The kidswear industry has been expanding at an exponential rate
Les Petits is a luxury fashion brand for kids in India. Since its inception in 2011, Les Petits has been working towards making kids’ luxury fashion easily accessible to parents and their tiny tots. The brand offers premium fashion apparel, accessories, and furniture from leading international brands such as Versace, Moschino, Dolce & Gabbana, Fendi, and many others. The brand personifies class, style, quality, and top-notch fashion with the help of best quality fabric, originality and quality, along with elegant designs that are well manifested through luxurious choices. In an interview with Fibre2Fashion, Les Petits President Swati Saraf discusses luxury kidswear market and trends in India.
How has the luxury kidswear market in India evolved since your inception?
Since we began, the kids’ luxury apparel market has grown significantly. Moreover, the digital age has given the desired impetus to the Indian luxury kidswear market. It has helped us in becoming a part of the global fashion where not only parents but even children are creating a style of their own. It has set the stage for an increasing number of international brands to enter the Indian market which is contributing to the kids’ luxury fashion segment being recognised as a whole new category in the fashion industry.
Given how confidently children don their dresses these days, the global kids’ apparel market is expected to expand at an astounding rate. As per industry reports, the market is estimated to grow at a 6.8 per cent CAGR from 2022 to 2029, reaching a projected value of $296.83 billion.
What are some of the major growth drivers of kids’ luxury apparel market?
There are various factors driving the growth of this market. As present-day parents have a developed taste in fashion, they are seeking the same level of fineness in their kids as well, which is eventually translating into the growth of the luxury kidswear market in India.
Along with this, the rising importance of social media is another reason for the unrestrained growth of the market. It is playing an instrumental role in giving the desired exposure to ongoing trends. It is acting as a gateway for scanning through endless styles and fashion. In addition to this, parents as well as children these days are very much intrigued by the fashion sense of celebrity kids and are trying to add the same collection to their wardrobe. In short, the developments happening in the digital age are driving the growth of the luxury kidswear market.
What is the demography of the target market for luxury kidswear?
The majority of our sales come from metro cities, especially from Mumbai and Delhi, because of our showrooms present at Phoenix Palladium (Mumbai); DLF Emporio, Vasant Kunj, New Delhi; and DLF Avenue, Saket, New Delhi. But with the rapid rate at which people are adopting digital transformation, we came up with our e-commerce platform enabling seamless shopping from our official website. By developing an omnichannel model, we are able to serve customers living in any part of the country. This has helped us expand our offering to tier 2 and tier 3 cities where we are getting good traction from cities like Hyderabad, Chandigarh and Jaipur, and states like Chhattisgarh and Assam.
Which brands are more popular in luxury kidswear?
There are many international brands that are popular in luxury kidswear including Versace, Dolce & Gabbana, Fendi, Givenchy, Moschino, Bloom, Luna, Kenzo, and many more.
Which is a better performing POS – online or in-store when it comes to luxury kidswear?
The pandemic has been a major factor in driving sales online. It has now become very easy and convenient for people to buy things online. It is a hassle-free experience wherein the belongings of your choice are just a click away. But when we talk about luxury kidswear, I feel the essence of the brick-and-mortar model cannot be overruled. It gives first-hand experience with respect to the touch and feel of international designs. Though there are many who prefer shopping online, there are still customers who believe in scouting the physical store before the final purchase. Therefore, moving ahead, omnichannel will be the way forward for better brand offerings that will cater to the diverse interests of the customers.
What are some leading trends in luxury kidswear?
Looking at the ongoing trends, asymmetrical dresses and twinning with parents are in vogue in the kidswear segment. While accentuating the look with the best fashion, there is also a high demand for comfortable clothes that vouch high on sustainability.
Tell us about your growth story. Do you also offer customisation?
The kidswear industry has been expanding at an exponential rate. The robust internet penetration has been an avid contributor to the market’s growth. Gauging the evolving needs of the customers, we ventured into the e-commerce business as well and started selling our collection on our website. We have a vast range of collections in kids’ apparel, footwear, toys, furniture, accessories, and many more categories. People can buy from our online as well as offline stores in Delhi and Mumbai. We also have the customisation option for our in-house brands Rang and Stella Rossa. Customers can get the customisation of clothes according to their choice. Our main target is to reach out to the customers of tier 2 cities through e-commerce.
Which new brands do you plan to bring on board in future?
We keep on introducing new brands and exclusive collections of the brands we have in our kitty. Recently, we launched a new collection of Versace and Mayoral for kids. Keeping the trends in mind this is for the first time that we have launched a sustainable collection for Mayoral. Apart from this, we have also launched the new collection of D&G (Dolce and Gabbana) and have introduced Dwinguler, an international toy brand for the first time in India.
We already have more than 24 brands and are getting a good response. We keep on adding kidswear brands based on the parents’ requirements. Moving ahead we are planning to launch the Off-white brand in India soon. We will be having an exclusive kidswear collection of Off-white.
What new product categories do you plan to explore?
Our aim is to cater to the end-to-end requirements of a kid. Currently, we are catering to the categories like kids’ apparel, toys, footwear, gift sets, and many more. We recently added a new category of books for kids. We have also added an exclusive collection of sofas, mats, and castles of the brand Dwinguler in our kitty. With this, we are planning to add a few more categories like toiletries, wooden toys and furniture in future.
What is the brand strategy for online and physical retail expansion?
We keep on organising Trunk shows, End of Season sales, and give discounts on all the apparel and accessories available at Les Petits. Furthermore, nowadays people are very active on social media and get influenced by various influencers. Perceiving the rising sense of fashion amongst parents and children these days, we always strive to get a fascinating range of opulent collections on board to stay ahead of the market. Apart from this, we have observed good traction from the south and are planning to open our fourth store in Hyderabad in March 2023.
Published on: 19/01/2023
DISCLAIMER: All views and opinions expressed in this column are solely of the interviewee, and they do not reflect in any way the opinion of Fibre2Fashion.com.
