Abstract
Why buy this report
- Get insight into trends in market performance
- Pinpoint growth sectors and identify factors driving change
- Identify market and brand leaders and understand the competitive
environment
Product coverage
Clothing; Footwear
Executive summary
Household Debt Delays Spending
In the early half of this decade consumers were spending heavily. The
accumulation of this debt, combined with three interest rate hikes in 2006,
resulted in high levels of household debt. To pay off this debt consumers cut
back on spending and one of the easiest facets to cut back on was clothing.
Fertility Rates Rise
Children' s clothing and footwear were given a boost as Australia' s fertility
rates increased over the past two years. The average age of parents also
increased, as Australians put off babies in favour of their careers. However,
this means that when Australians do have babies they tend to have higher
disposable incomes than their parents did, allowing them to spoil the children
more.
Good Fashion For All
As the global village becomes increasingly connected by the internet, fashions
are spreading at an ever increasing rate. In order to satisfy consumer demand
for the clothes they see on the catwalks or celebrities, retailers became
experts at sourcing accurate imitations of high class fashion and providing it
to the consumer at affordable prices. The fastest growing chains in the youth
market are therefore those who can best and quickest get the latest fashions
into their stores.
Manufacturers Finding a Niche
As retailers increasingly decide to source their clothes from China and other
developing countries, those that remain in Australia found that the best
competitive advantage they have is producing for niche markets and boutiques
where they can charge higher prices. This is likely to be a sustainable
competitive advantage as Asian manufacturers are still only interested in
producing long runs for the mass market that will give them economies of scale.
Ding Dong the Department Store is Dead
The influence of the department store is on the wane as consumers increasingly
prefer to patronise large retail chains that provide a more tailored and
precisely targeted value offering. With a major retail chain to cover every
demographic segment, these retailers better understand their target group, are
better able to provide them with appropriate fashion and have thus become a
more convenient outlet than department stores which have to cater to all
demographic segments at once.
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