The Children’s Place just went full grown-up
By Parija Kavilanz, CNN Business
Let’s admit it: Adults have basically been dressing like kids these past two years — opting for comfy PJs, sweats, joggers, shorts and T-shirts for sleeping, lounging and yes, working.
Recognizing that all-day “casual comfort” is now an acceptable sartorial standard, even for adults, kids’ clothing seller The Children’s Place is going full-on into grown-up wear.
The retailer on Wednesday launched a new sleepwear and loungwear brand called PJ Place that specifically targets Millennials and Gen Zers.
PJ Place products, priced at $10.95 to $69.95, include pajama sets, robes, thermal sets, graphic tees, socks and slippers for young adults and older shoppers. The collection will sell exclusively online at PJPlace.com. Reality show stars Khloe Kardashian and her mom, Kris Jenner, are among a host of celebrities and influencers who are helping to market the brand.
This isn’t the first time the retailer has tried selling merchandise for grown-ups but it does mark the first standalone fully adult-focused brand under its corporate umbrella. In addition to its namesake stores, the company also operates children’s specialty chains Gymboree, Baby Place and tween fashion brand Sugar & Jade.
“We have a leadership position in kids sleepwear and over the past few years our adult sleepwear business has grown exponentially,” Jane Elfers, CEO of The Children’s Place, Inc., said in a statement.
“While our current adult sleepwear assortment focuses almost exclusively on matching family looks, we recognized we had an opportunity to expand our adult sleepwear assortments to appeal directly to the Millennial and Gen Z customer by introducing new fabrics, silhouettes and a touch of whimsy,” said Elfers.
The retailer for several years has sold matching family pajamas specifically tied around the holidays, said Maegan Markee, senior vice president of marketing with The Children’s Place Inc., particularly holiday-themed family PJ sets for Halloween, Christmas or Easter.
“We’ve seen significant growth in this category in the past five years,” said Markee. “We realized how much business we were doing with these and the opportunity we have to appeal to customers who aren’t yet parents.”
To that end, Markee said PJ Place aims to expand the company’s market share in the adult sleepwear and loungewear space overall. The move is also designed to draw in young Millennials and Gen Z shoppers with the children’s side of the business long before they become parents themselves.
“This provides us with the opportunity to maintain and retain these relationships and eventually migrate these future parents to our stable of children’s brands,” said Elfers.
Going after the adult sleepwear and loungewear market is a smart move, said Maria Rugolo, apparel industry analyst with market research form NPD. The men’s sleepwear category almost doubled in sales in 2021, “and it’s still growing this year on top of that.” Women’s sleepwear and loungewear also almost doubled in sales last year over the prior year, she added.
“The casualization of our wardrobe was already happening pre-Covid and then it really took off during Covid,” Rugolo added, “and now it’s just acceptable to wear your sleepwear and loungewear, even outside.”
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