Mickey mouse, Powerpuffgirls, Donald Duck, Tom & Jerry, Rockey & Bull winkle, Spiderman, ScoobyDoo, and Bugs Bunny have jumped out from the television sets, movies, and comicbooks.

 

Iconic characters of the children'sworld have now found their way into kids clothing, accessories, footwear,towels, lunch box, and even more. Sales of cartoon inspired kidswear aregaining a positive momentum in childrens apparel market. 'Character inspiredmerchandising' is emerging as one of the hottest market trends. Manufacturersuse renowned cartoon characters in apparels that grab the attention of kids andentice them.

 

The metamorphosis of childrenbecoming an independent buyer is boosting up the kidswear market. Sales figuresof the character inspired kidswear are mainly dependent upon the popularity ofthe cartoon character among kids, and their age group. For example; 'Powerpuffgirls, 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 bytoddlers. Some characters are popular on the international front, whereas a fewothers are popular within the country. The manufacturer can decide upon thecharacter 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 ininfluencing the kids trend in latest fashion clothing, footwear and otheraccessories.

 

Market Scenario:

 

'Branded Kidswear' which wasan urban phenomenon is currently becoming widespread, and is entering into thetwo tier towns as well. Increase in the purchasing power of the consumers hasattributed to the growth of the market. Recognizing the advantage that tooncharacters are leveraging in this sector, manufacturers and media enterprises are coming up with new strategies to enter the untapped market. International brands likeTommy Hilfiger, Freelook Junior, Walt Disney, and Adam Kids are successfullyestablished in the market, and are planning to expand more. Followed by thisare brands like Lilliput, Lil-Tomatoes, and Gini & Jony etc. Sustaining inthis market requires guts and focused branding inputs. This is a potentialbusiness strategy especially for large sized retail formats to attract morecustomers.

 

Apart from using famous tooncharacters to promote its apparels, some of the companies also come up withtheir own animated characters. Reebok is planning to launch its new kidswearcollection with the name 'Space Racers' which are the company's own animatedcharacters. The expectations of the shopper would be to buy sporty, and stylish,apparels promoting the toon character. This will not only increase the salesfigures of the apparel manufacturer, but will boost the brand image of the product itself.

 

Inching slowly the cartooncharacters has come to invade the lives of the kids. This mighty world of tooncharacters 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 ontheir clothing. The market for toon characters inspired kidswear is gaining apace in the children's apparel market laying the foundation of a new era forkidswear.

 

References:

 

  1. "Boon Toons", Runul Vashistha, Business of Fashion, Vol.IX, No.X, October 2008.
  2. http://www.lonvig-by-minymo.com/
  3. http://www.bullz-eye.com/