About the Data

The Company Dataset

Lumino's benchmark dataset covers 100 global fashion and apparel companies representing $826B in combined annual revenue and an estimated $17.8B in combined IT spend. These companies were selected to represent the full spectrum of business models in the industry — from vertically integrated fast fashion to luxury outerwear, pure-play e-commerce to value retail — giving Lumino users a meaningful and diverse peer comparison.

Business Model Categories

Lumino classifies all 100 companies into seven business model categories. IT spend intensity varies systematically across these categories — driven by digital channel mix, supply chain complexity, and technology as a competitive differentiator.

Data Points Available Per Company

For each of the 17 core companies in Lumino's detailed dataset, a consistent set of financial and operational data points is available at three levels of geographic granularity: global, regional, and market (country). The remaining 83 companies in the benchmark dataset provide company-level data only.

The number of active markets varies by company. Inditex has data across 30+ countries. Aritzia covers US and Canada only. A country appears in the dataset only if that company has meaningful commercial operations there.

How We Collected the Data

Primary sources — public financial filings

Revenue figures at global and regional level are sourced directly from each company's most recent annual report or SEC filing (10-K for US-listed companies, 20-F for foreign private issuers, and local equivalents for European companies). Regional breakdowns follow each company's own reporting segments — for example, Inditex reports into Spain, Europe ex-Spain, Americas, and Asia/Rest of World; lululemon reports Americas, China Mainland, and Rest of World. Where a company's reporting segments do not align exactly with Lumino's five-region model (North America, South America, Europe, Africa, Asia), figures are reclassified using the geographic definitions standard in the industry.

All revenue figures are converted to USD at the average exchange rate for the relevant fiscal year. EUR/USD 1.08, GBP/USD 1.27, CAD/USD 0.74, CHF/USD 1.12, SEK/USD 0.095 were the primary rates applied.

IT spend — estimation from benchmarks

Unlike revenue, IT spend is rarely disclosed as a standalone line item in fashion company financial reports. Lumino's IT spend figures are estimated using a layered benchmarking approach.

The foundation is the McKinsey State of Fashion Technology report (2022, updated with 2024 trajectory data), which established that fashion companies invested 1.6–1.8% of revenues in technology in 2021, trending toward 3.0–3.5% by 2030. For FY2024, Lumino uses a baseline range of 1.8–2.2% for traditional retailers, with adjustments applied for business model.

HG Insights retail technology data (2024) provided category split benchmarks: IT Services (labor) 44% of total IT spend, Software 28%, Hardware/Communications (Other) 28%. These splits are adjusted for digital maturity — DTC-led companies carry a higher labor and software share.

Gartner IT Key Metrics Data (retail vertical) provided cross-validation for IT spend intensity ranges and category mix.

Business model adjustments

A flat benchmark is not appropriate across a peer set that spans Primark (no e-commerce, store-only) to Shein (technology company that manufactures fashion). Lumino applies the following directional adjustments:

Actual averages by category (100-company dataset)

Country-level data

Country revenue figures are estimated from regional totals using store count data, disclosed country-level figures, and proportional allocation based on market size and brand presence. Country-level IT spend is calculated by applying the global IT% to the country revenue figure — a simplification that provides a consistent and comparable baseline.

How IT Spend is Allocated Across Geographies

Lumino models IT spend using a three-tier waterfall allocation: global retained → regional retained → market attributed. This reflects how enterprise IT budgets actually work — some spend is managed centrally and not attributable to a specific geography, some is managed at a regional level, and the remainder is attributable to specific markets.

Globally retained spend (default: 15%)

Covers corporate IT infrastructure, global SaaS platforms (ERP, HR systems, global e-commerce platform), central engineering and data teams, and global cybersecurity. Not attributable to a specific region or market.

Regionally retained spend (default: 10% of regional allocation)

Covers regional IT teams, regional data centres or cloud infrastructure, and regional system integrations. Managed at regional level and not attributable to a specific country.

Market-attributed spend (default: 90% of regional allocation)

IT spend associable with a specific country — store systems, local digital infrastructure, country-specific platforms, and local IT support teams.

These defaults (15% global retained, 10% regional retained) are benchmark estimates. Individual companies may vary significantly — a highly centralised IT model may retain 25%+ globally, while a decentralised operator may retain as little as 8%. When a user registers their own company without providing allocation figures, Lumino applies these benchmark defaults.