How will the market change?

[Alan H]

Well, I've been interacting on this forum for almost 7 years now, and "way back then" we were all just so sure that "kilts" were going to be the Big Thing and that all kinds of guys were going to be wearing them, and Carhart and Levi Strauss would be marketing kilts, yadda yadda yadda. The thought was that they'd soon be made offshore by cheap labor and the price would come down to very roughly what a pair of pants costs.

Hasnt' happened. The contemporary kilt market remains dominated by the Utilikilt, and it seems to be that the "fashion buzz" of "kilts" has kind of come and gone. I see no more kilts around campus here on The Farm than I ever did...which is for all intents and purposes, none. It's been a *very* long time since I've seen another kilt downtown.

With that in mind, I'm making some "statements" which can be up for discussion. I'm interested in what you all think.

1.) The contemporary kilt market is dominated by Utilikilt, and the entire rest of the contemporary market is made up of cottage industry or small businesses which employ at most, about 4-5 people.

My prediction:

2.) Within 5 years, Utilikilt will have tried to go "public"...meaning finding an outside buyer/investor or selling public stock. To cut costs, cut the price to the consumer and increase the profit margin, they will offshore their production. The price of their kilts will in fact come down, in fact WAY down, but essentially no more people will buy them, than have already done so, and the company will either fold or go back to being a small business employing <10 people.

The rest of the contemporary kilt market will be made up of other small businesses spread around the country, doing approximately the same amount of work that they're doing now.


When I mean contemporary kilt, I mean non-tartan models like Utilikilts, Amerikilts, R-Kilts, Freedom kilts (non-tartan models) , the X Kilt, NeoKilt and so on. I do NOT mean kilts which are not completely traditionally constructed, but which probably appear to be "Scottish" to the average, casual observer....like USA Kilt (casual and semi-traditional models).

A side comment....what's interesting to me is that I see so few sportkilt contemporary models. While I'm not wild about the basic Sportkilt for anything but heavy athletics at the Games and for hiking, I have to say that their camouflage models aren't bad. They're nowhere in the same league as an R Kilt or a Freedom Kilt, but they're not bad. I'd wear one. However, I essentially *Never* see them, even at the Games or at Ren Faire, where lots of guys who are too scared to wear a kilt any other time, will drag them out.