Children's Clothing - UK

Published by: Mintel International Group Ltd.

Published: Dec. 1, 2007 - 147 Pages

Table of Contents

Issues in the Market

Key themes

Definition

Market in Brief

Low prices and fashions drive demand

Boys have latent interest in clothing

Own-brands dominate

Gifts are a major driver

Women are the most likely shoppers

Outlook helped by value and fashion

Internal Market Environment

Key points

More impulse buying

Celebrity mums lead the way

New clothing for all season

Figure 1: Agreement with selected lifestyle statements, 2003-07

Less mini-me, more mini-you

Kids influence what is bought

Figure 2: Agreement with selected lifestyle statements - 11-15s, 2002-06

Choice driven by fashion icons

Figure 3: People who 7-15s admire the most, 2006

Impact of childhood obesity rates

Figure 4: Current and projected levels of obesity among UK children, by age and gender, 2003 and 2010

The ethical debate

Other factors

More online shopping

Figure 5: Where access the Internet, 2006

More of a social circle

Character merchandising

Broader Market Environment

Key points

Higher PDI has built consumer confidence

Figure 6: PDI and consumer expenditure, at constant 2002 prices, 2002-12

Stagnation in the birth-rate

Figure 7: Number of live births and fertility rate in England and Wales, 2002-12

Fewer under-15s, but growth in 5-9s

Figure 8: Trends in male and female children’s population, by gender and age, 2002-12

More children per woman

Figure 9: Average number of children per women, 1996-2006

Average age of mothers at childbirth

Figure 10: Average age of mothers at childbirth, England and Wales, 1971-2005

A taxing issue

Competitive Context

Key points

Total consumer expenditure

Figure 11: Breakdown of total consumer expenditure, 2006

Overall clothing category still in growth

Figure 12: Consumer expenditure on all garments, 2002-07

Sports clothing

Stepping into the market

Figure 13: Retail sales of footwear, 2002-07

Schoolwear within the market

Figure 14: Consumer expenditure on school uniforms and childrenswear in general, 2002-07

Pocket money

Strengths and Weaknesses in the Market

Strengths

Weaknesses

Market Size and Forecast

Key points

The market for childrenswear

Figure 15: UK retail sales of childrenswear (aged 0-15), 2002-07

Future growth potential

Figure 16: Forecast of the UK market for childrens wear, at current and constant prices, 2007-12

Babywear boom time

Kids’ clothing facing challenges

Factors used in the forecast

Segment Performance

Key points

All childrenswear sales

Figure 17: UK retail sales of childrenswear, by type, 2005 and 2007

Girlswear helped by fashion trends

Figure 18: UK retail sales of girls’ outerwear (5-15), 2002-07

Underwear and nightwear relatively buoyant

Figure 19: UK retail sales of girlswear (5-15), by type, 2005 and 2007

Boyswear stagnates

Figure 20: UK retail sales of boys’ outerwear, 2002-07

Underwear and nightwear hold up well

Figure 21: UK retail sales of boyswear (5-15), by type, 2005 and 2007 (XXX)

Lavish spending on infants

Figure 22: UK retail sales of infantwear (0-4), 2002-07

Baby trends

Infant boys

Infant girls

Underwear

Figure 23: UK retail sales of infantwear, by type, 2005 and 2007

Schoolwear

Figure 24: UK retail sales of schoolwear (4-15), 2002-07

Accessories and footwear

Market Share

Key points

Retailer shares

Figure 25: Manufacturers’ branded shares of the childrenswear market, by value, 2005 and 2007

On the up

Finding the going tough

Retailers and Products

Key points

Marks & Spencer - better styles and shorter lead times

Next - building fashions

Adams - strengthening Boots links

Asda (George) - expanding organics and fashion

Tesco expanded selling space

Primark has real momentum

Mothercare transformed into destination store

Woolworths - Ladybird has a strong sense of identity

Bhs - yet to capitalise on Tammy brand

Debenhams - successful Designer at Debenhams ranges

Gap - kids’ ranges performing better than adults

Matalan - strong fashion elements

New Look - adding baby and young children’s clothing

H&M - fashionable and competitive

Peacocks - lacks styling edge

Other

Sainsbury’s

Monsoon

Ones to watch

New entrants

Branded suppliers

Brand Communication and Promotion

Key points

Main monitored adspend

Figure 26: Main monitored media advertising expenditure on childrenswear, 2003-07*

Press dominance overtaken by TV

Figure 27: Main monitored media advertising expenditure on childrenswear, by medium, 2003-07*

This is not just childrenswear, this is M&S childrenswear

Figure 28: Main monitored media advertising expenditure on childrenswear, by brand, 2006

Advertising strategy

Channels to Market

Key points

Grocery multiples set the pace

Figure 29: UK retail sales of childrenswear, by outlet, 2005 and 2007

Offline vs. online shopping

The Consumer - Purchase Habits

Shoppers - Who buys childrenswear?

Figure 30: Purchasing of childrenswear in the last 12 months, 2005-07

Gifting key purchase trigger

Figure 31: When new clothes are most likely to be bought, September 2007

When do youths shop for clothing?

Figure 32: Frequency of shopping for clothes - 11-15s, 2002-06

7-10s go with their parents

Young teens are regular shoppers

Profile of those purchasing childrenswear in the last 12 months

The Consumer - Purchase Considerations

Key points

Important factors when shopping for childrenswear

Figure 33: Important factors when purchasing children’s clothing, September 2007

Agreement with statements about shopping for childrenswear

Figure 34: Agreement with statements about shopping for children’s/baby clothes, September 2007

Attitudes towards Childrenswear Shopping

Figure 35: Other important purchase considerations when buying children’s/baby clothes, September 2007

Appendix

Advertising data

Abbreviations

Competitive context

Figure 37: How money is spent - 7-10-year-olds, 2002-06

Figure 38: How money is spent - 11-15-year-olds, 2002-06

The consumer - purchase habits: Detailed demographics

Figure 39: Purchasing of childrenswear in the last 12 months, by age, gender, socio-economic group, marital status, lifestage, presence of children, Mintel’s Special Groups, working status, tenure, region, ACORN category, media usage, household size and car usage, 2007

Figure 40: Purchasing of childrenswear in the last 12 months, by gender, age, socio-economic group, presence of children, marital status, working status, lifestage, tenure, region, ACORN category, media usage, household size and car usage, 2007

Figure 41: When new clothes are most likely to be bought, by gender, age, socio-economic group, marital status, lifestage, presence of children, Mintel’s Special Groups, working status, tenure, region, ACORN category, media usage, supermarket usage, household size, car usage, detailed lifestage groups and terminal education age, September 2007

Figure 42: When new clothes are most likely to be bought, by gender, age, socio-economic group, marital status, lifestage, presence of children, Mintel’s Special Groups, working status, tenure, region, ACORN category, media usage, supermarket usage, household size, car usage, detailed lifestage groups and terminal education age, September 2007

The consumer - purchase considerations: Detailed demographics

Figure 43: Important factors when purchasing children’s clothing, by gender, age, socio-economic group, marital status, lifestage, presence of children, Mintel’s Special Groups, working status, tenure, region, ACORN category, media usage, supermarket usage, household size, car usage, detailed lifestage groups and terminal education age, September 2007

Figure 44: Important factors when purchasing children’s clothing, by gender, age, socio-economic group, marital status, lifestage, presence of children, Mintel’s Special Groups, working status, tenure, region, ACORN category, media usage, supermarket usage, household size, car usage, detailed lifestage groups and terminal education age, September 2007

Figure 45: Important factors when purchasing children’s clothing, by gender, age, socio-economic group, marital status, lifestage, presence of children, Mintel’s Special Groups, working status, tenure, region, ACORN category, media usage, supermarket usage, household size, car usage, detailed lifestage groups and terminal education age, September 2007

Figure 46: Important factors when purchasing children’s clothing, by gender, age, socio-economic group, marital status, lifestage, presence of children, Mintel’s Special Groups, working status, tenure, region, ACORN category, media usage, supermarket usage, household size, car usage, detailed lifestage groups and terminal education age, September 2007

Figure 47: Agreement with statements about shopping for children’s/baby clothes, by gender, age, socio-economic group, marital status, lifestage, presence of children, Mintel’s Special Groups, working status, tenure, region, ACORN category, media usage, supermarket usage, household size, car usage, detailed lifestage groups and terminal education age, September 2007

Figure 48: Agreement with statements about shopping for children’s/baby clothes, by gender, age, socio-economic group, marital status, lifestage, presence of children, Mintel’s Special Groups, working status, tenure, region, ACORN category, media usage, supermarket usage, household size, car usage, detailed lifestage groups and terminal education age, September 2007

Figure 49: Agreement with statements about shopping for children’s/baby clothes, by gender, age, socio-economic group, marital status, lifestage, presence of children, Mintel’s Special Groups, working status, tenure, region, ACORN category, media usage, supermarket usage, household size, car usage, detailed lifestage groups and terminal education age, September 2007

Figure 50: Agreement with statements about shopping for children’s/baby clothes, by gender, age, socio-economic group, marital status, lifestage, presence of children, Mintel’s Special Groups, working status, tenure, region, ACORN category, media usage, supermarket usage, household size, car usage, detailed lifestage groups and terminal education age, September 2007

Outlets where consumers buy childrenswear

Figure 51: Outlets where children’s clothing/babywear was bought in the last 12 months, September 2007

Figure 52: Outlets where children’s clothing/babywear was bought in the last 12 months, by gender, age, socio-economic group, marital status, lifestage, presence of children, Mintel’s Special Groups, working status, tenure, region, ACORN category, media usage, supermarket usage, household size, car usage, detailed lifestage groups and terminal education age, September 2007

Figure 53: Outlets where children’s clothing/babywear was bought in the last 12 months, by gender, age, socio-economic group, marital status, lifestage, presence of children, Mintel’s Special Groups, working status, tenure, region, ACORN category, media usage, supermarket usage, household size, car usage, detailed lifestage groups and terminal education age, September 2007

Figure 54: Outlets where children’s clothing/babywear was bought in the last 12 months, by gender, age, socio-economic group, marital status, lifestage, presence of children, Mintel’s Special Groups, working status, tenure, region, ACORN category, media usage, supermarket usage, household size, car usage, detailed lifestage groups and terminal education age, September 2007

Figure 55: Outlets where children’s clothing/babywear was bought in the last 12 months, by gender, age, socio-economic group, marital status, lifestage, presence of children, Mintel’s Special Groups, working status, tenure, region, ACORN category, media usage, supermarket usage, household size, car usage, detailed lifestage groups and terminal education age, September 2007

Figure 56: Outlets where children’s clothing/babywear was bought in the last 12 months, by gender, age, socio-economic group, marital status, lifestage, presence of children, Mintel’s Special Groups, working status, tenure, region, ACORN category, media usage, supermarket usage, household size, car usage, detailed lifestage groups and terminal education age, September 2007

Figure 57: Outlets where children’s clothing/babywear was bought in the last 12 months, by gender, age, socio-economic group, marital status, lifestage, presence of children, Mintel’s Special Groups, working status, tenure, region, ACORN category, media usage, supermarket usage, household size, car usage, detailed lifestage groups and terminal education age, September 2007

Figure 58: Other important purchase considerations when buying children’s/baby clothes, by gender, age, socio-economic group, marital status, lifestage, presence of children, Mintel’s Special Groups, working status, tenure, region, ACORN category, media usage, supermarket usage, household size, car usage, detailed lifestage groups and terminal education age, September 2007

Figure 59: Other important purchase considerations when buying children’s/baby clothes, by gender, age, socio-economic group, marital status, lifestage, presence of children, Mintel’s Special Groups, working status, tenure, region, ACORN category, media usage, supermarket usage, household size, car usage, detailed lifestage groups and terminal education age, September 2007

Figure 60: Other important purchase considerations when buying children’s/baby clothes, by gender, age, socio-economic group, marital status, lifestage, presence of children, Mintel’s Special Groups, working status, tenure, region, ACORN category, media usage, supermarket usage, household size, car usage, detailed lifestage groups and terminal education age, September 2007

Further analysis - shopping habits

Figure 61: Repertoire of when new clothes are most likely to be bought, by gender, age, socio-economic group, marital status, lifestage, working status, tenure, ACORN category, commercial TV viewing, region, media usage, supermarket usage, detailed lifestage groups, presence of children and Mintel’s Special GroupsSeptember 2007

Figure 62: Clothing purchasing typologies, by gender, age, socio-economic group, marital status, lifestage, working status, tenure, ACORN category, commercial TV viewing, region, media usage, supermarket usage, detailed lifestage groups, presence of children and Mintel’s Special Groups, September 2007

Cluster formation

Figure 63: Clothing typologies and agreement with statements about shopping for children’s/baby clothes, September 2007

Figure 64: Clothing typologies and outlets where children’s clothing/babywear was bought in the last 12 months, September 2007

Figure 65: Clothing typologies and important factors when purchasing children’s clothing, September 2007

Figure 66: Clothing typologies and other important purchase considerations when buying children’s/baby clothes, September 2007

Figure 67: Who 7-10s usually go shopping for clothes with, 2002-06

Figure 68: Who 11-15s usually go shopping for clothes with, 2002-06

Abstract

The childrenswear market is very competitive for retailers and suppliers, yet has enjoyed a boom in volume sales as lower prices and better availability have encouraged spontaneous purchasing. The market has grown by 7.7% in the last two years to reach £5.6 billion.

• Sales have been steadily concentrated into the hands of a few large retail groups. Due to the highly competitive nature of the main retailers, prices have tumbled and own-label has continued to gain share. Few specialist retailers such as Adams remain, and life has been made tough for the branded suppliers who face intense competition from highly successful own-label players. The larger grocery multiples/discount retailers eg Primark, Tesco and Asda are taking a larger share of volume sales.
• On the plus side, children are on the receiving end of a growing bounty of goodies, including gifts and purchases by parents who have waited to have their offspring later in life, so the market is much less reliant on commodities. Adults want their children to reflect their own sense of status, taste and style. So success is reliant on backing the right styling trends while keeping the prices right.

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