How Kids in Uniforms Could Rock Your World

Selling to Kids, Sept 15, 1999

Public-school uniforms may not be your worst marketing nightmare: unikids, who wear the same clothes, eat the same food and watch the same shows. But the growing trend of schools requiring kids to wear uniforms still could affect your marketing results so it should affect your plans, especially - but not only - if you market apparel.

If you do market apparel, and you're not already thinking uniforms, think again: In 1998, parents bought $900 million worth of them, according The NPD Group, a marketing research provider. And the Department of Education estimates that so far only about 3% of the 15,000 schools districts require uniforms.

More numbers: The school uniform market grows by 18% to 30% a year, says Peter Van Raalte, VP of licensing, Scholastic, Inc., which this fall is extending its brand into a uniform line by manufacturer M. Hidary & Co. Inc. The growth is fueled by President Clinton's endorsement in his 1996 State of the Union address and by school uniforms' reputation for helping to reduce violence.

Most uniforms are sold to kids in K-8, but "we're seeing a trend toward more high schools" requiring uniforms, says Christine Hess, school uniforms manager at Lands End, which started selling uniforms in 1997 at customers' request. The company funded a study by National Assn. of Elementary School Principals (NAESP) by Market Facts, Inc., of 958 mostly public-school principals from 10 states. Released in March, 1998, the study found that 11% of the schools had a uniform policy and 15% were considering one. Sixty-four percent of the "uniform" schools had adopted the policy since 1996.

Effects on Fashion Biz

Considering how much of kids' time is spent in school, it stands to reason that if they buy uniforms, they buy fewer articles of nonuniform clothing. They also spend less on clothing overall. Take it from the fashion industry: Many people in the industry expect uniforms to have an impact, says Lisa Bruno, PR director at The Larkin Group, producers of three fashion conventions. Take it too from Van Raalte: "In the long run, I do think [uniforms] will affect the general apparel business." It all adds up. He says kids and their parents spend an average of $110 a season on uniforms while those in school districts that don't require uniforms spend an average of $189, 72% more.

Plaid's Not Mandatory

Joining the uniform march doesn't mean you're doomed to selling scratchy plaid, that parochial-school standby that gave uniforms a bad name. There's a trend toward a more relaxed look, says Hess. In fact, adds Van Raalte, "a lot of what Gap and Tommy Hilfiger sells could be construed as basic school uniforms," at least the items without visible logos.

That relaxed look is often interpreted as white polo shirts and khaki or navy bottoms, with variations depending on the school, district and location. In addition to slacks, skirts and jumpers, bottom variations include shorts, "skorts" and coulottes.

Khaki is khaki so many schools don't specify where students buy their clothes as long as they conform to the school's uniform code and colors. And competition for students' uniform dollars is stiff enough to support School Uniforms magazine, which sold space to more than 35 advertisers in its 48-page July/August issue. So marketers are offering schools incentives to encourage parents to buy their uniforms.

Land's End, for example, designed a school contribution program that gives schools 3% of the net sales of every purchase from its uniform catalogs. Target, which sells private-label as well as outside uniform brands in more than half of its stores, has a similar program, donating 1% of uniform sales to schools. The chain also gives grants and scholarships to teachers and students. And Scholastic donates portions of sales through Kmart and its other retailers to reading causes.

Programs like that are likely to some sway school districts, especially those that already welcome corporate sponsorship in the form of curriculum materials and food-service incentives. But they won't sway all. Long Beach Unified School District in California, the first U.S. public school district to require school uniforms, in 1994, is one that won't play ball with any one uniform brand, says Richard Van Der Laan, the district's information officer.

"We've got 91,000 students that people want to reach with all sorts of messages and media," but Van Der Laan says his district didn't want to be in a position of endorsing any one company, especially those that don't already have a presence in the community.

Accessorizing The Trend

The suppression of kids' personal expression in one area is likely to open up others, while also opening marketing opportunities for you. In many dress codes, there's wiggle room for kids in hair accessories, jewelry, shoes and backpacks (although many schools prefer clear backpacks to discourage contraband-toting). Uniform maker French Toast, for one, sells a line of barrettes. For another, Scholastic is looking at "the whole accessory area," with plans to extend to backpacks, hosiery, footwear. "We plan never to do more than three or four license categories" within school apparel, says Van Raalte.