Table of Contents
Issues in the Market
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- Key themes
- Definitions
- Abbreviations
Insights and Opportunities
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- Fashion gurus vs. celebrities
- Online shopping continues to grow
- Dressing for success
Market in Brief
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- Money woes putting pressure on clothing market
- Shift to value-oriented clothing
- Yet market value endures
- Increased desire to look well dressed
- Personal appearance important to most
- High level of interest in fashion well help drive the market forward
Fast Forward Trends
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- Trend 1: Carnivore, Herbivore...Locavore
- What’s it about?
- What we’ve seen
- What next?
- Trend 2: Girly Men
- What’s it about?
- What we’ve seen
- What next?
Internal Market Environment
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- Key points
- Household debt still at high levels
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- Figure 1: Agreement with statements relating to personal situation and finances, NI and RoI, June 2011
- High debt breeds more sensible spenders
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- Figure 2: Agreement with statements relating to debt management, NI and RoI, June 2011
- Clothing – second most likely spending area to see cut
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- Figure 3: Areas consumers have cut back spending in the last 12 months, RoI and NI, July 2010
- In-home trend has knock on effect on clothing market
- Online clothing retail beginning to find its feet
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- Figure 4: Consumers with a broadband connection at home, RoI and NI, 2004-10
- Could online websites help drive footfall in stores?
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- Figure 5: Agreement with statements relating to shopping online, NI and RoI, June 2011
- Cult of the celebrity
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- Figure 6: Agreement with the statement “Celebrities influence my purchase decisions”, NI & RoI, 2006-10
- Celebrities have a high influence on fashion
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- Figure 7: Products most interested in learning about from a celebrity, US, June 2009
- Types of stars consumers trust
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- Figure 8: Rating the trustworthiness of particular types of celebrities, US, 2009
- Ethical concerns
- Concerns hold strong
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- Figure 9: agreement with the statement “I only buy products from a company with whose ethics I agree”, NI and RoI, 2006-10
- Not easy being green
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- Figure 10: Agreement with the statement “It’s worth paying more for environmentally-friendly products”, NI and RoI, 2005-10
- Increasing obesity will see demand increase for bigger sizes
- Cotton prices increase
- Higher costs of living won’t help
Broader Market Environment
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- Key points
- Tough times ahead will see clothing sales stagnate
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- Figure 11: Economic outlook, RoI and NI, 2008-10
- Government cutbacks might sink the economies further
- Confidence still shaky
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- Figure 12: Consumer Sentiment/Confidence Index, UK (inc NI) and RoI, June 2008-June 2011
- Gaining confidence in time for Christmas
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- Figure 13: Gifts purchased for Christmas, NI and RoI, 2010
- Unemployment limits spending on clothing
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- Figure 14: Unemployment rates, RoI and NI, January 2009-March 2011
- Demand for fashion among older consumers
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- Figure 15: Population, by age, RoI, 2006-41
- Figure 16: Population, by age, NI, 2008-58
- Figure 17: Agreement with the statement “I like to keep up with the latest fashions”, by age, NI and RoI, 2010
- 16-24 sector in danger of shrinking
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- Figure 18: Agreement with statement ‘Having to emigrate to find work/go to college’, by age, NI and RoI, June 2011
- More demand for children’s clothing
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- Figure 19: Number of births per year, RoI and NI, 1989-2009
Competitive Context
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- Key points
- Jewellery important to consumers
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- Figure 20: Agreement with statements relating to jewellery, NI and RoI, 2010
- Recession dents jewellery business
- Clothing seen as better Christmas gift
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- Figure 21: Gifts purchased for Christmas, NI and RoI, 2010
- Footwear a strong rival for clothing
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- Figure 22: Expenditure in the last 12 months on shoes, NI and RoI, 2010
Strengths and Weaknesses
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- Strengths
- Weaknesses
Who’s Innovating?
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- Key points
- 100% green clothing
- Bring the social element to online clothes shopping
- Secret stores might help excitement to bricks and mortar shopping
- Making clothing far more functional
- Offering new types of promotions at Gap
- Catering to rears of all shapes and sizes
- Adding functional benefits that appeal to sweaty men
Market Size and Forecast
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- Key points
- 2011 marks the turning point for the clothing market
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- Figure 23: Market value of Irish clothing retailing market , IoI, RoI and NI, 2005-16
- Online sales helping to prop-up NI market
- Mobile internet could help boost footfall in near future
- Womenswear accounts for 65% of the total clothing market
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- Figure 24: Estimated retail sales of womenswear, IoI, RoI and NI, 2005-16
- Menswear market remains steady despite falling spending power
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- Figure 25: Estimated retail sales of menswear, IoI, RoI and NI, 2005-16
- Low job security helping to drive work wear sales in the menswear segment
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- Figure 26: Consumers agreeing that “Job Security” most concerns them, by age, RoI and NI, 2011
Companies and Products
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- Arcadia Group
- ASOS
- Arnotts
- Asda
- Benetton Group
- BHS (British Home Stores)
- Brown Thomas
- Debenhams
- Dunnes Stores
- H&M
- Heatons
- Marks and Spencer (M&S)
- Matalan
- Next
- Primark/Penneys
- Tesco
The Consumer – Expenditure on Clothing
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- Key points
- Spending on coats and rain coats average
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- Figure 27: Expenditure in the last 12 months on coats/raincoats, NI and RoI, 2010
- €30-74 the average spending for jackets
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- Figure 28: Expenditure in the last 12 months on jackets, NI and RoI, 2010
- Four in five Irish consumers have not bought a suit in the last year
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- Figure 29: Expenditure in the last 12 months on suits, NI and RoI, 2010
- Shirt spending average
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- Figure 30: Expenditure in the last 12 months on shirts, NI and RoI, 2010
- Trousers spending unaffected by recession
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- Figure 31: Consumers spending between £20-49/€30-74 in the last 12 months on trousers, NI and RoI, 2008-10
- Spending on T-shirts and polo shirts increase slightly
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- Figure 32: Expenditure in the last 12 months on T-shirts/polo shirts, NI and RoI, 2007-10
- Your T-shirt, your way
- Low spending on sports attire
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- Figure 33: Expenditure in the last 12 months on sports clothing, NI and RoI, 2010
- Spending on jumpers sweatshirts and cardigans quite average
- RoI women spend more on dresses than NI women
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- Figure 34: Expenditure in the last 12 months on dresses, NI and RoI, 2010
- Skirts a low spending priority
- Average spending on women’s blouses and tops
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- Figure 35: Expenditure in the last 12 months on blouses/tops, NI and RoI, 2010
- Purchasing of jeans dips between 2009 and 2010
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- Figure 36: Consumers who have purchased jeans in the last 12 months, NI and RoI, 2005-10
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- Figure 37: Expenditure in the last 12 months on jeans, NI and RoI, 2010
- Motivations for buying jeans
The Consumer – Attitudes Towards Personal Appearance
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- Key points
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- Figure 38: Agreement with statements relating to personal appearance, NI and RoI, 2010
- Looking well-dressed important to two out of three consumers
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- Figure 39: Agreement with the statement “It is important to me to look well dressed”, NI and RoI, 2007-10
- Looking well-dressed more important to women than men
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- Figure 40: Agreement with the statement “It is important to me to look well dressed”, by gender, NI and RoI, 2010
- Attraction to the other sex an important fashion consideration
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- Figure 41: Agreement with the statement “It is important to be attractive to the opposite sex”, by gender and marital status, NI and RoI, 2010
- Fountain of youth
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- Figure 42: Agreement with the statement “It is important to keep looking young”, by gender and age, NI and RoI, 2010
- Comforting clothes more important to 65+
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- Figure 43: Agreement with the statement “I buy clothes for comfort, not for style”, by gender and age, NI and RoI, 2010
- No need for comfort in certain types of outfits
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- Figure 44: Agreement with selected statements relating to personal appearance, NI and RoI, 2010
- Irish consumers consider themselves stylish
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- Figure 45: Agreement with selected statements relating to personal appearance, NI and RoI, 2010
- Designer labels matter less to RoI consumers during recession
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- Figure 46: Agreement the statement “A ‘designer’ label improves a person’s image”, by gender and age, NI and RoI, 2005-10
The Consumer – Attitudes Towards Clothing
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- Key points
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- Figure 47: Agreement with selected statements relating to clothing, NI and RoI, 2010
- Durability is a key concern among Irish consumers
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- Figure 48: Agreement with the statement “I make my clothes last”, NI and RoI, 2007-10
- Making things last across all levels of affluence
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- Figure 49: Agreement with the statement “I make my clothes last”, by social class, NI and RoI, 2010
- Practical dressers
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- Figure 50: Agreement with the statement “I try to dress in the most practical way”, by socio-economic group, NI and RoI, 2010
- Clothing for a night out a seen as important
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- Figure 51: Agreement with the statement “When I go out, I want to look elegant”, by gender, NI and RoI, 2010
- Decline in the on-trade may call for less going out clothes
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- Figure 52: Alcohol sales, by indexed value, on- and off-trade split, all-Ireland, 2004-14
- New season, new clothing
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- Figure 53: Agreement with the statement “Every season I buy some new clothes”, by gender and age, NI and RoI, 2010
- Fewer agree that they spend a lot on clothes
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- Figure 54: Agreement with the statement “I spend a lot of money on clothes”, NI and RoI, 2007-10
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- Figure 55: Agreement with the statement “I spend a lot of money on clothes”, by gender, NI and RoI, 2010
Consumer Target Groups
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- NI target groups
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- Figure 56: NI consumer typologies, 2010
- Social Shoppers
- Comfort Seekers
- Well-dressed
- Style Hounds
- RoI target groups
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- Figure 57: RoI consumer typologies, 2010
- Comforters
- Well-groomed
- Attracters
- Body Conscious
Appendix
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- Broader market environment
- Unemployment
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- Figure 58: Number of unemplyed, by gender, NI, 2005-10
- Figure 59: Unemployment rate, by gender, RoI, 2005-10
- Figure 60: Number of redundancies, by gender, RoI, 2005-09
- Expenditure on clothing
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- Figure 61: Expenditure in the last 12 months on coats/raincoats, NI and RoI, 2010
- Figure 62: Expenditure in the last 12 months on jackets, NI and RoI, 2010
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- Figure 63: Expenditure in the last 12 months on suits, NI and RoI, 2010
- Figure 64: Expenditure in the last 12 months on trousers, NI and RoI, 2010
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- Figure 65: Expenditure in the last 12 months on sports clothing, NI and RoI, 2010
- Figure 66: Expenditure in the last 12 months on T-shirts/polo shirts, NI and RoI, 2010
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- Figure 67: Expenditure in the last 12 months on any outwear for adults, NI and RoI, 2010
- Figure 68: Expenditure in the last 12 months on shirts, NI and RoI, 2010
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- Figure 69: Expenditure in the last 12 months on jumpers and sweatshirts, NI and RoI, 2010
- Figure 70: Expenditure in the last 12 months on any menswear, NI and RoI, 2010
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- Figure 71: Expenditure in the last 12 months on dresses, NI and RoI, 2010
- Figure 72: Expenditure in the last 12 months on skirts, NI and RoI, 2010
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- Figure 73: Expenditure in the last 12 months on blouses/tops, NI and RoI, 2010
- Figure 74: Expenditure in the last 12 months on jumpers/cardigans/sweatshirts, NI and RoI, 2010
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- Figure 75: Expenditure in the last 12 months on any womenswear, NI and RoI, 2010
- Figure 76: Expenditure in the last 12 months on children’s clothing, NI and RoI, 2010
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- Figure 77: Expenditure in the last 12 months on jeans, NI and RoI, 2010
- NI and RoI clothing usage – demographics
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- Figure 78: Consumer usage of clothes, by type, by demographics, NI, 2010
- Figure 79: Consumer usage of clothes, by type, by demographics, RoI, 2010
- NI personal appearance TGI
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- Figure 80: Most popular attitudes towards personal appearance, by demographics, NI, 2010
- Figure 81: Further attitudes towards personal appearance, by demographics, NI, 2010
- RoI personal appearance TGI
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- Figure 82: Most popular attitudes towards personal appearance, by demographics, RoI, 2010
- Figure 83: Further attitudes towards personal appearance, by demographics, RoI, 2010
- NI – Attitudes towards clothes
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- Figure 84: Most popular attitudes towards clothing, by demographics, NI, 2010
- Figure 85: Further attitudes towards clothing, by demographics, NI, 2010
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- Figure 86: Further attitudes towards clothing, by demographics, NI, 2010
- Figure 87: Least popular attitudes towards clothing, by demographics, NI, 2010
- RoI – Attitudes towards clothes
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- Figure 88: Most popular attitudes towards clothing, by demographics, RoI, 2010
- Figure 89: Further attitudes towards clothing, by demographics, RoI, 2010
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- Figure 90: Further attitudes towards clothing, by demographics, RoI, 2010
- Figure 91: Least popular attitudes towards clothing, by demographics, RoI, 2010
- RoI cluster groups
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- Figure 92: RoI consumer typologies, 2010,
- Figure 93: RoI consumer typologies, by demographics, 2010,
- NI cluster groups
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- Figure 94: NI consumer typologies, 2010,
- Figure 95: NI consumer typologies, 2010
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