LOS ANGELES — The maternity apparel market, riding a Hollywood baby boom, is generating an estimated $1.55 billion a year and is on track for 10 percent growth by the end of 2004.
Most of the expansion is from mass-market retailers such as Mervyn’s and Old Navy eager to provide hipper fashions to pregnant women, and specialty retailers and manufacturers that are multiplying and cementing their niche as maternity wear pioneers, industry analysts and executives said.
“The lower end of the market has gotten aggressively into it, so all of a sudden you’re seeing more brands at lower price points,” said Marshal Cohen, chief industry analyst for NPD group, a marketing information company in Port Washington, N.Y. “It’s become one of the areas to add to your portfolio as a brand if you are a retailer.”
The growth comes as the number of thirtysomething women who are having children is rising. There were 951,000 births by women aged 30 to 34 in 2002 — the latest year for which figures are available — compared with 375,000 in 1975. Overall, however, the birth rate declined to 4.02 million in 2002 from 4.06 million in 2000, according to the National Center for Health Statistics.
Thirtysomethings in the prime of their careers are the target demographic for retailers. And actresses such as Gwyneth Paltrow, Kate Hudson, Sarah Jessica Parker, Debra Messing, Catherine Zeta Jones and Julia Roberts — new mothers or mothers-to-be — are among those who have helped to fuel the market.
Mervyn’s, the Hayward, Calif.-based discount department store group sold by Target to an investment consortium for $1.65 billion in July, is the latest to add a more fashion-forward line of maternity. The chain, which has launched the Holly Robinson Peete maternity line in partnership with the TV actress already sells the In Due Time line of maternity basics, but felt that the customer was looking for more current pieces.
“We thought that from a fashion standpoint there was a void, particularly fashion at a price,” said a Mervyn’s spokesman of the new line, which retails for $16 to $34. “The market opportunity is very large and it’s just growing.”
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The chain is hoping to cash in on celebrity cachet, and has made the line highly visible by placing it next to the ready-to-wear department in all of its 257 stores in 13 states.
“If you’ve got 4 million women who are pregnant annually and a maternity industry growing in leaps and bounds…we just think it’s great timing,” the spokesman said.
Old Navy rolled out maternity to 160 units in the U.S. and Canada this year, bringing the total to 263 stores that carry the full maternity collection, which started online in May 2001 and retails from $10.50 to $38. The line focuses on offering “feminine and girly designs,” an Old Navy spokeswoman said. “We launched online and the customer response was so strong that we decided to roll it out to stores in 2003.”
The addition of brick-and-mortar stores to Internet business has been particularly successful for Web maternity pioneer Babystyle, an emporium of maternity clothes and baby clothes, gear and toys.
The Los Angeles-based company, which started online in 1999 before expanding into brick-and-mortar locations in 2002, is projecting growth in the 40 to 50 percent range this year as a result of its new stores. Babystyle will open its latest California location in Sherman Oaks Fashion Square this week, and plans to add two Arizona stores before the end of the month for a total of eight stores.
“When we put a store in the area, we already know we have a huge market,” said Robert D’amour, vice president of product development. “We’re not testing it because we already have the database.”
Since its launch, Babystyle has reported double-digit growth in its direct-to-consumer business, which includes online and catalogue sectors. The stores are operating well above plan.
“The stores at Manhattan Beach and Fashion Island [in California] are performing at least 50 percent higher than the mall average in terms of sales per square foot,” said Lariayn Payne, vice president of marketing for Babystyle.
Analysts said they anticipate that the sector will level off a bit after this year to deliver a 6 percent growth in 2005, but will continue to outpace apparel, which is projected to grow 3 to 4 percent next year.
“What’s changed isn’t that women are getting pregnant all of a sudden,” NPD Group’s Cohen said. “What’s different is the injection of newness and offerings in the market.”
Women are demanding styles that mirror the nonmaternity market, and they are willing to shop at the contemporary price point to get the look they want.
“We’ve doubled sales every year for the last three years,” said Emilia Fabricant, owner and chief executive officer of the Cadeau maternity line, which opened its first Los Angeles store in October in the trendy Melrose Place neighborhood. It’s the third retail location for the company that has been manufacturing since 2001.
Fabricant, who was a senior vice president at Barneys New York for 12 years where she designed and launched the store’s Procreation maternity line, has her pieces produced at the same European factories that work with Prada, Jil Sander and Barneys. She said that her customer wants quality.
“Many people have come up with the idea of doing maternity, but very few do the quality,” she said. “This year has also been the first year that we’ve seen repeat customers, and that to me signifies success.”
Companies from Babystyle to A Pea in the Pod (owned by the Motherhood Maternity chain) have also found success at carrying most-wanted lines from other contemporary companies such as Seven For All Mankind, Juicy and Bella Dahl.
“It really was store-driven,” said Kerry Jolna, co-owner of Los Angeles-based denim manufacturer Bella Dahl. “The stores have gone to manufacturers and asked them to see if they can create a version of…products they love, so the customer can continue to wear the same styles they used to.”
Bella Dahl’s maternity line, retailing for $130 to $150, is sold in about 75 specialty stores in the U.S. and Canada, and accounts for an estimated 20 percent of the company’s business, Jolna said. She attributed its success to celebrities such as Parker — who bought 30 pairs of jeans — and Messing, Paltrow and Zeta Jones, all of whom wore the jeans while pregnant.
“After they started wearing them, everyone under the sun started calling,” Jolna said.
Stephanie Boye, whose trend-driven line Chiarakruza sells at Babystyle and about 80 high-end maternity boutiques both domestically and internationally, has benefited as well from a celebrity clientele, who include Hudson and Ione Sky. The designer has focused more on fashionable accents to maternity apparel instead of the basics, and is introducing a line of red-carpet-ready eveningwear for fall to help fill a void.
Her fall collection, which she estimates will generate about $400,000 this year, will offer pieces such as dresses in silk charmeuse, retailing for $275, and tuxedo pants for $150.
Jennifer Noonan, owner of Naissance on Melrose, has made herself a name among pregnant celebs and fashionistas by eschewing the basics in favor of sexier, colorful choices that were once considered to be off-limits for pregnant women: Tank tops, miniskirts, off-the-shoulder shirts and low-slung pants are top sellers in her 4,200-square-foot boutique.
Noonan, who started five years ago by selling nonmaternity lines that would fit pregnant women, designs all of the pieces in the store and manufactures in Los Angeles. Her business mushroomed to $3 million a year from $100,000 in its first year, with the help of high-profile customers.
“[Celebrity] was important to build our brand as quickly as we did,” said the owner, who is often credited with knowing who’s pregnant in Hollywood before almost anyone else.
This comes as no surprise to Cohen. “People now don’t go into stores to see what to wear; they already know because they have seen it in the media, and maternity is no different,” he said. “It’s probably even more important.’’