Kids clothing emerges as the UK’s most resilient sector
November 2009
The UK’s most resilient clothing sector appears to be Kidswear, according to new market research by Verdict.
The report also claims that the Woolworths closure in 2008 has released £250m of market share for competitors. Asda, Tesco and Primark have made the biggest gains.
Verdict have estimated that the kidswear market will be worth £4.63bn in total during 2009, this is down just down 0.1% on 2008. The clothing market as a whole is estimated to drop 0.6% in 2009. The comparative strength of kidswear has been attributed to a mini-baby boom during the recession as well as the tendency for people to delay having children and so accumulate more disposable income to spend on them than younger parents used to.
Woolworths had a 5.4% share of the market share in 2008 before it’s demise. Since then other retailers have extended their grip on the market, with Primark’s market share up 0.6% to command a 7.1% share of the market, Tesco’s up 0.5% to 7.8%, Asda’s up 0.4% to 9.3% and Matalan’s up 0.3% to a 3.4% slice of the market.
Next still retains the top spot in terms of market share with 9.8% in 2009 a 0.1% increase.
Michelle Williams from Artemis Solutions Group who specialise in the retail sector comments “Sad though the demise of Woolworths was, it has opened up the market to other retailers and many have clearly made the most of the opportunity.”
Verdict lead analyst Maureen Hinton said: “The disruption to Woolworths’ sales when it collapsed provided a big opportunity for competitors, even though Shop Direct now has the benefit of the brand.”
Supermarkets may have upped their share of the kidswear market by £68m, but clothing specialists have collectively made the biggest gain, taking an extra 2.7% share to account for over half of all sales with 51.2% total market share.
Hinton added: “Clothing retailers are looking for new opportunities to grow their sales and childrenswear is a natural extension of adult ranges to attract incremental sales. The likes of H&M and Zara have been giving their childrenswear ranges a higher profile and parents are buying more online, not just because of its convenience, but also the access it gives to lesser known, more exclusive, ranges.”
