vitalsignsblog

The men’s underwear industry may now be entering a “Lost Decade.”

The sale of men’s underwear has long been regarded as a bell-weather statistic in economics.  It might sound absurd, but men’s underwear can give a good indication about what’s going on in the markets.  Alan Greenspan has famously quipped that is one of his favorite economic indicators.

Sales of men’s underwear are relatively stable because underwear is regarded as a necessity.  At the same time, men are not generally inclined to buy new underwear when money is tight because few people ever see it.  Thus, when the economy is down, men’s underwear sales is usually a good indicator of both the crash and the recovery.

Right now, however, men’s underwear sales have largely recovered, but they’re not growing.  Much like Japan’s “Lost Decade” of the 90′s – where growth, unemployment, and the like were stagnant – men’s underwear sales are stable but not expanding.

The explanation is simple: the situation has become dire.  Wives are beginning to force their husbands to buy new underwear, and single men are buying it to increase their marketability.  Yet, as the economy has not recovered, men are buying the bare minimum.

The rest of the economy is following suit.  As long as men’s underwear sales are stagnant, it’s a good indication that we haven’t actually hit a real recovery.

Data on underwear sales can be hard to find and can be unreliable, so I’ve compiled an index of men’s underwear sales.  I’ll continue to bring you updates on the situation as relevant.