While the debate on ‘kids plus size’ labelling heats up, large size clothing has been a part of the kids retailing scenario for quite some time now. According to marketsearch.com, in 2010 women’s and girls’ plus size apparel was a whopping US $ 47 billion industry, accounting for 27 per cent of all clothing sales and nearly 40 per cent of all women’s and girls’ apparel sales. Retail giants and brands like New Look, Forever21, GAP, Sears, Marks & Spencer’s, JCPenney, Macy’s, Kohl’s, Old Navy and many others are selling plus size clothing, seeing growth on a constant basis…
With the increasing sizes and changing figures, many pediatricians all over the globe have claimed that the traditional growth charts no longer apply to today’s children. Supporting the same, many retailers have claimed they are fitting boys with size 20 trousers and girls with size 18 tunics as kids average waistlines have grown up to 10 cm in the past decade. For decades, clothing sizes for children aged 7 to 12 had ranged from 7 to 14, but today size 16 is increasingly being considered as the cut-off. As per reports in the US, an estimated 17 per cent of children up to the age of 19 years are obese and the numbers have managed to climb up from a few decades ago. Among pre-school children aged 2-5, obesity has increased from 5 per cent to 10.4 per cent, from 6.5 per cent to 19.6 per cent among those aged 6-11 and from 5 per cent to 18.1 per cent among adolescents aged 12-19.
[bleft]More and more brands have started adding plus sizes in their stores to fulfil the needs of this new consumer group. Forever 21, a favourite amongst a lot of tweens and teens, offers various styles in plus sizes [/bleft]
As overweight kids with access to serious spending power have started demanding the same things as their leaner counterparts – cool, well-made and trendy clothing – they have created a new market segment with growth potential. As per predictions, by 2020 there will be 80 million obese children in the US, accounting for about 24 per cent of the population, all ready to buy.
Even though plus size clothing for kids has been a part of the retail for some time now, the trend remained in the background and it is only recently that the segment has emerged and is being labelled as one of the most promising market segments, particularly in the girls’ market. In 2010, Forbes had predicted that ‘overweight children may be the next cash crop for retailers’ and today, many brands are seriously tapping into the market generating good sales. Retail chains from JCPenney to small private businesses JeenyBeans.com, which sells custom children’s plus-size clothing, are rushing to add larger sizes to their repertoires and are reporting good profits in exchange. A majority of retailers today including Macy’s, K-mart, Land’s end, Kohl’s (Junior Plus), GAP, Old Navy and The Children’s Place are offering plus sized clothing for girls as young as 3. Sears recently launched its “Pretty Plus” line for girls 7 to 10 years old and Walmart has been selling “husky sizes” for kids 5 to 14 for more than a year now. UK retailer New Look’s Inspire range has a selection of suitable trousers, such as the Black Turn up Trousers which are available in sizes 18 to 26. Marks & Spencer, the high street favourite for plus sizes have a good selection of plus size uniforms for girls and boys up to the age of 16. More and more companies are now looking to expand their plus sized offerings following the footsteps of major retailers like GAP, Sears, JCPenney and specialty tween retailer Justice.
While consumers still complain that heavier children must pick from dowdy pants and skirts with elastic waistbands that stores stock behind last season’s fashion flops, the apparel industry is moving fast to change the mindsets. Baggy is being termed extremely fashionable, with even slender youngsters sporting pants so loose the waistline sags to the knees; manufacturers of children’s wear are stocking larger sizes to keep children in their brands for a year or two longer before they switch to other retailers. And retailers who cater to a youthful market want to keep them from graduating to stores popular with older teenagers, like Limited Express and Tommy Hilfiger. Some elements these ranges have are flattering patterns and colours, vertical details; cardigans that button up the centre, skinny vertical stripes, tops that feature interesting details around the neckline and lengths that hit the knees.
As the term ‘plus size’ remains highly controversial when used for kids, many retailers have justified that the term ‘plus’ is merely how they recognize roomier sizes. Even as more and more children are looking for age appropriate clothes for their body shape, a torrid of criticism follows saying that such fashion is actually encouraging teen obesity, but the kids and families procuring these clothes, believe that the trend lets them blend in with the crowd.
However, not all overweight children like being singled out with their own line of clothing, so some retailers are simply making their garments bigger without changing the numbers on the labels, while some others are quietly adding the larger clothes to racks alongside standard-sizes. Kmart Corporation added size 16 to children’s clothing orders for the first time this year so that its stores would have the larger size on shelves in time for ‘back-to-school’ shopping. And the Dayton Hudson Corporation, which added plus sizes to its children’s line a year ago at its Target Stores, is increasing its assortment, from shorts to jeans, on the basis of customers’ demand.
But not all retailers have joined the force. Notably the same upscale department stores that have been criticized for being slow to offer more variety to overweight women seem to be ignoring the market for large children as well. Neiman Marcus and Saks Fifth Avenue, for instance, do not offer plus-sizes for children; while Bloomingdale’s said it was unaware of the trend completely.
After years of neglect, the industry is finally recognizing that overweight children make up an increasing segment of the fashion market. With figures showing nearly one-third of kids in the US being overweight, and looking for flattering and fashionable clothes, the new lines are just helping the kids to hold their heads high without having their confidence knocked out for not being able to find the latest trends that fit. And this is what is working really well for both the retailers and the sales. So no matter what the debate is, plus size apparel for kids is a market definitely here to stay…
