Teenage Fashionwear : Market Research Report

Teenage Fashionwear

Published by: Key Note Publications Ltd

Published: Nov. 1, 2008 - 188 Pages

Executive Summary
1. Introduction: BACKGROUND; METHODOLOGY; DEFINITION
2. Strategic Overview: MARKET DYNAMICS AND SEGMENTATION; The UK Economy; Retail Sales and the Current Economic Outlook; Population Trends and Demographics; Living Arrangements; Family Expenditure; Employment; Specifics of the Youth Market; Working Patterns; Education; Relationships; Attitudes and Identity; Sexuality; Body Size; Influences and a Cultural Separation From Parents; Technology and Social Networking; Other Technology and the Leisure Industry; Political Fashion; Basic Fashion and the Young Consumer; Market Size; FORECASTS
3. Retailer Strategies and Brand Management: MARKETING STRATEGIES; Marketing Via the Youth Culture; Music; Mobile Marketing; Use of the Internet; Brand Strategy; Retailer Brands; Discount Retailer Brands; CONSUMER TRENDS
4. The Fashion Industry: INTRODUCTION; Industry Dynamics; The Impact of Globalisation; Number of Clothing Manufacturers in the UK; FASHION TRENDS; UK Designers; Youth Tribes; Fast Fashion; Textile Trends; CONSUMER TRENDS; The Popularity of Synthetic Materials Among Young Consumers; The Retail Industry; Usage of High-Street Retailers by the Youth Market; Use of Department Stores; Use of Supermarkets; The Rise of Discount Retailing; Other Retailing; eBay; Consumer Attitudes Towards Retailers
5. The UK Clothing Market: OVERVIEW; The Performance of Retail Sales; Retail Prices; WOMENSWEAR; Key Trends; Blurring of Definitions; Body-Size Technology; More Revealing Styles, and Underwear as Overwear; Clothing for a Range of Occasions; Market Size; Major Players; MENSWEAR; Key Trends; Casual Dress Sense; Multi-Purpose Sportswear and Jeans; Designer Labels Are More Important; Market Size; Major Players; SPORTSWEAR; Key Trends; Globalised Sourcing and Branding; Consolidation in Branding and Sports Retailing; Sports Participation and Sports Leisurewear; Discounting and a Blurring of Boundary Definitions; Sportswear is Integral to Male Fashion; Market Size; Major Players; Nike Inc; Adidas AG; Other Manufacturers; Major Sports Retailers; JEANS; Key Trends; Discount Versus Designer; Market Size; Major Players; FOOTWEAR; Key Trends; An Increasingly Imported Market; Branding Attracts Young Buyers; Casual Shoes Are Here to Stay; Fashion Shifts Are Unremitting; Market Size; Major Players; C&J Clark Ltd; Company Structure; ACCESSORIES; Key Trends; High Point of a Cyclical Market; The Role of Designer Brand Collections; Specialist Retailers Expand the Market; Market Size; Major Players; Consumer Trends
6. Advertising: MAIN MEDIA ADVERTISING EXPENDITURE; Product Advertising; Jeans; Retail Advertising
7. Consumer Dynamics: INTRODUCTION; ATTITUDES TOWARDS BRANDS AND DESIGNERS; `Latest' Fashion is the Key; Men Are More Brand-Orientated; PREFERENCES REGARDING TYPES OF FABRICS; More Than Half of All Consumers Say That The Types of Textiles Used Are `Very Important' to Them; Popularity of Modern Synthetic Fabrics is Highest Among Younger Consumers; Under-25s Are the Least Inclined to Like Clothes Made From Natural Fabrics; ATTITUDES TOWARDS RETAILERS; Retailing Strategy; Teenagers Are the Most Inclined to Associate Retailers' Success With Frequent Changes of Product Lines; Visuals Are Important; Size is Not Important; Retailers' Image; The High Street; US Influences; ACCESSORIES
8. Company Profiles: INTRODUCTION; ARCADIA GROUP LTD; Company Structure; Brand Information; Menswear; Burton and Topman; Womenswear; Dorothy Perkins; Miss Selfridge; Topshop; Marketing Strategy and Merchandising; Profitability; FRENCH CONNECTION GROUP PLC; Company Structure; Brand Information; Marketing Strategy and Merchandising; Profitability; GAP INC; Company Structure; Brand Information; Marketing Strategy and Merchandising; Profitability; H&M HENNES & MAURITZ AB; Company Structure; Brand Information; Marketing Strategy and Merchandising; Profitability; MARKS AND SPENCER PLC; Company Structure; Brand Information; Marketing Strategy and Merchandising; Profitability; NEW LOOK RETAILERS LTD; Company Structure; Brand Information; Marketing Strategy and Merchandising; Profitability; NEXT PLC; Company Structure; Brand Information; Marketing Strategy and Merchandising; Profitability; PRIMARK STORES LTD; Company Structure; Brand Information; Marketing Strategy and Merchandising; Profitability; RIVER ISLAND CLOTHING CO LTD; Company Structure; Brand Information; Marketing Strategy and Merchandising; Profitability; SIGNIFICANT BRANDS IN THE UK TEENAGE FASHION MARKET; Diesel; Levi Strauss
9. The Future: ECONOMIC FORECASTS; Gross Domestic Product; Inflation; Employment; FUTURE TRENDS; Lifestyle Trends; Consumer Trends; The Future of the Retail Clothing Market; Retailing Trends; Branding; FORECASTS 2009 TO 2013
10. Further Sources: General Sources; Government Publications; Other Sources; Bisnode Sources

Abstract

The market for youth fashion, which is analysed in this report, is estimated to be worth £9.93bn at retail selling prices (rsp) at the end of 2008, an overall growth of 14.9% since 2004. Key Note defines this market as clothing, footwear and accessories for male and female consumers between the ages of 13 and 24. This is quite a long age span, but Key Note takes the view that the so-called `teenage' years have somewhat expanded, particularly at the lower end of the spectrum, since this report was last written in 2000 (when the market was defined as those aged 15 to 24).

Interest in fashion begins at a young age — and, as this report makes clear, boundaries are blurred between what is actually manufactured for teenagers, and similar fashions that are produced for so-called `tweenagers', i.e. younger consumers. At the older end of the spectrum, as well, it is perhaps difficult to ascertain a true demarcation between youth fashion and that targeted at older generations.

However, youth fashion does have its own identity, in the sense that it springs from the tastes and concerns of a highly communications-orientated generational group. Peer identity is strong, and the promulgation of cultural ideas and influences through the media and technology in the 21st century means that no teenager is left isolated in terms of understanding what his or her age group thinks and how it defines itself — and, most importantly, what it is necessary to buy in order to feel connected with other teenagers. Influences from music, sport and politics, to some extent, all feed into the designs and styles that clothing brands promote to young buyers, particularly young male consumers. Icons from the music and fashion worlds, as well as the celebrity circles, are highly influential as fashion role models, to young women in particular. Young people now have their own social network sites online, and a large majority regularly log on to these in order to connect with and chat to other users. The sense of a shared youth community is powerfully conveyed via sites such as Bebo and MySpace.

Young consumers who are still living at home often have quite high levels of personal disposable income to use to express themselves through their choice of consumer goods — not least through fashion. Thus, there is a thriving target consumer base here of highly impressionable and demanding young men and women.

Although the youth market for clothing remains a separate fashion segment in the sense of defining taste and responding to challenging fashion trends, it also sets the pace of change for older sectors, and affects designs in product ranges in the mainstream market. As already stated, the blurring between youth and adult fashion is often the result, but the youth market adds excitement to the whole clothing market.

Young women, in particular, are also benefiting from the growth in discount retailing. Retailers such as Primark and New Look operate on a fast turnover of cheap clothing, affording young women the opportunity to change their wardrobes with much greater frequency. This enables them to think about fashion much more in terms of self-expression than previous generations may have been able to. The accessories market, for instance, is extremely strong at the current time (November 2008). The idea of dressing up basic clothing with items such as belts, scarves and jewellery is particularly appealing to young people as a form of self-expression.

As with the clothing market in general, however, the teenage clothing market (especially the female sector) has been very susceptible to falling prices. Value growth has not been strong — and, in 2007/2008 in particular, some retailers have not shown their typical strong sales. Examples of this are Next (which is popular with young buyers but has experienced a slower rate of growth than previously) and French Connection. Other retailers, such as the Arcadia Group of fashion chains (Miss Selfridge, Topshop and Topman), continue to succeed in driving demand for challenging and trendy ideas in fashion and have been rewarded with relatively healthy growth rates considering the current economic slowdown.

The challenge for both retailers and brands is to align themselves with the emotional aspirations of young men and women. Many brands make this the cornerstone of their marketing and designs. Perhaps the most salient example of this is Diesel, which pioneers unusual marketing and sponsorship investment in the art and music world. Many brands also seek to make connections between technology and fashion. Some attempt to extend their product ranges into areas such as mobile telephones, or else to use mobile technology — particularly third-generation (3G) technology — as a channel for marketing and trend discussion. Others follow the trend set by the network providers such as Virgin and Orange, in sponsoring music events and thus aligning themselves even more closely with the fashion style of icons in the music world.

If the fashion industry is to continue growing, these strategies are likely to become even more sophisticated and cross-media. Advertising beyond traditional print and television media is likely to expand further — with increased and more effective use of the Internet, in particular, in order to tap into youth concerns and to affect choices.

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Teenage Fashionwear

Table of Contents

Abstract