Esther Ezenwa, 34, mother of three recalls how she visits the top class malls in Lagos to buy clothes for her newborn baby a few years ago, sadly, that has changed as she now visits night market in Berger, a suburb of Lagos to get clothes for her newborn baby.
“Things have changed, I cannot afford the new clothes now,” she said.
Nigeria’s fragile economic conditions, low purchasing power, and declining incomes have made consumers shift from sub-premium children wears to second-hand wears.
According to a 2019 childrenswear report by Euromonitor International, an independent global market research company that provides strategic research services for the consumer markets, Gatimo Nigeria Ltd, through its retail brand, Ruff ‘n’ Tumble, a leading designer, manufacturer and retailer of designer children’s clothing in Nigeria lost the lead within childrenswear that it had held up until 2018.
Euromonitor International’s Childrenswear in Nigeria report offers a comprehensive guide to the size and shape of the market at a national level.
“Due to a poor economy and falling incomes, demand has fallen for the sub-premium children’s clothing sold by Gatimo Nigeria Ltd, through its retail brand, Ruff ‘n’ Tumble, a leading designer, manufacturer, and retailer of designer children’s clothing in Nigeria” the report stated.
The report further said that brand new children wear through formal retail channels were not considered essential for children in Nigeria due to parents considering that cheaper clothes often second-hand or smuggled are preferable for children as they outgrow clothes quickly.
According to the Population figure estimates by Countrymeters based on the latest United Nations data, at the beginning of 2019, Nigeria’s children population under 15 years old is 81.9 million
Gbolahan Ologunro, an equity research analyst at Lagos-based CSL Stockbrokers said that most consumers cannot afford particular brands, they would have to shift to cheaper alternatives and more so if the product is considered as an essential commodity.
“So rather than your perception about the quality, the decision will be influenced more on pricing as oppose to quality and the perception about a particular brand,” Ologunro further said.
Also, there are expectations that Mr. Price, a fashion retailer store and Pep, the largest single discount retailer in Africa may perform well in 2019 due to parents generally preferring cheap clothing for their children, except for special occasions and outings.
In 2018, these retail brands performed well through their offering of a wide range of affordable but good quality childrenswear and are expected to continue to increase their presence to tap into growing demand among urban consumers and the increasing preference for apparel shopping through modern chains.
In addition, the strongly growing population of children and increasing urbanisation is expected to boost demand for childrenswear increases. “Children aged 0-14 is expected to grow by 11 percent over the forecast period, whilst the number of urban households is expected to increase by 22 percent”.
Research conducted by America research company Trend reiterated that Nigeria is the largest kids’ market in Africa and the second-fastest growing market with a forecast of double-digit annual growth through to 2022.
Also, the United Nations estimates that 80 percent of Africans wear secondhand clothes. Oxfam says 70 percent of clothes donated globally end up in Africa. Clothing and textiles are collected from donors (firms and charities). They are then sorted, bundled and then shipped to Africa. Vendors purchase these items and sell them at a low price to Africans.
The customer base of the secondhand clothing market is usually extremely cost-conscious and often promotes the ideologies of sustainability and environmentalism. Secondhand clothing, after all, is the recycling of used and or unwanted clothing, and this reciprocal buy, sell and trade transaction between the customer and the retailer save an incalculable amount of unwanted clothing from dumps and landfills.
BUNMI BAILEY
