Expanding Maternity Clothing Lines in Stores

One successful plan for the maternity wear category is to keep a watch on the national birth rate.

However, a better strategy is for specialty and full-line discounters to realize the importance of this market and provide a wide variety of styles, and brands bringing new insight to the market. Retailers have to realize and start viewing maternity wear as an extension of an existing fashion line instead of as a totally separate entity, with increased pricing.

We salute Sears and their philosophy, who realized that by increasing their floor space and expanding their maternity department and incorporating it with their infant department increasing the shopping experience for their customers. Sears realized that pregnancy was a stage of a woman's life as well as fashion and that their maternity wear fashions should reflect current trends. It is this type of positive philosophy, which is needed in the fashion world.

Other retailers such as J.C. Penny's, Wal-Mart, and K-Mart have also widened their maternity wear departments. Maternity wear carried by Kmart is under its signature Jacelyn Smith label. With the maternity line having many of the same seasonal color, print and style trends as the rest of the Jacelyn Smith line. The Jaclyn Smith maternity clothing line was added when Jaclyn Smith was pregnant herself. The line offers more attractive and practical options for expectant mothers. 

Other changes, which have taken place is that many retailers are placing their maternity wear near or adjacent to the Baby and Infant department in order to entice the mother-to-be who is shopping for herself to also purchase something for her baby-to-be and visa-versa.

Maternity wear in general has become more sophisticated in its design among discounters. With more and more retailers realizing the importance of maternity wear, many retailers and discounter now carry their own label. Several specialty retailers, such as sporting goods stores, have even started carrying maternity exercise apparel, swim suits, tennis, and golf appeal, though these maternity departments are not large, it is an important response to customers needs.

Many times the maternity wear is not strongly promoted in these types of specialty shops. However, athletic customers who are expecting usually still want to continue with their exercise program, creating a demand for maternity exercise clothing. The maternity wear, which is featured at many of the sporting stores are similar to their regular sizes.

Maternity wear is an area of potentially tremendous growth with more pregnant customer seeking casual, business, and formal designs at reasonable prices. The pregnant customer wants and expects the same quality, price, and fashion she received from her favorite retailer before she was pregnant.