Table of Contents
Executive Summary
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- The market
- Childrenswear to grow 4.5% in 2018
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- Figure 1: Best- and worst-case forecast of UK value sales of childrenswear, 2013-23
- Share of boyswear increasing
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- Figure 2: Segmentation of UK childrenswear market, based on current prices, 2013-18
- Declining birth rates
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- Figure 3: Number of live births in Great Britain, 1960-2017
- People waiting until they are older to start a family
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- Figure 4: Standardised mean age of mother in England and Wales, across all births, 1996-2016
- Cost of living post-Brexit is a big concern
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- Figure 5: Economic outlook consumer tracker, July 2018
- Companies and brands
- Clothing retailers account for largest share of the market
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- Figure 6: UK sales of childrenswear, % share by outlet type, 2017
- Asda dedicates largest amount of space to childrenswear
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- Figure 7: Men’s, women’s and childrenswear overview, October 2018
- Advertising spend set to see large increase in 2018
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- Figure 8: Total above-the-line online display and direct mail advertising expenditure on childrenswear, 2014-18
- The buyer
- Supermarkets and clothing retailers most popular
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- Figure 9: Retailers childrenswear was purchased from, August 2018
- Price tops list of reasons to shop at chosen retailer
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- Figure 10: Reasons for shopping at retailer where most money was spent, August 2018
- Quality and offers are top reasons for choosing childrenswear retailer
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- Figure 11: Reasons people would choose one childrenswear retailer over another, August 2018
- Childrenswear buyers want to future-proof purchases
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- Figure 12: Behaviour towards childrenswear market, August 2018
- Time-saving important for childrenswear buyers
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- Figure 13: Consumer attitudes towards childrenswear, August 2018
- The young consumer
- Childrenswear purchased as and when needed
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- Figure 14: How parents feel about childrenswear, August 2018
- Two thirds choose comfort as most important feature
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- Figure 15: Most important aspects for children when choosing clothes, August 2018
- Primark tops list of retailers
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- Figure 16: Where teens would choose to buy clothes from, August 2018
- Teens prefer to shop in adult section
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- Figure 17: Teenagers behaviour towards clothing shopping, August 2018
- What we think
Issues and Insights
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- Rethinking the teen offering
- The facts
- The implications
- Specialists struggling while clothing retailers expand into childrenswear
- The facts
- The implications
- Opportunities for more sustainability in childrenswear
- The facts
- The implications
The Market – What You Need to Know
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- Childrenswear to grow by 4.5% in 2018
- Share of boyswear increasing
- Declining birth rates
- People waiting until they are older to start a family
- Cost of living post-Brexit is a big concern
- Teens anxious about appearance
Market Size and Forecast
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- Market to grow 4.5% in 2018
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- Figure 18: Best- and worst-case forecast of UK value sales of childrenswear, 2013-23
- Childrenswear to grow 3.6% annually between 2018-23
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- Figure 19: UK value sales of childrenswear, at current and 2018 prices, 2013-23
- Segmentation
- Share of boyswear gradually increases
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- Figure 20: UK value sales of childrenswear, by segment, 2013-18
- Figure 21: Segmentation of UK childrenswear market, based on current prices, 2013-18
- Gender-neutral effect
- Growing spending on schoolwear
- Forecast methodology
Market Drivers: Population
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- Declining birth rates…
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- Figure 22: Number of live births in Great Britain, 1960-2017
- …leading to decreasing number of young children
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- Figure 23: Projected (2017 based projections) UK population at mid-years, by age of last birthday, in thousands, 2013-22
- Figure 24: Projected year-on-year percentage population change, based on 2016 projections, by age of last birthday, 2013-22
- Impact of Brexit on birth and population rates
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- Figure 25: Proportion of live births by country of birth of mother, 2009-17
- People are having fewer children
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- Figure 26: Total fertility rate (number of children per woman) across England and Wales, 2007-17
- Figure 27: Family size distribution of women in England and Wales born between 1945-71 assumed to have completed their childbearing, 2016
- People wait until they are older to start a family
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- Figure 28: Standardised mean age of mother in England and Wales, across all births, 1996-2016
Market Drivers: The Economy
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- Brexit has impacted value of Sterling
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- Figure 29: Sterling to US Dollar exchange rate chart, by month, Jan 2013-Aug 2018
- Price of childrenswear increasing at faster rate…
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- Figure 30: CPIH percentage change over 12 month period, by market, Feb 2016-Aug 2018
- …and a general rise in interest rates led to a squeeze on incomes
- People most concerned about the cost of living post-Brexit
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- Figure 31: Economic outlook consumer tracker, July 2018
Market Drivers: Lifestyles
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- Around 1 in 5 children are obese by the time they reach year 6
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- Figure 32: Children's overweight and obesity prevalence, ages 2-15, 1996-2016
- Teens anxious about appearance
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- Figure 33: Children and teens worried about their appearance, by gender and age, March 2017
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- Figure 34: Ditch the Label social media campaign with Boohoo.com, 2017
- One in five teens use a shopping/retail app weekly
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- Figure 35: Teen usage of shopping/retail apps, March 2017
- Fashion items most popular choice for children shopping online
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- Figure 36: Items bought by children online, by age group, September 2017
- YouTube most popular channel
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- Figure 37: Teens social media usage, March 2017
- Ethical concerns for Generation Z
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- Figure 38: Leading environmental concerns for Generation Z, June 2018
Companies and Brands – What You Need to Know
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- Clothing retailers account for the largest share of the market
- Asda dedicates largest amount of space to childrenswear
- Large specialists struggling
- Parents ‘Twinning’ with children
- Increased focus on diversity in advertising
Channels to Market
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- Clothing retailers continue to lead
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- Figure 39: UK sales of childrenswear, % share by outlet type, 2017
- Supermarkets continue to do well
- Value retailers
- Specialists suffering
Space Allocation Summary
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- Allocation by men’s, women’s and childrenswear
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- Figure 40: Men’s, women’s and childrenswear overview, by fashion retailers, October 2018
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- Figure 41: Men’s, women’s and childrenswear overview, October 2018
- Detailed category space allocation
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- Figure 42: Fashion retailers childrenswear space allocation, October 2018
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- Figure 43: Supermarkets, department stores and other retailers, October 2018
Retail Product Mix
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- Figure 44: Leading retailers, estimated sales, 2017
- Figure 45: Leading clothing retailers: share of clothing sales, by product, 2017
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- Figure 46: Leading clothing retailers estimated share of the childrenswear market, 2017
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Competitive Strategies
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- Specialists: winners and losers
- Mothercare
- Mamas & Papas
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- Figure 47: Mamas & Papas Clapham store, 2016
- Small specialist chains
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- Figure 48: Newbi store in Westfield London, 2018
- Figure 49: Newbie sustainable event, 2018
- More clothing specialists offering childrenswear
- Joe Browns
- Arket
- Reserved
- Outfit Kids
- Gant
- River Island
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- Figure 50: River Island Kids store in intu Braehead shopping centre in Glasgow, 2018
- Jack & Jones
Launch Activity and Innovation
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- ‘Twinning’ with your children
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- Figure 51: Gresham Blake matching outfits, 2018
- River Island Silver & Lux
- Luxury childrenswear expansion
- Balenciaga
- Givenchy
- Belstaff
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- Figure 52: Belstaff kidswear collection, 2017
- Net-a-Porter and Mr Porter
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- Figure 53: Net-a-Porter exclusive Gucci childrenswear collection, 2018
- Flannels
- MyTheresa
- Gender-neutral clothing
- John Lewis removes gender labels
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- Figure 54: John Lewis gender-neutral range, 2017
- River Island launches gender-neutral childrenswear range
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- Figure 55: River Island unisex children’s range, 2017
- M&S ‘easy dressing’ range
- Tie-ups
- Arket x Marion Deuchars
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- Figure 56: Arket x Marion Deuchars collection, 2018
- Sarah Jessica Parker x Gap
- Beano collaborations
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- Figure 57: Stella McCartney x Beano, 2018
Advertising and Marketing Activity
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- Advertising spend set to see large increase in 2018
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- Figure 58: Total above-the-line online display and direct mail advertising expenditure on childrenswear, 2014-18
- M&S becomes top spender
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- Figure 59: M&S ‘Life Isn’t Uniform’ campaign, 2018
- Figure 60: Total above-the line, online display and direct mail advertising expenditure on childrenswear, by top 20 advertisers, 2014-18
- Diversity in advertising
- River Island: labels are for clothes
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- Figure 61: River Island’s ‘Be Incredible’ campaign, 2018
- Mothercare
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- Figure 62: Little Bird Mothercare campaign, 2018
- Argos sees major increase in advertising activity
- Digital top media channel for childrenswear campaigns
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- Figure 63: Total above-the-line online display and direct mail advertising expenditure on childrenswear, by media type, 2017-18 (Jan-Oct)
- Figure 64: Total above-the-line online display and direct mail advertising expenditure on childrenswear, top 20 advertisers, by media type in 2018 (Jan-Oct)
- Nielsen Ad Intel coverage
The Buyer – What You Need to Know
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- Over a quarter of non-parents bought childrenswear
- Supermarkets and clothing retailers most popular
- Price tops list of reasons to shop at chosen retailer
- Quality is top factor to encourage purchases
- Age-appropriate clothing a concern
Childrenswear Purchased
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- Over a quarter of non-parents bought childrenswear
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- Figure 65: People who bought childrenswear over 12 months, August 2018
- More frequent purchasing done for younger age groups …
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- Figure 66: Age of child childrenswear was purchased for, August 2018
- …predominantly due to heavier gifting
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- Figure 67: People who bought childrenswear, by age of child bought for, August 2018
Retailers used for Childrenswear
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- Supermarkets just as popular as clothing retailers
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- Figure 68: Retailers childrenswear was purchased from, August 2018
- Primark is the most popular clothing retailer for childrenswear
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- Figure 69: Primark Disney collection, 2018
- Shoppers for youngest age group least loyal
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- Figure 70: Repertoire of retailers shopped at for childrenswear, August 2018
- Next is clothing retailer people spent most at
- In-store purchases almost twice as frequent as online
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- Figure 71: Retailers where people spent the most on childrenswear cross-analysed with channels used, August 2018
Reasons Shopped
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- Price most important aspect for almost two thirds
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- Figure 72: Reasons for shopping at a retailer where most money was spent, August 2018
- Supermarkets chosen for value for money and convenience
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- Figure 73: Waitrose Mini range, 2017
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- Figure 74: Retailer where consumers spent the most on childrenswear cross-analysed by reasons for use, August 2018
- Department stores shine for quality, style and brands
- Online chosen for price and variety, but quality and style are lacking
Factors to Encourage Store Visits
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- Quality and offers are top reasons for choosing childrenswear retailer
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- Figure 75: Reasons people would choose one childrenswear retailer over another, August 2018
- Two fifths choose affordable basics as an important aspect for a retailer
- Other factors are nice to have, but not seen as necessity
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- Figure 76: Marks & Spencer basic bodysuits made with a special kinder to skin fabric, 2018
Behaviour towards Childrenswear
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- Childrenswear buyers want to future-proof purchases
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- Figure 77: Behaviour towards childrenswear market, August 2018
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- Figure 78: Newbie timeless collection, 2018
- Mini-me styles continue to be popular
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- Figure 79: Lou Teasdale with daughter Lux for River Island x Silver&Lux, 2018
- Childrenswear buyers want to take the moral high-ground
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- Figure 80: WWF and H&M childrenswear collaboration, 2018
- Gender-neutral clothing yet to reach critical mass
Attitudes towards Childrenswear
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- Time-saving important for childrenswear buyers
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- Figure 81: Consumer attitudes towards childrenswear, August 2018
- Online shopping helps to save time and stress
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- Figure 82: Attitudes towards online shopping – avoiding the stress of taking children into store, by age of child in household, August 2018
- Age-appropriate clothing a concern
- Jury is out on branded clothing
The Young Consumer – What You Need to Know
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- Childrenswear purchased as and when needed
- Teens go shopping with friends
- Comfort is the most important feature in clothes
- Primark tops list of favourite retailers
- Teens prefer to shop in regular clothing sections
Parent Behaviour towards Older Childrenswear
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- Three quarters buy childrenswear as and when needed
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- Figure 83: How parents feel about childrenswear, August 2018
- More pressure on boys to be fashionable and wear brands
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- Figure 84: Parents of children aged 7-15-years-old who agree with the below statements, by gender of the child, August 2018
Who Children Shop With
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- Older shoppers most likely to go with friends
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- Figure 85: Who children go shopping with, August 2018
- Just 3% of children do not go clothes shopping
Why Children Choose Clothing
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- Two thirds choose comfort as most important feature
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- Figure 86: Most important aspects for children when choosing clothes, August 2018
- Approval from friends important for all
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- Figure 87: Missguided refer-a-friend scheme, 2018
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- Figure 88: Primark’s ‘Primania’ social media page, 2018
Favourite Retailers for Teens
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- Primark tops list of retailers
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- Figure 89: Where teens would choose to buy clothes from, August 2018
- Store preferences fit in with gender stereotypes
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- Figure 90: Which type of retailer teens would spend money on, by gender, August 2018
Clothes Shopping Behaviour of Teens
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- Teens prefer to shop in adult section
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- Figure 91: Teenagers’ behaviour towards clothing shopping, August 2018
- Branded clothing important to teens
- Social media personalities play important role in clothing decisions
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- Figure 92: Teenage behaviour towards social media personalities, August 2018
Appendix – Data Sources, Abbreviations and Supporting Information
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- Abbreviations
- Consumer research methodology
Appendix – Market Size and Forecast
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- Forecast methodology
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- Figure 93: Best- and worst-case forecast of UK value sales of childrenswear, 2018-23
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