John Lewis has revealed an expansion of its children’s fashion business, as it looks to significantly grow its share of the UK market.
The retailer’s new collection features over 2,100 more lines including its first ever own-label ‘tween’ collection for 7-12 years olds, alongside 10 new fashion brands for spring 2023.
According to Mintel, the kids’ clothing market will be worth £7.3bn by 2027 – up from £6.8bn in 2022.
While John Lewis currently holds a 16% share of the UK nursery market – selling one in three (34%) of all pushchairs in the UK – that is not significantly maintained beyond a child’s early years.
Its new offer for children aged 2-6 and 7-12 sets out its ambitions to make sure it is better placed than ever to meet the needs of families as their children grow up.
It also reflects changing consumer behaviour, with consumers telling the retailer that their older children want to have more fun with clothing, and are increasingly interested in what they wear.
John Lewis’ new tween range is style-led, drawing heavily on the return of 90s trends, with oversized hoodies, logo tees and wide leg cargo trousers in a monochromatic colour scheme.
In addition to this, brands including Vans, Nike and Crocs are also featured, while John Lewis is also bring popular labels like Petit Bateau, JoJo Maman Bébé, Mintie by Mint Velvet and Ted Baker, alongside new affordable brands such as Jack and Jones, Mango, Gap, Cotton On, Only & Angels by Accessorize.
The launch builds on the retailer’s biggest ever year for fashion. Sales across the business rose +13.7% compared to 2021/22 – driven by growth across men’s and womenswear, while the budget-friendly ANYDAY range was up +49% on the year.
“We’ve long been trusted by families and have strength in the nursery and baby market. Through expanding our kids’ range, we’re excited to be there for even more customers, at every stage of family life,” commented Naomi Simcock, executive director at John Lewis. “Not only have we expanded our kidswear range, we’ve made it more stylish – taking inspiration from 90s trends, with bold prints and colours – and have innovative plans to make it a focal point in our shops.
“This is also our first big campaign to back our new brand promise – to be there for ‘all life’s moments’. We’re not just here for the milestone moments, but all the everyday ones in between.”
Naomi continued: “There’s no denying that parenting can be expensive. So as well as making sure we’ve got great prices, we’ve focused on quality – creating and curating items that kids can love, use and pass down.”
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