Men’s fashion: Online suits you sir

The men’s fashion market is enjoying strong growth thanks to online channels and better brand marketing.
Ecommerce is helping to drive a boom in the men’s fashion market, with one third of men shopping online for clothes, new research shows.

The UK menswear market has grown by 12 per cent in the past five years and is worth £10.4bn, according to the study by Mintel.

The market research group believes the market will maintain this growth and rise by 11 per cent between 2012 and 2017.

Tamara Sender, senior mens overcoats clothing analyst at Mintel, says that although men are under-serviced with fashion options compared to women, numerous brands have identified “considerable growth potential” in the men’s sector. This includes H&M, which launched a menswear campaign fronted by David Beckham earlier this year, and Burberry, which opened its first menswear store in London last October.

“There has been a tendency for fashion retailers to focus on women’s clothing simply because women have been the biggest fashion buyers,” she says. “As a result, menswear tends to be put in a secondary space like the back of the store or upstairs. Men’s fashion seems to be undergoing a revival as a number of unisex retailers start to devote more attention to menswear.”

Digital platforms are contributing to the rise in menswear sales, the research shows. In the past year, 68 per cent of male shoppers online have used laptops or desktop computers to buy clothing, while 25 per cent used a tablet and 15 per cent a smartphone. The Mintel report notes that while fashion has been slower than other sectors to go online, men are increasingly using the internet to browse and buy clothes.
This is true for fashion label Gant (see the Frontline, below), which launched its ecommerce business in 2009 and reports that online sales are growing at a much faster rate than those from its bricks and mortar stores. The brand predominantly focuses on menswear and is planning further innovations in its online business in order to take advantage of this trend.

“Online is rapidly becoming a significant part of our business,” says Fergus Patterson, managing director for the UK and Ireland. “We’ve got several developments in the pipeline, for example, we’re looking at click-and-collect as part of an overall multichannel strategy for the brand. Those developments will further drive the online side but also create a link between our physical and virtual business.”

Patterson adds that the growth in the menswear market has encouraged Gant to open new stores. Last month, it opened a Gant Rugger store in Soho, London – the first UK shop dedicated to the menswear-only Rugger line.

According to Patterson, Gant is benefitting from an increasing willingness among men to invest in higher quality clothes. “I get the sense that people are split into those looking towards value retail and those who are prepared to trade up to a more premium brand like Gant and spend a bit more on statement pieces or products that are going to last,” he adds.

“Beyond us, if you look at the luxury end – the likes of Burberry and other brands that have performed well – that would tend to indicate that’s the way the market is moving.”

The research suggests this ‘trading up’ is a result of changing demographics among male fashion shoppers. Men aged 25 to 34 are buying china mens clothing more often than those aged 16 to 24 and have overtaken their younger counterparts to become the most frequent shoppers, with half purchasing clothes once a month or more. This older demographic also seems happier to pay more for fashion. Overall, 52 per cent of the men surveyed say they are willing to spend more on a brand they like.

By contrast, the 16- to 24-year-old group has cut back the most on mens casual shirts clothes shopping during the past year, with a 10 percentage point drop in those purchasing clothes once a month or more.

Robert Moss, chief marketing officer at fashion etailer SecretSales, categorises male consumers according to their shopping habits, as well as their age. He notes that some men tend to shop online in a similar way to their offline habits by purchasing in bulk once or twice a season. Others buy more spontaneously on the basis of the deals offered by the site.

“The convenience of the experience is important to men,” says Moss. “Everyone is time-poor but digitally savvy. The reality is that most people are very familiar with their sizings and the styles and what works for them.”

BFC

Only 22 per cent of SecretSales’s customer database is male, although menswear sales are growing by 80 per cent year on year, says Moss. Overall, company turnover has increased from £2m in 2008 to £20m this year. Last autumn, it sought to build on this growth with its first TV advertising campaign.

Although the campaign was focused on women, Moss explains that SecretSales also pursued a number of online marketing initiatives aimed at men. “By looking at the gender split in terms of channel performance, we understood that we could reach out to male bloggers who were specifically targeted at men’s trends or men’s interests.

“By using channels like customer relationship management, affiliates, blogs and search, we could be more granular and focus on ‘male’ search terms.”

Fashion industry leaders are also starting to look at how they can better target and communicate with men. Last summer, for example, the British Fashion Council (BFC) launched its first menswear-only event as an accompaniment to the female-focused London Fashion Week.

Called London Collections: Men, the biannual three-day event is preparing its third season in June. It has already won support from some of the world’s biggest labels including Burberry, Alexander McQueen and Tom Ford, all of which have decided to move their men’s fashion shows from Milan to London.

BFC chief executive Caroline Rush says the event is testament to the growing popularity of British menswear, not only in the UK but around the world. “British menswear is seeing strong growth internationally, with a notable appetite for British menswear brands in Asia,” she says.