Fashion for the Over-45s - UK

Published by: Mintel International Group Ltd.

Published: Nov. 1, 2006 - 145 Pages

Table of Contents

ISSUES IN THE MARKET

Main themes

Definitions

ABBREVIATIONS

MARKET IN BRIEF

A new generation of over-45s

Over-45 population growth

Figure 1: Over-45s as a percentage of male and female total adult population, 2001-11

Size matters

Retailers who appeal to larger and older consumers

Younger-focused shops are popular

The multichannel opportunity

Consumer typologies

Loyalty issues

Maintaining an interest in fashion and looking young

‘Younger’ older icons showing them what to wear

Influence of the media

Shopping with their daughters

On the lookout for quality

Providing the right level of service

The future

INDUSTRY INSIGHTS

Key findings

Growth of the over-45 clothing market

Changing attitudes and behaviour

Segmentation of the over-45 market

Looking ten years younger

Differences between over- and under-45s

Most popular clothing items among over-45s

Sizing matters

Pricing and quality issues

Encouraging increased spending among the over-45s

Marketing activity

Customer service

Store environment

Shopping with family and friends

Who is successfully targeting the over-45s?

The future

INTERNAL MARKET ENVIRONMENT

Size of over-45s population

Figure 2: UK population, by gender and age group, 2001-11

Working status of over-45 population

Figure 3: Working status of over-45 population, by gender and age, 2001 and 2006

Affluence of over-45 population

Figure 4: Socio-economic profile of over-45 population, by gender and age, 2001 and 2006

Income and spending

Figure 5: Average weekly household disposable income and spending of over-45 population, by age of household reference person, 2000/01 and 2004/05

Technology usage

Figure 6: Usage of Internet at home and mobile phone ownership by over-45 population, by gender and age, 2001 and 2006

Sizing of over-45 population

Soaring levels of obesity

Changing sizes

Figure 7: Size of clothes normally bought by women, by age, December 2005

Figure 8: Size of clothes bought by men, by age, December 2005

BROADER MARKET ENVIRONMENT

The economy

Figure 9: Value of GDP, at current and constant 2001 prices, 2001-11

Falling prices

Figure 10: Sales through clothing retailers, at current and constant 2000 prices, 2001-06

Weather

Fashion trends

Sourcing and newness in-store

Influence of media and celebrities

Ethical trading

Figure 11: Consumer attitudes regarding the source of clothing - women, by age, March 2006

MARKET IN CONTEXT

Clothing expenditure and spending of over-45s

Figure 12: Over-45s and total market for men’s and women’s clothing, 2001-06

Spending of over-45s relative to share of population

Figure 13: Breakdown of spending on men’s and women’s clothing and total adult population, by age, 2001 and 2005

STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES IN THE MARKET

Strengths

Strength in numbers

Thinking, acting and dressing younger

Men are interested in fashion too

They are Internet-savvy

Quality is important to them, more than price

Service is important to them

Weaknesses

The problem of fit

Over-45s are not a homogeneous group

They have most of the ‘things’ they need

They are not easily impressed with advertising

Less money because of pensions crisis/closure of final salary pension schemes

Some are intimidated by the ‘young’ ambience of clothing stores

MARKET SIZE AND FORECAST

Key findings

Spending on men’s and women’s clothing by over-45s

Figure 14: Over-45s’ market for men’s and women’s clothing, at current and constant 2006 prices, 2001-11

Factors incorporated in the forecast

WHERE THE OVER-45S SHOP FOR CLOTHES

Key consumer findings

Outlets used for buying clothing

Figure 15: Outlets used by over-45s for buying clothing in the past 12 months, July/August 2006

Department/variety stores

Figure 16: Outlets used by over-45s for buying clothing in the past 12 months, by gender, age and socioeconomic group, July/August 2006

Supermarket and value retailers

Figure 17: Outlets used by over-45s for buying clothing in the past 12 months, by gender, age and socioeconomic group, July/August 2006

Clothing specialists

Figure 18: Outlets used by over-45s for buying clothing in the past 12 months, by gender, age and socioeconomic group, July/August 2006

Other outlets/not bought

Figure 19: Outlets used by over-45s for buying clothing in the past 12 months, by gender, age and socioeconomic group, July/August 2006

How loyal are over-45 shoppers?

Figure 20: Number of different outlets used by over-45s for buying clothing in the past 12 months, July/August 2006

Figure 21: Outlets used by over-45s for buying clothing in the past 12 months, by number of shops bought from, July/August 2006

Repertoire by retailer

Figure 22: Number of shops bought from, by outlets used by over-45s for buying clothing in the past 12 months, July/August 2006

Repertoire demographics

WHERE THE OVER-45S SHOP FOR CLOTHES - DETAILED CONSUMER DEMOGRAPHICS

Figure 23: Outlets used by over-45s for buying clothing in the past 12 months, by lifestage, Mintel’s Special Groups, region, ACORN categories, technology usage, Internet usage, newspaper readership, commercial TV viewing, TV received and supermarket regularly shopped, July/August 2006

Figure 24: Outlets used by over-45s for buying clothing in the past 12 months, by lifestage, Mintel’s Special Groups, region, ACORN categories, technology usage, Internet usage, newspaper readership, commercial TV viewing, TV received and supermarket regularly shopped, July/August 2006

Figure 25: Outlets used by over-45s for buying clothing in the past 12 months, by lifestage, Mintel’s Special Groups, region, ACORN categories, technology usage, Internet usage, newspaper readership, commercial TV viewing, TV received and supermarket regularly shopped, July/August 2006

Figure 26: Outlets used by over-45s for buying clothing in the past 12 months, by lifestage, Mintel’s Special Groups, region, ACORN categories, technology usage, Internet usage, newspaper readership, commercial TV viewing, TV received and supermarket regularly shopped, July/August 2006

Figure 27: Number of shops clothing bought from in the past 12 months, by demographic and other lifestyle breaks, August 2006

OVER-45 FOCUSED CLOTHING SPECIALISTS

Figure 28: Leading specialist over-45 retailers, key data, 2006

The Alexon Group

Figure 29: Alexon Brands, UK outlets, January 2006

bonmarché (Peacock Group)

Austin Reed Group (Austin Reed and CC)

East

Edinburgh Woollen Mill

Jacques Vert (Retail)

Jaeger

Viyella (Harris Watson Holdings)

VARIETY STORES

Figure 30: Variety stores (M&S and Bhs), key data, 2006

Marks & Spencer

Figure 31: M&S womenswear price architecture, 1998-2005

Bhs

CLOTHING SPECIALISTS

Figure 32: Clothing specialist retailers, key data, 2006

Arcadia Group

Figure 33: Arcadia Group outlet data, 2003-06

Mosaic Fashion Group

Figure 34: Coast and Whistles store portfolio, as at end January 2005 and 2006

Hobbs

Laura Ashley

Monsoon

Figure 35: Monsoon plc, store portfolio (UK, Jersey and RoI), 2002-06

Next

Phase Eight

Robinson Webster Holdings (Jigsaw and Kew)

Speciality Retail Group

Slater Menswear

Moss Bros

DEPARTMENT STORES

Figure 36: Leading department stores, key data, 2006

Debenhams

John Lewis

House of Fraser (HoF)

Other department stores

SUPERMARKETS AND VALUE CLOTHING RETAILERS

Figure 37: Supermarkets and value clothing retailers, key data, 2006

George at Asda

Tesco

Sainsbury’s

Matalan

Peacocks

Primark

MAIL ORDER/INTERNET

N Brown

APPENDIX: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Abstract

• 10 (or 20) years younger: 45+ consumers are interested in staying/looking younger, dressing fashionably but appropriately, and are mostly quality-driven.
• Problems with fit and the plus size opportunity: Many 45+ consumers find it very hard to get a good fit in clothing. This is partly a size issue as plus sizes are frequently found in this market segment.
• Older icons provide aspirational status: Retailers/brands looking to connect with these consumers are increasingly using older icons in their advertising and marketing.
• Service is a key differentiator: Many 45+ consumers are confident shoppers, but many do like good service. Knowledgeable and helpful staff, and personal shopping services are key factors for success.
• Multi-channel is a must: Many 45+ consumers are techno-savvy, so multi-channel retailers have an advantage as they use the Internet both to research and to buy - especially if they don’t like visiting shops (which can be related to size).
• Young fashion chains are attractive: these consumers do not have a ‘traditional’ repertoire of shops. M&S is the most popular for buying clothes, but they also like supermarkets, value chains, Debenhams and mail order/online. And a significant percentage also buy from ‘young’ fashion chains.
• Store environment is important: and some 45+s find some store intimidating.

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