Kids market still competitive in Windy City
By Jane Kitchen -- Kids Today, 3/1/2005 12:00:00 AM
Chicago —
The second Metro Report in our series focuses on the competitive marketplace of Chicago, the big city with Midwest sensibilities. Chicago's 2004 population of 9.4 million is projected to grow 4% by 2009 to 9.8 million.
While that's slightly less than the national average of 5% growth, the number of kids between 0 and 5 is expected to grow by only 1% in Chicago, and the number of kids between 6 and 11 years old is expected to decline by 4%. That means an increasingly competitive marketplace for some of the retailers we profile in the next few pages who cater to children under 12.
The number of adults in the Windy City ages 25 to 35 — prime childbearing years — is expected to stay level at about 1.4 million, while the population of those ages 35 to 44 is projected to decline 3%. The number of 12- to 17-year-olds is expected to increase by 7%, about the national average.
Despite these numbers, sales of infant and nursery furniture are still expected to soar 21% by 2009 — the same rate as youth and teen furniture — while infant equipment sales will grow 7% and infant accessories will grow 9%.
Although white households will continue to be the largest ethnic segment in the Chicago metropolitan area — about three-fourths of households — the number of Asian and Hispanic households is growing at a much faster rate: 17% and 15% respectively, compared with a growth rate of just 2% for white households and 6% for black households.
Chicago is one of the nation's wealthiest metro areas. The median household income in 2004 was $53,746, 23% above the national median. Only 26 metro areas in the country had higher incomes. Nearly one-third of Chicago households had incomes of $75,000 or more. By 2009, demographers with Easy Analytic Software Inc. expect that 43% of Chicago households will have incomes of $75,000 or more.
To see where some of that money is being spent, we visited five Chicago-area retailers: Land of Nod, Wickes, Lazar's, My Child's Room and Ikea. There are three Land of Nod stores in the greater Chicago area, 13 Wickes, one Lazar's, eight My Child's Rooms and one Ikea. Over the next few pages, we'll provide a look at how these five retailers are capturing consumers' attention in this Midwest metropolis.
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Chicago-Kids market still competitive in Windy City
Sep 17, 2006
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