Abstract
Since Mintel' s last Value Clothing Retailing report in 2005, the market has changed significantly. The big retailers have become bigger (notably the supermarkets and Primark) and some of the smaller players have found trading very tough: some have exited the market and others have needed rescuing/refinancing. However, while the clothing market overall has been very challenging in 2006 and 2007 (due both to economic issues and the weather), Mintel estimates that the value clothing sector has outperformed the rest of the clothing market and that value specialists now account for 15.1% of all clothing specialists' sales.
The other key change has been the blurring of the boundaries between value retailers and the middle market. The former have broadened their appeal and ' good/better/best' price ranges, and product architecture, as well as enhanced their store environments; the latter have sharpened their opening price points and become a lot more competitive.
Table of Contents
- Issues in the Market
- Main issues:
- Definitions
- Abbreviations
- Market in Brief
- The market
- Shopping patterns
- Drivers of growth
- Main challenges
- Main opportunities
- Future prospects
- Industry Insights
- Key points
- The market
- Changing the nature of deflation
- Market growth
- Blurring of the boundaries
- It' s not just about price
- Challenges in the sector
- The retailers -- winners and losers
- The online opportunity
- Changing consumers
- Product offers
- Ethical/environment issues
- Advertising/marketing
- The future
- Internal Market Environment
- Falling prices
- Fast fashion vs sustainable style, and the question of growth
- Fashion: autumn more challenging
- Fashion: the clean-cut/well-groomed look
- Fashion: the problem with ubiquity
- Fashion: design and differentiation
- Store design
- Ethical/green/environmental issues
- Going transactional
- Broader Market Environment
- PDI, consumer expenditure and saving
- Figure 1: PDI and consumer expenditure, at current and constant 2002 prices, 2002-12
- Figure 2: UK real personal disposable income growth, consumer expenditure growth, bank base rate and savings ratio, actual and projected, 2002-12
- Consumer confidence
- Weather
- Inflation/deflation
- Employment
- Figure 3: UK workforce and employment, 2002-12
- Population
- Figure 4: Population numbers, by age group, 2002-12
- Socio-economic changes
- Figure 5: Population numbers and percentage change, by socio-economic group, 2002-12
- Figure 6: Share of the population, by socio-economic group, 2002-12
- Market in Context
- Key points
- Spending on clothing
- Figure 7: UK consumer spending on clothing, and value clothing, including sales tax, current prices, 2002-07
- The clothing market
- Figure 8: UK index of consumer spending growth in clothing and all retail sales, 2002-06
- Buying clothing
- Figure 9: UK consumer spending on selected categories (incl sales tax), at current prices, 2002-06
- Market Size and Forecast
- Key points
- Specialists' sales
- Figure 10: Sales through clothing specialists and value clothing specialists (excluding VAT), at current prices, 2002-07
- Figure 11: The UK value clothing market (excluding VAT), 2002-07
- Forecast
- Figure 12: Forecast of the UK value clothing market (excluding VAT), at current and constant prices, 2007-12
- Annual growth to pick up steadily
- Non-specialists continue to grow
- Figure 13: Percentage share of UK value clothing specialists and non specialists within the total UK value clothing market, by year, 2002-07, and forecasted shares from 2008-12
- Specialists will face difficult conditions
- Factors used in the forecast
- Strengths and Weaknesses in the Market
- Where They Buy
- Key findings
- Figure 14: Where they buy value clothes, September 2007
- Clear winners and losers over time
- Figure 15: Value clothing shops used for buying clothing in May 2003, February 2005 and September 2007
- George leads the pack
- Matalan under increasing pressure
- Primark and TK Maxx are a hit with the fashionable young
- Peacocks coming on strongly
- Figure 16: Where they buy value clothing, by gender, age and socio-economic group, September 2007
- Smaller chains in competition for consumers
- Age group differentiation
- Bonmarché opportunity
- Some will struggle
- Competition from charity shops
- Figure 17: Where they buy value clothing, by gender, age and socio-economic group, September 2007
- Who doesn' t buy?
- Key findings
- Where They Buy -- Detailed Consumer Demographics
- Figure 18: Where they have bought value clothing, by Mintel' s special groups, region, ACORN categories, technology users, daily newspapers, commercial TV viewing and supermarket used, September 2007
- Figure 19: Where they have bought value clothing, by Mintel' s special groups, region, ACORN categories, technology users, daily newspapers, commercial TV viewing and supermarket used, September 2007
- Figure 20: Where they have bought value clothing, by Mintel' s Special Groups, region, ACORN categories, technology users, daily newspapers, commercial TV viewing and supermarket used, September 2007
- What They Buy
- Key findings
- Figure 21: What value clothing items they buy, September 2007
- Men buying for themselves
- Most women are keen shoppers
- Less of a destination for childrenswear
- Figure 22: What value clothing they buy, by gender, age and socio-economic group, September 2007
- Figure 23: What value clothing they buy, by gender, age and socio-economic group, September 2007
- Key findings
- What They Buy -- Detailed Consumer Demographics
- Figure 24: What value clothing they buy, by Mintel' s special groups, region, ACORN categories, technology users, daily newspapers, commercial TV viewing and supermarkets used, September 2007
- Figure 25: What value clothing they buy, by Mintel' s special groups, region, ACORN categories, technology users, daily newspapers, commercial TV viewing and supermarkets used, September 2007
- Retail Competitor Analysis
- Key points
- Trading performance
- Figure 53: Value clothing retailers key data and estimated clothing sales
- Positioning and strategic analysis
- Figure 54: Selected value clothing retailers positioning, strategy and analysis, 2007
- Retailer Profiles
- Figure 55: Value clothing retailers, store numbers, 2002-07
- Ethel Austin
- Figure 56: Ethel Austin, store numbers 2002-07
- Figure 57: Ethel Austin limited, financial performance, 2002-07
- mkone
- Figure 58: mkone (Northworld Ltd), financial performance, 2002-07
- Matalan
- Figure 59: Matalan own-brand clothing portfolio, 2007
- Figure 60: Matalan financial performance, 2002-07
- Officers Club
- Figure 61: The Officers Club, financial performance, 2002-06
- Primark
- Figure 62: Primark store numbers, 2002-07
- Figure 63: Primark own-brand portfolio, 2007
- Figure 64: Primark UK, financial performance, 2002-06
- QS Group
- Figure 65: QS Group, store numbers, 2002-07
- Figure 66: QS Group, financial performance, 2004-07
- The Peacock Group (Bonmarché and Peacocks)
- Figure 67: Peacocks and Bonmarché store numbers, 2002-07
- Figure 68: Peacocks and Bonmarché sub-brands, 2007
- Figure 69: Bonmarché financial performance, 2002-07
- Figure 70: Peacocks, financial performance, 2002-07
- Slater
- TJ Hughes
- Figure 71: TJ Hughes, clothing own-brands, 2007
- Figure 72: TJ Hughes, financial performance, 2002-07
- TK Maxx
- Figure 73: TK Maxx, UK financial performance, 2002-07
- Supermarkets
- Figure 74: Estimated sales of clothing & footwear in grocery multiples, at current prices, 2001-06
- George at Asda
- Figure 75: George at Asda distribution, 2003-07
- Figure 76: George at Asda sub-brands in clothing, 2007
- Figure 77: Retail offer categories by percentage of clothing sales, 2007
- Tesco
- Figure 78: Tesco sub-brands in clothing, 2007
- Wholesaler/grocery discount retailers
- Discount supermarkets
- Netto
- Aldi
- Lidl
- Discount wholesalers
- Costco
- Makro
- Other value/discount retailers
- Wilkinsons
- Retail Advertising and Promotion
