Shaping the Future of Fit: Extended Size North American Kids
In 2018 Alvanon released the Alvanon Standard North America Kids. This radical new sizing standard was a response to decades of neglect of kids sizing standards by the kidswear industry. Kids extended sizes comprise nearly 30% of a 203.4 billion dollar global kidswear market.
Extended Size North America Kids is a follow up to the Alvanon Standard North America Kids – completing the full size range. Brands can’t afford to ignore the numbers of the extended size market anymore. For retailers, growing kids equates to growing sales.
Growing kids = Growing sales
In this webinar Alvanon experts, Emily Robertson-Hood, Senior Consultant, and Alice Rodrigues, Senior Consultant, will explore the current state of extended size North American kids from sizes 4 to 18 and offer solutions that address current industry challenges.
Key topics and Emily and Alice discuss include:
● Today’s Extended Size NA kids
● Current size and fit challenges facing brands today
● Updated commercial solutions for growth including 3D
A seismic shift is long overdue in extended sizing. And we have the numbers to prove it.
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FAQ’s
Q: Are brands evolving from the ASTM Standards to the new NA Kids Standards? Do these replace the ASTM Standards?
A: The new NA Kids Standards were released just 6 months ago and Brands are beginning their transition, which as many of us know from experience, is a ramp up process, often involving cross department consensus. The ASTM series will continue to be available.
Q: How does the data differ from what was used to develop ASTM Standards?
A: ASTM was developed 12 + years ago; the body scans and statistics we have on overweight are less than 5 years old. These were unavailable at the time of ASTM development.
Q: How does the growing issue of obesity in Children affect the new standards?
A: The new Standard Size or Regular Size standards are bigger and fit the majority of NA Kids. And while 1 in 5 kids are affected by obesity in NA, they remain the minority. In fact, Michelle Obama’s healthy eating initiatives caused the upwards trend to flatten out. The Plus/Husky Standards were developed in response to the portion of the population requiring bigger than Standard Size.
Q: What ethnic or regional differences did you find in the data?
A: Not unlike adults, people in the South and Midwest tend to be heavier than urban and coastal regions of North America. We also found that the data is relevant for all of North America, including Canada. The CDC data doesn’t distinguish ethnicity, nor does the scan database. Medical data shows childhood growth has a stronger correlation to health and nutrition, than to ethnicity.
Q: What criteria did you use to define each size?
A: As a start point we looked at the CDC height data and balanced this against Alvanon’s age 7-18 proprietary body scan data to understand girth to height correlation. We used waist to height ratios as a metric of fitness.
Q: What about Babies? We noticed some of their measurements are smaller.
A: The NA Standard Size Kids released 6 months ago included Infants and Toddlers. In looking at pediatric medical studies, we found that the ASTM standard forms were a little on the generous side particularly in the belly. In reaction, we slimmed them down in a way that reflects this.
