Stockings and Tights - UK - December 2003

SUMMARY

The market for hosiery was last covered in Stockings and Tights - UK, Market Intelligence, February 2002. Since that time, the market has continued to face a number of challenges and to shrink in both value and volume terms. Although the recent fashion trend for trouser wearing has benefited sales of knee-highs and ankle-highs, it has not been sufficient to compensate for falling sales in tights. Competitive pricing from grocery multiples and discounters has made the basic end of the hosiery market very price-sensitive and the industry must look to the premium end to boost value sales. Designed to explore these and all other major trends shaping this market, this report explores the concept that added-value innovations and high-fashion design are the keys to growth in the hosiery market, in the process offering the latest insight into:

• Textiles and NPD
• The influence of fashion - the impact of trends in outerwear and footwear
• Falling value sales and the growth of own-label and discounted prices
• Branded vs. own-label - the characteristics of a distinct supply structure
• Adspend down - media trends and expenditure
• The share of grocery multiples and discounters in the retail environment
• Consumer's preferred products and key target groups

This report covers the total market for stockings and tights which is split into four categories for the purpose of this report:

• - tights including support tights
• - stockings
• - hold-ups
• - knee-highs (also called pop socks and three quarter hose) and including trouser socks and foot socks, but only those made from yarn and excluding cotton or woollen socks.

Support tights are included in the scope of this report, as they have infiltrated the mainstream hosiery market and are now an accepted part of the product offer to all consumers, of whatever age. This report, however, does not include surgical support stockings.

Following these definitions, this report provides new analysis of:

Market drivers/ Market size and trends/ Market segmentation/ The supply structure/ Advertising and promotion/ Distribution/ Consumer trends/ Consumer attitudes and typologies/ Future trends/ Sales forecast

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction and Abbreviations

• Definitions
• Consumer research
• Definitions
• ACORN

Abbreviations

Executive Summary

• Textiles and NPD
• The influence of fashion
• Falling sales
• Branded vs own-label
• Adspend down
• Grocery multiples and discounters
• The consumer

Market Drivers

• Female demographics
• Figure 1: Trends and projections in the UK female population, by age group, 1998-2007
• Growth of ABC1s
• Figure 2: Trends and projections in the UK female population, by socio-economic group, 1998-2007
• PDI and consumer expenditure
• Figure 3: PDI and consumer expenditure, at current prices, 1998-2007
• Working women
• Figure 4: Workforce in employment in the UK, by gender and employment status, 1998-2007
• Seasonality
• Fashion
• Textile developments

Market Size and Trends

• Hosiery and womenswear
• Figure 5: UK retail sales of hosiery and womenswear, by value, 1998-2003
• Volume and value
• Figure 6: UK retail sales of hosiery, by volume and value, 1998-2003
• Changing fortunes
• Figure 7: UK retail sales of hosiery, by sector, by volume and value, 2001 and 2003
• Figure 8: UK retail sales of hosiery, by sector, by value, 2001 and 2003
• Figure 9: Average price of hosiery, by sector, 2001 and 2003

Market Segmentation

Tights

• Figure 10: UK retail sales of tights, by volume and value, 1998-2003
• Figure 11: Evolution of the average retail price of a pair of tights, 1998-2003

Knee-highs

• Figure 12: UK retail sales of knee-highs, by volume and value, 1998-2003
• Figure 13: Evolution of the average retail price of a pair of knee-highs, 1998-2003

Hold-ups

• Figure 14: UK retail sales of hold-ups, by volume and value, 1998-2003
• Figure 15: Evolution of the average price of a pair of hold-ups, 1998-2003

Stockings

• Figure 16: UK retail sales of stockings, by volume and value, 1998-2003
• Figure 17: Evolution of the average price of a pair of stockings, 1998-2003

Segmentation by product finish

• Figure 18: UK retail sales of hosiery, by product finish/features, by volume, 2001 and 2003
• Sheer/plain
• Figure 19: UK retail sales of hosiery, by product finish/features, by value, 2001 and 2003
• Opaque
• Figure 20: Average price, by product finish/features, 2001 and 2003
• Control/support
• Lace, patterned and fishnet hosiery

Segmentation by denier

• Figure 21: UK estimated retail sales of hosiery, by denier, 2003

Segmentation by pack size

• Figure 22: UK retail sales of hosiery, by package size, by value, 2001 and 2003

The Supply Structure

• Brand shares
• Figure 23: UK retail value sales of hosiery, by selected brands and own-label, 2001 and 2003
• Pretty Polly
• Aristoc
• Wolford
• Madison Hosiery
• Flude Hosiery
• Charnos
• Other brands
• New product development
• Tan-through and spray-on

Advertising and Promotion

• Above the line
• Figure 24: Main monitored media advertising expenditure on hosiery, 1998-2003
• Figure 25: Main monitored media advertising expenditure on hosiery, by brand, 1998-2002
• Pretty Polly
• Wolford
• Charnos
• Others

Distribution

• Grocery multiples take the lion's share
• Figure 26: UK retail sales of hosiery, by outlet type, by value, 2001 and 2003
• Discounters gaining share
• Department stores concentrate on branded and premium
• E-tailers
• Online shopping benefits grocery multiples

The Consumer

• Trends in purchase of hosiery
• Figure 27: Purchase of stockings, tights and hold-ups, by weight of usage, 1999-2003
• Hosiery purchases increase with age
• Figure 28: Purchasers of stockings, hold-ups and tights, by age and socio-economic group, 2003
• Figure 29: Purchasers of stockings, hold-ups and tights, by lifestage, presence of children and Mintel's Special Groups, 2003
• Third age and retirees more likely to buy
• Working women not more likely to buy hosiery
• Figure 30: Purchasers of stockings, hold-ups and tights, by working status, marital status and region, 2003
• Purchasing of stockings and tights
• Figure 31: Purchases of stockings and tights in the last six months, November 2003
• Tights and knee-highs popular with over-45s
• Figure 32: Purchasing of stockings and tights, by age and socio-economic group, November 2003
• Sheer hosiery popular with over-25s
• Figure 33: Purchasing of stockings and tights, by lifestage, presence of children and Mintel's Special Groups, November 2003
• Opaques most likely bought for children
• Hosiery purchasing by marital status, working status and household size
• Figure 34: Purchasing of stockings and tights, by marital status, working status and household size, November 2003
• Fashion-aware Londoners
• Figure 35: Purchasing of stockings and tights, by region and ACORN categories, November 2003
• Figure 36: Purchasing of stockings and tights, by media usage, commercial TV viewing and supermarkets used, November 2003

The Future

• Female demographics
• Value over volume
• Fashion
• Retailing

Forecast

• Figure 37: Forecast of the stockings and tights market, 2003-07
• Tights will retain the lion's share
• Knee-highs to remain popular
• Factors used in the forecast

Appendix: Research Methodology