About the market…

As the retail sector, and clothing within it, faces a tougher 2005 than 2004, many in the industry see further consolidation/casualties in the value sector and the wider clothing arena on the horizon. A key issue is that the big want to get bigger and space growth is increasingly hard to achieve, so Primark was very pleased to get six Allders stores.

Within the sector there has been, and continues to be, quite some evolution as some retailers remain clearly discounters/value and others (such as Peacocks and Select) move much more strongly into the fashion arena. Also, while George and Tesco are ‘value’ retailers they are both stretching their product offers into a lower mainstream price positioning.

About the report…

Mintel’s research provides a series of essential findings for all those who need to know ‘what’s next’ for the value clothing retail sector. Fusing together the latest consumer research and freshest market analysis, Mintel’s research answers vital questions surrounding value clothing. How will value clothing retailers drive forward growth? How will they differentiate themselves, and continue to evolve? How will this impact the mainstream middle clothing market?

Mintel's new report offers you all the insight and inspiration you need for designing clever, creative and profitable marketing strategies in the value clothing retail market. Use Mintel's research to:

Understand the major market trends and drivers

Discover which consumers shop where and what they buy

Establish new customer typologies, based on attitudes towards value clothing retailers.

Pin point market potential, such as the potential to entice more outfit buying and to attract younger and more affluent shoppers, before your competitors

Identify key consumer audiences and find out how to best reach them with the most effective marketing communications

Examine shopping behaviour in relation to buying clothing from value clothing retailers

Learn about the major operators, their market share and assess the potential for new entrants in the market

Measure market sizes and forecasts and build realistic business models

Gain a valuable insight into trade perspective regarding value clothing retailing.

Intriguing findings include:

Some 37% of regular grocery shoppers at M&S like to have a look in value clothing retailers in case they pick up a bargain, meaning they may well be tempted to buy.

Some 36% of women agree that value clothing retailers provide a good range, but 33% say they are good for everyday use but not for smarter occasions. This is clearly an opportunity, and may be a ranging issue (ie not enough tailoring) or a display issue (segment and clearly highlight smarter collections).