Hat is worn for head to cover the head. People can wear this for protection from the elements, sun light, for religious reasons, for safety. And some of the people wear this as fashion accessory. Earlier hats were indication for social status, they show rank and regiment in military. There are so many caps like baseball cap and akubra, beaver hat, beret, boater, bucket hat, derby, cloche hat, etc.
The business of hat was affected by the recession in 2009. In 2008, the dollar sales reduced 14 percent and units dropped 16 percent. These business sales were dominated by younger consumers. Young customers were 70 percent of the buyers, who were aged between 13 to 34. Oversized berets, ear flap and trapper hats are growth categories. Fedora styles of caps are continued to build by the department stores, some specialty stores and some junior stores are moving away slowly from these styles. The sales of hats and caps in 2007 were 1.1 billion dollars and $ 1 billion dollars in 2008 and $ 0.9 billion dollars in 2009.