This is what Mintel said in summary about Monsoon kids ware. They have similar profiles for all competitors about 20 of them and also an evaluation of the market
Company overview
Monsoon is a design-led fashion retailer that operates two fascias, an eponymous clothing chain that sells primarily womenswear and childrenswear (but also some homewares and launched menswear in 2004), and the Accessorize chain of fashion accessories shops.
The company was founded in 1972 by Peter Simon and opened its first shop a year later. The Accessorize chain was launched in 1984. The brand has a distinctive personality with its colourful and decorative style and ethnic/bohemian touches. It is clearly differentiated on the high street, and this is the key element that drives its success.
As at the end of May 2005, the group had 336 outlets in the UK and the Republic of Ireland: 120 Monsoon, 139 Accessorize, 73 ?dual? stores (adjacent Monsoon and Accessorize outlets that are joined internally) and four concessions. Monsoon also has an international franchise arm with 241 stores trading in 29 countries. It also has a transactional website.
Merchandising/product mix
Childrenswear was first launched in the early 1990s with a girlswear range for 2-8-year-olds, but has been extended with Monsoon Baby (autumn 2001) and Monsoon Boy, again a range for 2-8-year-olds (January 2003). The move to bigger stores means these collections have more space, but there are also a few standalone childrenswear stores that come under the ?dual? total as they are linked either with Monsoon or Accessorize stores. The age segmentation of the ranges is now 0-3, Monsoon Girl 3-10 with some styles to age 13, and Monsoon Boy 3-8 with some styles to age 10.
Monsoon Girl strongly reflects the adultwear trends and is very well co-ordinated with lots of detailing and embellishment. Prices are at the upper-middle level such as fake-fur coats £55/60; flower jeans £34/36; and skirts £32/34.
Monsoon Boy is also really cute but quite masculine; strong on patterned knitwear, jackets and tough cord trousers.
Monsoon Baby is very charming and ideal for gifts. In all the ranges there are accessories sold alongside so it all comes across as a cohesive and complete look.
Accessorize sells a comprehensive range of accessories for women plus a smaller selection for girls under the ?Angel? label ? that sits well with the clothing collection. A small selection of accessories for men and boys (ie hats, gloves, scarves) is available in some stores.
Financial performance
Monsoon is an extremely successful company and in the year to end May 2005 both the Monsoon and Accessorize brands achieved sales increases of 11% like-for-like ? outperforming the market by a long way. In the UK and the Republic of Ireland, turnover increased by 32% and like-for-like sales increased by 12%. In the 17 weeks to 24 September 2005, Monsoon?s like-for-like sales were up by 8% compared to the same period in 2004.
Figure 112: Monsoon plc, financial performance, 2001-05
Year to end May 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005
Group sales (excl. VAT) £m 159.4 203.6 231.2 271.4 363.7
Operating profit £m 22.0 31.4 38.2 42.6 50.9
Operating margin % 13.8 15.4 16.5 15.7 14.0
Pre-tax profit £m 24.3 32.0 38.2 44.1 53.1
Source: Annual Company Reports and Accounts/Mintel
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At the company?s AGM, it reported that for the 17 weeks to 24 September 2005, like-for-like sales were up by 8% but that the trend was for slowing sales ? with +16% in the first seven weeks and +3% for the subsequent ten weeks. While this is certainly still a strong performance, Monsoon said that the outlook for Christmas 2005 was ?uncertain?.