How will the market change?

[Whidbey78]

That's very true Alan. Retailers don't stock things that they are not confident they can sell--not well managed ones. This is one of the reasons you will see certain items in specialty stores--they are addressing the demands of a specific part of the market. Hot Topic isn't likely to start stocking power tools any time soon, and Home Depot isn't likely to start doing ear and tongue piercings either. Big, less specialized retailers, such as Wal Mart and Target don't usually move on trends until they're established and they believe they can sell the items at a price that will pull business from the specialty shops. So, if the next big "thing" is carrying your stuff in a bowling bag, the trendy shops will jump on it. Next year, if the trend continues and hasn't died out Wal Mart may start selling them...maybe. A year after the "trucker hat" trend popped up, that's all Wally World seemed to have. Now, they've moved on to little fedoras and such. In reality, that's probably the most that would happen--a fad would start, trendy shops would sell kilts by the truckload for a few months, Wal Mart would eventually put some on the racks, they'll eventually wind up on the clearance rack, the general public will forget about it until it pops up on a VH1 show and they'll say "Oh yeah. I had one of those for a little while." Those who were wearing them before will still be around, though a few may get scared off by the fad.

We already have our specialty shops. Some are online only, some are brick and mortar, some are click and mortar. They cater to us pretty well. In a way, the kilt market is much like comic books. We prefer to deal with people who know the product, have special stuff, stock more than the latest thing, in an environment populated with like-minded people. You can get the latest Batman at Safeway, but most fans will still go to the comic book store. UK, RK, USAK, etc., will be around for a while I think, just like some comic book stores have been around for a long time, as long as they continue to match our demand and we aren't abandoned for an attempt to jump into the mainstream.

Overall, I'd say we, as consumers, have a fairly wide variety of choices in kilts and related items. Of the various niche markets I've looked at, we seem to fare the best with adequate competition resulting in variety and quality. Pricing can seem high sometimes, but niche markets tend to operate that way, and when low-price alternatives appear they lack the quality and uniqueness we often seek. Those products are aimed at people already using them as a low-ball alternative and as a low-risk introductory product. A UT lacks the durability and quality of UK and RK, but someone might part with $50 or $65 to try it out. If they like it, they can go get a better product armed with a little experience and knowledge. If they don't, it can go to the yard sale or hang in the closet among the trucker hats and such, and they're only out fifty bucks. Most would prefer to risk that over the higher priced UK, so those companies like UT are sitting just about where they should right now. They may be the only ones able to go mainstream, but they are not likely to ever get the chance.