Fashion

GLOBAL INVESTOR 1.16 — 07
NEW MARKETS
CHILDREN
The fashion press
recently announced
Karl Lagerfeld’s
launch of a kids’ line
in spring 2016. While
labels such as Dior,
Burberry and Ralph
Lauren have had
children’s lines for
some time, these
have attracted more
attention in the media,
with VIPs dressing
their children in their
favorite labels,
like mini versions of
themselves. Brands
such as Burberry also
frequently include
children in their advertising.
We see this
more as a marketing
initiative, where the
brands try to cater to
all the needs of
their exclusive clientele,
and it gets press
coverage. Harper
Beckham, the four-yearold
daughter of David
and Victoria Beckham,
already is the subject
of a blog devoted
to writing about her
looks, and she has
several million fans on
Instagram. There are
children-only fashion
brands, such as the
French label Bonpoint,
one of the most popular
children’s clothing
brands in the world.
Bonpoint celebrated
its 40-year history
in 2015 and launched
a couture collection
that same year. It has
been running fashion
shows for eight
years. Bonpoint has
its own workroom
and atelier team who
prepare the prototypes,
under its artistic
director, with
four collections a year.
Bonpoint has now
expanded into Asia
and sells the same
collection all over
the world. Michelle
Obama was photographed
in Paris
visiting a Bonpoint
store with her daughters.
Kate Moss
dressed all of her
bridesmaids in Bonpoint
at her wedding
in 2011. Bonpoint
was acquired by EPI
(Européenne de
Participations Industrielles)
in 2007 and
had sales in the
EUR 40 million range
at the time. Fashion
companies such as
Zara have also transformed
kids’ wear
into fashion items,
copying kids’ fashion
brands such as Bonpoint
or more grownup
looks. This is
a lucrative business.
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FOR MORE ON
BRANDS AND MARKETS,
GO TO PAGE 30