Mickey mouse, Powerpuff
girls, Donald Duck, Tom & Jerry, Rockey & Bull winkle, Spiderman, Scooby
Doo, and Bugs Bunny have jumped out from the television sets, movies, and comic
books.
Iconic characters of the children's
world have now found their way into kids clothing, accessories, footwear,
towels, lunch box, and even more. Sales of cartoon inspired kidswear are
gaining a positive momentum in childrens apparel market. 'Character inspired
merchandising' is emerging as one of the hottest market trends. Manufacturers
use renowned cartoon characters in apparels that grab the attention of kids and
entice them.
The metamorphosis of children
becoming an independent buyer is boosting up the kidswear market. Sales figures
of the character inspired kidswear are mainly dependent upon the popularity of
the cartoon character among kids, and their age group. For example; 'Powerpuff
girls, Barbie, and Cinderella' apparels will be a craze for junior girls, while
'Spiderman, Hulk, and Ghost Rider' outfits will appeal to junior boys.
Characters like 'Fredrick the Frog, and Scooby Doo' will be more liked by
toddlers. Some characters are popular on the international front, whereas a few
others are popular within the country. The manufacturer can decide upon the
character to be printed based on the market where he is going to sell his product. Perfect publicity of Cartoon Network, movies, and video games play a major role in
influencing the kids trend in latest fashion clothing, footwear and other
accessories.
Market Scenario:
'Branded Kidswear' which was
an urban phenomenon is currently becoming widespread, and is entering into the
two tier towns as well. Increase in the purchasing power of the consumers has
attributed to the growth of the market. Recognizing the advantage that toon
characters are leveraging in this sector, manufacturers and media enterprises are coming up with new strategies to enter the untapped market. International brands like
Tommy Hilfiger, Freelook Junior, Walt Disney, and Adam Kids are successfully
established in the market, and are planning to expand more. Followed by this
are brands like Lilliput, Lil-Tomatoes, and Gini & Jony etc. Sustaining in
this market requires guts and focused branding inputs. This is a potential
business strategy especially for large sized retail formats to attract more
customers.
Apart from using famous toon
characters to promote its apparels, some of the companies also come up with
their own animated characters. Reebok is planning to launch its new kidswear
collection with the name 'Space Racers' which are the company's own animated
characters. The expectations of the shopper would be to buy sporty, and stylish,
apparels promoting the toon character. This will not only increase the sales
figures of the apparel manufacturer, but will boost the brand image of the product itself.
Inching slowly the cartoon
characters has come to invade the lives of the kids. This mighty world of toon
characters is tracking the kids and becoming a part of their breath. Kids too,
are excited to welcome their own favorite character and adore seeing them on
their clothing. The market for toon characters inspired kidswear is gaining a
pace in the children's apparel market laying the foundation of a new era for
kidswear.
References:
- "Boon Toons", Runul
Vashistha, Business of Fashion, Vol.IX, No.X, October 2008.
- http://www.lonvig-by-minymo.com/
- http://www.bullz-eye.com/
