Market research: Clothes for children in China

12Jul2013

According to Frost & Sullivan, a US-based market consultancy, annual spending per household on children’s products in urban China increased from $288 in 2005 to $663 in 2009 and is expected to reach $1,256 by the end of next year. Data from the consultancy Euromonitor shows the market value of children’s clothes in China reached 84.6 billion yuan in 2010, while the National Bureau of Statistics states that nearly 30 percent of the total expenditure of urban families is spent on infants or children. A separate study from Boston Consulting Group suggests the market value of China’s baby products industry – including food, garments, toys and related products – will enjoy an annual growth rate of 17 percent in 2012. And by 2013, the size of China’s market for children’s products is expected to reach 311.1 billion yuan ($49 billion), at a compound annual growth rate of 19 percent, according to Frost & Sullivan. In order to cash in on the booming market, domestic and international companies have poured into the country over the past years.

Chinese domestic kid’s clothes brands：Goodbaby (好孩子) and Beler (贝蕾尔)
Beler is one of the top 10 children’s clothes brands in China. In terms of quality control, they handle production, marketing and sales all by themselves, and track all processes from production to sales. Beler emphasizes each child’s health and promotes its production to the market with discounts for its customers. Goodbaby (好孩子) is a kids’ products company based in Kunshan (昆山), Jiangsu Province (江苏) in 1989. And it’s the largest company focusing on design, manufacture and sales in this industry. It produces prams, children bicycles, children’s clothes and disposable diapers.

International children’s clothes brands in China
There are many international brands rushing to China, at the same time, they bring their children clothes brand here as well. These include sportswear companies such as Adidas, Nike, Puma and Umbro and fashionable brands such as Zara and H&M. These corporations realize the immense potential of the Chinese market and our purchasing capacity as well. They build factories in China and create more job opportunities for people in rural areas. However, they also generate great pressure to local children’s clothes companies.

Fierce competition in Children’s clothes companies
Zara opened its first store for children’s clothes in 2006 in Shanghai, luxury brands Gucci, SA, and Dior have opened children’s clothing sections in the country and casual or sportswear retailers including H&M and Adidas have set up divisions aimed at youngsters. In addition to the flourishing brands, more international companies have been seeking cooperation in the emerging industry. Goodbaby Group, China’s top manufacturer and retailer of baby care products, announced this year an online retail partnership with the US sportswear giant Nike Inc. Under the agreement, Goodbaby will have exclusive authorization to sell Nike’s children’s wear through its website, haohaizi.com. One of the most reputable babywear brands in China, China Yeehoo Group Ltd, announced earlier this year that Lunar Capital Management and its affiliates have completed the acquisition of a majority controlling stake in the company.

Daxue Market Reserch in China

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