Baby gift layette set

America is in the midst of another baby boom, as the children of the original boomers--the second largest segment of the U.S. population, according to 2002 U.S Census figures--hit childbearing age. Perhaps inspired by popular young celebrity morns like Reese Witherspoon, the trend toward early motherhood is clear: Infant and toddler wear is a growth category. Not only are companies adding new brands to their infantwear assortments, new retailers are jumping into the business.

Sears recently added an exclusive Gerber line to its mix to grow its market share.

"Gerber Beginnings provides an adorable, beautifully-designed mix-and-match assortment that will help set the stage for Sears to aggressively go after the baby business," said Meg Ostrom, vp and gmm of kids' apparel at Sears.

There is a focus on gift giving at Sears with the Gerber line, which is extremely important given that many infantwear purchases are for baby showers.JCPenney also recently upped the amount of gift sets in its infant/toddler department.

The success of infantwear brands at Babies 'R' Us and in department stores had mass eager to assort more premium national labels, which led to the launch of the Carter's "Child of Mine" exclusive at Wal-Mart.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, high-end baby boutiques are popping up across the country. A new chain, Uber Baby, launched in Minneapolis on Sept. 24th, selling new premium lines including Madonna's English Roses collection, based on her recent childrens' book.

"We felt there was a need for a lifestyle store that provided merchandise that gave customers a unique, exclusive assortment, and many items we carry, including private label Uber Baby merchandise, are not available at any other store near us," said Lynne Gonsior, a former senior buyer at Marshall Field's who founded the company with her husband after having trouble finding the perfect layette items for their new son.