined 8.8% in the past year.

Price and Consensus: VFC