As the birth rate rises and premium parenting consumption spreads, the market for infant, toddler and children's goods is gaining momentum. Demand is so strong that buyers must wait several months after ordering high-priced imported stroller brands, and distribution channels such as fashion platforms and department stores are racing to expand their kids businesses.
According to the retail industry on the 15th, the popular model "Dragonfly GF" from Dutch baby product brand Bugaboo has recently faced supply constraints. With parts procurement hampered by the aftermath of events such as the Middle East war, most stores and websites have sold out of inventory, and the restocking schedule remains uncertain.
Industry watchers believe production of the existing model has effectively been halted. Sales are currently focused on the renewed follow-up model. Preorders are being taken for the product. Sequential deliveries are slated to begin in early next month, and depending on color or options, some orders may be pushed back to after August.
With rising demand from a rebound in the domestic birth rate overlapping with global supply chain instability, shortages are recurring for popular models. Bugaboo enjoys strong popularity even at prices ranging from 1 million won to 3 million won and is known as the Hermes of strollers among baby products brands. Many expectant parents reserve products even before childbirth.
A woman surnamed Lim (40), an expectant mother due in September, said, "I scoured department stores and supermarkets in other regions such as Gwangju and Busan to get a stroller and a baby bed, but I ultimately couldn't secure stock," adding, "If you standardize on one brand, parts and the like are compatible, so I want to buy key items from one place, but it's not easy."
The number of newborns in Korea is on the rise. The number of birth registrations in Korea last year was 258,242, up 6.6% from the previous year, marking a second straight annual increase. The total fertility rate (the number of children a woman is expected to have in her lifetime) recovered to 0.8 for the first time in four years. The number of births in the first quarter of this year was 75,013, the highest since 2019. The increase is attributed to factors such as the number of marriages and growth in the early-30s population.
Alongside the increase in births, the "VIB (Very Important Baby)" trend and the "gold kids" trend—concentrating spending on one child—are continuing. The "ten-pocket" consumption pattern, which means more than 10 people, including not only parents but also grandparents, aunts, uncles and acquaintances, open their wallets for a single child, is translating into demand for premium baby products. Samjong KPMG said in a report last year that such consumption trends are driving the premiumization of Korea's kids industry.
Growth in the kids market is appearing across the fashion and retail sectors. In the first quarter of this year, 29CM's kids transaction amount increased more than 237% from a year earlier, and last year's annual transaction amount more than quadrupled from the previous year. Since 2024, 29CM has been expanding its baby (0–2 years) and kids (2–7 years) categories.
Offline investment is also continuing. The 29CM kids select shop Igukids Seongsu, which opened in Seongsu-dong last year, drew about 20,000 visitors in its first month and still attracts more than 15,000 visitors per month on average. Last month, it opened its second store, Igukids Seoul Forest, near Seoul Forest.
Musinsa is also ramping up its push into the kids market. In the first quarter of this year, the transaction amount at Musinsa's kids specialty section rose about 20% from a year earlier. The number of purchasing customers increased 212% compared with 2022. In particular, customers in their 30s jumped 199%, becoming the core consumer group. Last year, online transaction amount for Musinsa's private label Musinsa Standard kids line increased more than 83%, and offline sales rose 6.7 times.
Shinsegae-affiliated fashion platform W Concept is also focusing on targeting the kids market. Last year, sales in W Concept's kids category increased fourfold from the previous year, and the number of brands on the platform more than doubled in the same period. First-quarter sales this year rose 50% from a year earlier. The "baby" line, which offers products for newborns to infants under 24 months, is seeing particularly notable growth.
Traditional fashion companies are likewise accelerating expansion of their kids businesses. Designer brands known for adult fashion are rushing to front family looks and are expanding kids lines. Kids sales in the first quarter of this year for LF Corp.'s Hazzys, which is strengthening its premium kidswear strategy, increased 191% from the fourth quarter of last year.
E-Land Group's kids SPA (manufacturing and retail integrated) brand Spao Kids is gaining traction with Spao's existing "mini me" products. Sales of Spao's kids line roughly doubled over the past two years through last year. The share of family products among all Spao items rose from about 5% in 2020 to 30% last year.
In department stores, kids sales are rising, led by luxury and high-priced imported brands. In the first quarter of this year, sales in the kids category at Lotte Department Store increased 20% from a year earlier, with luxury kids sales up 30%. During the same period, sales of imported children's brands at Shinsegae Department Store and Hyundai Department Store rose 21.5% and 31.4%, respectively.
According to global financial data service PitchBook, the size of the domestic kids industry reached about 65 trillion won last year. That is more than double the level in 2012. Some expect the market to expand to 100 trillion won by 2030.