Brand-conscious kids are an El Dorado

Manufacturers, retailers rush to wrest a bite of the Rs 13,000 cr high-margin business

MUMBAI: When Breach Candy resident Sunil Shah recently bought his 11-year old son Kunal a pair of Guess jeans, it cost him Rs 3,000.

Shah says buying clothing for his son has become a regular affair and on most occasions, Kunal insists on the big brands.

“I think it’s a fairly decent buy and considering the quality he gets to experience in return, its value for money,” says Shah, who runs a flavours and fragrances store in South Mumbai and shops for Kunal every 3-4 months.

Matunga-based Sadhvi Pandey, mother of Vedika (8) and Ambi (11), is not very conscious about branded clothing.

But she says almost every other weekend that she shops, she ends up spending at least a thousand rupees on clothing and apparel for the kids.

Shah and Pandey are part of a burgeoning number of urban families that have over a period of time increased their shopping-spend for their children.

It’s a trend that has retailers salivating. Reason why Sanjeev Narula, who has been in the export business for over 15 years, shifted to retailing kidswear. The managing director of Lilliput Kidswear, one of the largest brands of its kind in the country pushed through 125 stores, says there is no way he would have missed the bus.

“Over 30% of our population comprises kids. That’s a huge number in India. The unorganised and organised sector together make it an almost Rs 13,000 crore market. We couldn’t have missed the bus.”
High margins are a big lure. While the non-branded clothing are priced between Rs 99 to Rs 500 and the branded range climbs upwards of Rs 1,000.

Khyati Bhinde, senior manager marketing and strategy at the Unisource Group, a retail consultancy which works for Steve & Barry, the US-based consultant, said “Tweens” or 9-14 year olds, are emerging as a huge market for brands in India.

“This segment is getting increasingly brand conscious and have a say in every purchase decision. Urban families are mostly double-income households, and satellite television and globalisation means their awareness levels are high,” Bhinde said.

Kids channels such as Cartoon Network and Pogo have been quick on the cue, taking their animated characters into kidswear.

Gini & Jony, the company that is floating an IPO, has gone a step ahead: It recently rolled out ‘Freedom Fashion’, a chain of concept lifestyle stores that intends to convert Tweens into glamour dolls and dudes.

It stocks its own label alongside those of United Colors of Benetton, Levi’s Sykes Junior and Reebok Juniors. Additionally,  the stores will offer fashion and grooming tips for kids and even a modelling portfolio service.
Raymond, which launched 18 ‘Zapp’ stores, also hopes to up the style quotient through design studios in Italy and Bangalore.

“Our customers are returning every 3 months. And the purchases are 21% more the second time,” a spokeperson for Raymond’s said.

A survey by the company showed mothers believed the way they dress up their kids is a reflection of their own style statement.

Anita Daswani, a doctor by profession and a mother of two kids, concurs, but says: “While I’ve somehow struck a balance in the spending, I think peer pressure contributes in a big way to their purchase decisions.”
What enlarges the booty is kids outgrowing their clothes fast.

Joyeeta Kumar, kidswear segment chief at Big Bazaar, said, “Parents make new purchases every 6-7 months. It is this repetitive buying pattern that is attracting new players.”

Big Bazaar sells the Power Rangers and the Disney range, which are a huge draw for kids. “Disney’s branded wear sales contribute to about 10% of our business and in the overall clothing, we expect to generate Rs 250 crore from kidswear alone,” Kumar said.

Analysts, however, sound a word of caution to those wanting to jump in.

“It’s still a challenging space to get into. Kids are fickle buyers and shift loyalties when the next compelling product arrives. And some big launches haven’t worked either.”

Vishal Gurtu country head, Egana India, the holding company that sells Espirit brand of apparels, says, “There is potential no doubt. But the market for branded kidswear has just come up. We’ve recently begun testing waters in Mumbai and Delhi. We want to go slow and steady.”

Breach Candy resident Shah said as a parent, he sees two reasons for the boom: the first is the mall culture, which has changed attitudes.

“The other is that this generation of parents haven’t learnt to say ‘no’ to their kids.”

Those steering the brandwagon aren’t complaining.
 
c_arcopol@dnaindia.net