UK Clothing Market 2010: Issues & Opportunities

Verdict Research Limited, April 2010, Pages: 139

The UK clothing market is mature and has been driven by the value retailers for a decade but faced with falling demand and low growth, combined with the return of inflation, retailers need to reassess their strategies and look for new avenues of growth. This report delivers insightful analysis and identifies the opportunities in the market as well as in individual sectors.

Scope:

- Detailed chapters on the clothing market, plus womenswear, menswear and childrenswear sectors, issues and opportunities for each.

- Includes market sizes and growth drivers 1999-2010e, market shares of Top 20 players (2004-2009), spend per head and per age group of each sector.

- Population trends, profile of clothing shoppers, loyalty drivers by gender and age, retailer clothing visitors numbers and spend per head.

- Channel shares and market segmentation (value, midmarket and premium) 2004-2009.

Highlights

After a decade of the value retailers driving the clothing market in the UK, there has been a shift and the premium segment is to become the new battleground. Price inflation is returning to the market and the value sector has consolidated into the hands of largest operators. Opportunities for retailers now lie in the premium segment.

Though the 55-64 year age group is the lowest segment by value in the womenswear market, worth £2.83bn, its spend per head is the second highest at £760. This further underlines that this generation of women, who will be moving into the 65+ market over the next five years, should not be underestimated.

The recession has hit menswear spending and population trends are likely to hit it further unless retailers act to stimulate it. It has lower spend per head than womenswear or childrenswear. The biggest spending category, 15-24 year olds, is set to shrink by 4.5% by 2015 and the current lowest spending group, 55+s, are set to rise significantly.

Reasons to Purchase:

- Identify growth opportunities in your sector and take market share from competitors

- Understand the issues and challenges in the market to plan strategy and avoid risk

- Access unique data and analysis on population spending trends in the clothing sectors and exploit the potential fully

OVERVIEW
- Introduction

- SUMMARY
-- Premium segment becomes new focus for the market;
-- Population trends favour trading up;
-- Midmarket opportunities available at premium end;
-- Crucial that designers maintain momentum of grown-up fashion;
-- Understanding 55+s key to growth;
-- ... as is engaging men in clothes buying;
-- Baby boom fuels childrenswear and boyswear offers opportunity;
-- Mature players need new avenues for growth;
-- Multichannel advantage;
-- Primark and supermarkets big winners.

CLOTHING MARKET SUMMARY

- KEY FINDINGS
-- Premium segment becomes new focus for the market
-- Clothing retailers face more competitive landscape
-- Inflation returns and volumes fall
-- Population trends favour trading up
-- Midmarket squeeze – opportunities at premium end
-- Investment in design and innovation vital
-- Crucial that designers maintain momentum of fashion for grown-ups
-- Understanding the 55+ market key to growth
-- Engaging men in clothes buying also key
-- Women major influence on men’s clothes shopping
-- Reach men via activities they are interested in
-- Baby boom fuels childrenswear
-- Boyswear also offers major opportunity
-- Mature players need new avenues for growth
-- Multichannel advantage
-- Primark becomes major player
-- Supermarket winners
-- Debenhams and John Lewis adapt to customer demand

CLOTHING MARKET
- Clothing & footwear market spending trends
- Spend per head in individual sectors
-- Womenswear double the spend in menswear
- UK clothing shopper profile
- Clothing market value and spending trends
-- Return of inflation
- Clothing market value and trends by age group
-- 65+ is the largest market by value
-- 15-44s highest spenders per head
-- Men’s clothes buying declines with age, unlike women’s
- Clothing market shares
-- Value retail has been the biggest winner of past five years
- Clothing visitors
-- M&S, with the largest space, attracts significantly more clothing shoppers than rivals – but Primark is now number three
- Clothing expenditure via channels
-- Greatest activity in premium segment
-- Space less productive
- Online clothing sales and shopper profile
- Population trends and effect on the clothing market
-- Mature clothing shopper poses challenge
- Clothing market issues
-- Inflation
-- Lower volumes
-- Slow growth market
-- Unproductive space
-- Ageing population
-- Engaging men in clothes shopping
-- Mass midmarket squeeze

CLOTHING MARKET OPPORTUNITIES
- New directions needed for growth
-- Understand and know your customer
-- Invest in design
-- Develop premium ranges and experience
-- Extend product ranges and sectors
-- Build family lifestyle offers
-- Develop affiliations with non-retail sectors
-- Online

WOMENSWEAR SUMMARY
- Inflationary, demographic and social trends encourage trading up
-- Need for greater design engagement in fashion
-- Mature players need to find new avenues for growth
-- Midmarket squeezed – opportunities at premium end
-- Consumer trends begin to favour quality, service and convenience
-- Population trends favour trading up
-- 65+ biggest market by value – but needs segmenting to maximise potential
-- New entrants target the premium end of the market
-- John Lewis and Debenhams drive department store sector share
-- Primark threatens Next’s third place
-- Value retailers must devise post recession strategies
-- Multichannel a winner for women

WOMENSWEAR MARKET
- Spending trends in womenswear
-- Inflation returns to market
-- Women buying fewer items after a decade of high consumption
- Shift in market from high volume to inflation
-- Fashion relevant for current market trends
- Womenswear spend per head
-- Underwear spending growing faster than outerwear
- Primark challenges leaders as it grabs market share
-- Market leaders losing ground
-- Grocers biggest collective winners as they extend their clothing offers
- Market segment analysis
-- Midmarket losing ground each year
- Spending trends by age group
-- Older age groups need to be inspired to exploit full potential
-- Price becomes less important with age
- Online spending trends
-- Online becoming an influential channel in womenswear

WOMENSWEAR OPPORTUNITIES
- Changing lifestyles create new opportunities
- Service and quality have increasing importance
- Shift upmarket
- Opportunities in womenswear – summary
-- Invest in design and designers
-- Create lifestyle offers
-- Lifestyle branding applies to value retail as much as premium
-- Premiumise ranges
-- Focus on service and quality
-- These factors, rather than price, even more important with age
-- Understand, rather than underestimate, the 55+ market
-- Meet demand for multichannel

MENSWEAR SUMMARY
- Needs strong stimulus to counter population trends
-- Population trends not favourable to menswear
-- Men avid internet users and seekers of aspirational brands
-- Competition from other sectors …
-- … and new entrants to the market
-- Branding is essential in menswear
-- Target audience – men or women?
-- Premium segment holds up
-- Good sales staff

MENSWEAR MARKET
- Growth slows as prices rise and volumes fall
- Menswear underperforms
- Consolidation as supermarkets gain ground
- Segment analysis – middle market squeeze
- Propensity to shop for clothes declines with age
- Population trends and influence on menswear
- Price trends different to womenswear, not a loyalty factor for all men
- Online takes more share in menswear

MENSWEAR OPPORTUNITIES
- Need to stimulate clothes spending …
- … particularly among older men
- 15-24 years currently most valuable, but numbers falling and unemployment rising
- Opportunities in menswear – summary
-- To target older men using lifestyle, needs and activities as a hook
-- To use subtle but persuasive marketing methods
-- To leverage women’s influence on menswear spending
-- To offer a new take on value
-- To enhance the shopping experience

CHILDRENSWEAR SUMMARY
- Opportunity lies in boyswear and non-clothing
-- Childrenswear still under pressure but relatively resilient with opportunities for some
-- Clothing specialists gain – but midmarket cedes share to value players
-- Childrenswear specialists lose share
-- Price inflation creeps back into the market
-- Boyswear needs to be exploited as numbers overtake girls
-- Mini baby boom to drive market growth
-- New entrants and brands will target affluent parents at premium level
-- Online essential to defend market share

CHILDRENSWEAR MARKET
- Childrenswear more resilient than other clothing sectors in recession
- Childrenswear market value and spending trends by sectors
- Girlswear reflects womenswear as key driver of sales
- Population trends favour infantswear
-- Mini baby boom will continue
-- Older mothers more indulgent
- Value retailers and grocers move up table for childrenswear share
- Grocers and clothing specialists gain from Woolworth’s demise
-- Mass market childrenswear specialists being squeezed out of the market
- Value retailers grabbing ever larger share of midmarket

CHILDRENSWEAR OPPORTUNITIES
- Boyswear needs to be exploited fully to realise potential
- Non-clothing should be added to increase basket sizes
- Target affluent older parents
- Target local population
- Target online
- Opportunities in childrenswear – summary
-- To exploit potential of boyswear
-- To complement childrenswear with non-clothing ranges
-- To target affluent older parents
-- To target local populations
-- To set up an online store

ACCESSORIES MARKET
- Market value and sub categories 2005-2009
-- Market grows by £0.5bn in five years
- Year-on-year growth % 2005-2009
-- Rapid growth, but slowing

APPENDIX
- Clothing market definitions
- Methodology
- Further reading
- Ask the analyst
- Verdict consulting
- Disclaimer

TABLES:



Table: Summary of clothing & footwear sectors 2009
Table: Clothing market value and growth drivers 1999–2010e
Table: Clothing market shares 2004–2009
Table: Top 10 retailers by clothing visitor numbers and average spend per visitor 2010
Table: Channel shares of clothing market 2004–2009
Table: Channel shares of clothing market by value 2004–2009
Table: Group operating margins to year ends 2008 and 2009
Table: UK population by age groups 2009 and 2015e
Table: Womenswear expenditure and growth drivers 1999–2010e
Table: Value retailers share of womenswear market 2004 and 2009
Table: Womens outerwear expenditure and growth drivers 1999–2010e
Table: Womens underwear expenditure and growth drivers 1999–2010e
Table: Womenswear market shares 2004–2009
Table: Channel shares of womenswear sector 2004–2009
Table: Channel shares of womenswear sector by value 2004–2009
Table: Value, midmarket and premium retailers £m share in womenswear 2004–2009
Table: UK female population by age group 1999, 2009 and 2015e
Table: Menswear expenditure and growth drivers 1999–2010e
Table: Mens outerwear expenditure and growth drivers 1999–2010e
Table: Mens underwear expenditure and growth drivers 1999–2010e
Table: Menswear Top 20 market shares 2004–2009
Table: Channel shares of menswear sector 2004–2009
Table: Channel shares of menswear sector by value 2004–2009
Table: UK male population by age groups 1999, 2009 and 2015e
Table: Childrenswear expenditure and growth drivers 1999–2010e
Table: Girlswear expenditure and growth drivers 1999–2010e
Table: Boyswear expenditure and growth drivers 1999–2010e
Table: Infantswear expenditure and growth drivers 1999–2010e
Table: Childrenswear Top 21 market shares 2004–2009
Table: Channel shares of childrenswear sector % 2004–2009
Table: Channel shares of childrenswear sector by value 2004–2009
Table: Population changes in 0-14 year olds, 1999, 2009 and 2015
Table: Accessories market value 2005-2009
Table: Accessories market growth 2005-2009
Table: Womenswear clothing market definition 2010
Table: Menswear clothing market definition 2010
Table: Childrenswear market definition 2010
Table: Accessories market definition 2010

FIGURES:

Figure: Sector shares of clothing & footwear market 1999 and 2009
Figure: Spend per head in clothing & footwear sectors 1999 and 2009
Figure: Profile of UK clothing shopper 2010
Figure: Inflation/deflation, volume and value growth in clothing & footwear market 2000–2010e
Figure: UK clothing market value by age group 2009
Figure: Spend per head on clothing by age group 2009
Figure: Spend per head on menswear and womenswear by age 2009
Figure: Winners and losers of clothing market share 2005–2009
Figure: Average spend on clothing per annum per clothing shopper
Figure: Clothing market by value, midmarket and premium segment shares 2004–2009
Figure: New entrants to UK clothing market 2008 ~2010
Figure: Leading clothing retailers sales densities year end 2008/09
Figure: Average clothing sales densities 2004–2009
Figure: Average clothing sales per sq ft including and excluding online sales 2004–2009
Figure: Clothing sales online and share of clothing sector 2000–2010e
Figure: Online clothing shopper profile 2010
Figure: Average number of stores used for clothes shopping by age 2010
Figure: Average spend per head on clothing & footwear sectors 1999 and 2009
Figure: Womenswear share of clothing & footwear market 1999 and 2009
Figure: Womenswear value growth % breakdown into volume and deflation/inflation 1999–2009
Figure: Average number of clothing items bought per year by adult women 1999–2010e
Figure: Year-on-year growth in value retailers womenswear sales and rest of market 2004–2009
Figure: Womenswear Autumn/Winter 2009/10
Figure: Womenswear Autumn/Winter 2009/10 2
Figure: Womenswear spend per head on total womenswear, outerwear and underwear 1999 and 2009
Figure: Womenswear Top Seven market shares 2004–2009
Figure: New Look flagship store Oxford Street 2010
Figure: Changes in womenswear market share 2009 on 2004
Figure: Estimated womenswear sales area increase vs market share gains/losses 2009 on 2004
Figure: Womenswear sales per sq ft of leading players 2009
Figure: Womenswear growth rates by value, midmarket and premium segments 2004–2009
Figure: Womenswear split by premium, midmarket and value segments 2004–2009
Figure: Percentage of females shopping for clothing for themselves in each age group 2010
Figure: Spend per head by females on womenswear per age group 2009
Figure: Value of womenswear expenditure per female age group 2009
Figure: Drivers of loyalty among female clothing shoppers by age group October 2009]
Figure: Analysis of women’s clothes buying by age group 2010
Figure: Womenswear online sales and share of sector 2000–2010e
Figure: How changing lifestyles influence demand 2010
Figure: Importance of service and quality to drive loyalty to clothing retailer by age group 2005 & 2010
Figure: Market segmentations merge as inflation increases 2010–2015
Figure: Menswear value growth % breakdown into volume and deflation/inflation 1999–2009
Figure: Spend per head in each clothing category and growth 2009 on 1999
Figure: Menswear share of clothing & footwear market 1999 and 2009
Figure: Menswear expenditure growth % vs womenswear and childrenswear 1999–2010e
Figure: Changes in menswear market share 2009 on 2004
Figure: Menswear sales per sq ft of leading players 2009
Figure: Value, midmarket and premium split in menswear 2004–2009
Figure: Share of male population by age group that shop for clothes 2010
Figure: Menswear market value by age group 2009
Figure: Drivers of loyalty among male clothing shoppers by age group October 2009
Figure: Analysis of men’s clothes buying by age group 2010
Figure: Menswear online sales and share of sector 2000–2010e
Figure: Targeting the 45+ man – Williams & Brown 2010
Figure: New entrant – McGregor 2010
Figure: Spend per head of UK male population on clothing 2009
Figure: Spend per head in each clothing category and growth 2009 on 1999
Figure: Childrenswear value growth % breakdown into volume and deflation/inflation 1999–2009
Figure: Sector shares of childrenswear market 2010
Figure: Spend per head in girlswear, boyswear and infantswear and growth 2009 on 1999
Figure: UK births 1998–2008
Figure: Number of births per age group of mother 1998 and 2008
Figure: Changes in childrenswear market share 2009 on 2004
Figure: Childrenswear sales per sq ft of leading players 2009
Figure: Channel shares of childrenswear market 2004 and 2009
Figure: Value, midmarket and premium split of childrenswear sales 2004–2009
Figure: Number of children by age group and gender 2015
Figure: Live births by age of mother, average growth rates 2008 on 1998
Figure: Boden young teen range 2010
Figure: Mix of UK and non-UK mothers 1998–2008
Figure: Childrenswear online sales and share of sector 2000–2010e
Figure: Mumsnet – example of product reviews, retailer marketing 2010

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