Kids clothes and toys fly off shelves as retail stores open

Chennai: Sowmya K, mother of a 2-year-old, made one of her first stops at a kids clothing store after retail stores began selling non essentials. “My son had outgrown his t-shirts last bought in February. Now I have bought stock to last me another six months, should the rules come back,” she added. Outgrowing their previous size and also having their usual summer activities cancelled, parents are spending more on their kids, resulting in pushing up demand for clothes and toys. For apparel retailers, the kids collection is seeing a 50%-70% rise in demand in the last month while some brands are seeing the segment go back to pre-Covid levels. Madura Fashion and Lifestyle, a business unit of Aditya Birla Fashion Retail, is seeing a tripling in demand compared to pre-lockdown times. “This also compensates for missed birthdays and the absence of usual summer vacation. and the kids collection in Allen Solly Kids is seeing a spurt in demand for Zoom birthday parties too,” said Vishak Kumar, CEO, Madura Fashion and Lifestyle.

Flipkart-owned Myntra is seeing a 1.6x jump in purchase of

kids clothes

compared to the pre-Covid business levels, while Benetton sees kids’ categories perform better than others categories. Its sales at stores of kids clothes are up by 20% compared to pre-Covid times. “For example, at our Panchkula store, our per day sales are equivalent to pre-Covid times but kids wear is doing better than other genders,” said Sandeep Chugh, CEO and MD, Benetton India. Besides clothes, toys too are seeing an increase in demand, with specific demand for educational toys. Excess of screen time because of online classes and the absence of outdoor activity has led to a demand for toys. Jeswant R, CEO, Funskool, sees a jump in demand for board games and toys. “Compared to February, May saw a pick up in parents purchasing early education toys from our brand Giggles and also educational board games. As a result, business was at 60% of those levels and in June, it is going up to 70%,” he added. Kids activity boxes platform Flintobox is also seeing doubling of March numbers for activity boxes, especially for the age groups 2 to 6, says co-founder, Arun Prasad.


Stay informed with the latest Business News on Times of India. Explore updates on International Business, gain insights with Financial Literacy tips, and make use of Financial Calculators. Don’t forget to check the list of Bank Holidays in 2025, including Bank Holidays in January.


Ready to Master Stock Valuation? ET’s Workshop is just around the corner!