Kids wear biz seen touching Rs 80,000 crore by 2015

Logging a compound annual growth rate of about 20 per cent, it is expected to touch Rs 80,000 crore by 2015 from current level of about Rs 38,000 crore, says Associated Chambers of Commerce & Industry of India study.

According to ‘Market of Indian kids wear’ study, with kids fashion percolating down to Tier II and Tier III cities, the branded kids wear is growing fastest. Besides increasing preference for branded apparels and rising disposable incomes, increasing influence of foreign culture, have led to kids emerging as independent buyer group making them a more informed and self conscious segment, says the study.

With their mothers spending enormous amounts on clothing for their children, in the belief that the way a kid is dressed is often a reflection of the parents’ sense of style, the study says, parents tend to dress their children like themselves and seek to incorporate brands that fit with the family’s lifestyles.

Furthermore, with India and China emerging as global powerhouse markets they hold promise for children’s wear, because of the sheer size of the retail industry, as well as the growing number of wealthy people.

To cash in on the current craze, brands such as Benetton, Pantaloon and Reebok have roped in popular characters like Pucca, Ben10 and Power Rangers to lure their 4-14 age-group customers, the study notes, adding branded children’s wear segment is presently worth Rs 4,000 to Rs 5,000 crore, growing at more than 25 per cent. Likewise, these brands are developing categories such as infant wear, kids’ formal wear, kids’ ethnic wear, swim wear and casual wear, along with a wide range of other merchandise for children, it adds.