PRE-TEEN POUND ECONOMICALLY IMMUNE

British adults may have spent the last year stressed by banking collapses, recession and the threat of double-dips and redundancies, but their children have carried on spending like there was no tomorrow, according to children's online gifts and accessories retailer, Thingimijigs (http://www.thingimijigs.co.uk ).

Thingimijigs MD Rachael White believes her business to be a barometer for the pre-teen pound, and has seen the glass rising steadily. As Thingimijigs comes to the end of its trading year, White is reporting turnover up almost 70% year on year, despite general trading conditions. And this result follows a year which started with a bumper Christmas quarter (up 95% year on year) - earned just as the banks were imploding and recession was becoming a fact - and then saw the company expanding into new, larger warehousing to cope with early summer demand.

"Kids don't know what a recession is," says White with a twinkle in her eye that could well have come from one of her Disney Princess gift sets. "If your world revolves not around high politics but High School Musical, and the man of your moment isn't Mervyn King but Ben 10, the cares of the adult world aren't going to intrude."

Rachael White and Thingimijigs understand the kiddie economy. "When you're eight years old," continues White, "your things need to be cool, whether they be socks, jewellery, backpacks or bedding. And things aren't much different if you're pre-school. All that changes is the brands. It's the brands that define children's fashions."

A brief look at the Thingimijigs website explains her point. Products are not listed by type - there's no distinction on the home page between clothing, bedding, luggage or sticker sets - nor are they categorised by age or size. Everything is listed by brand: categories include High School Musical 3, Hannah Montana, Dr Who, The Simpsons and Camp Rock and, for younger ones, Spongebob Square Pants, Thomas the Tank Engine & Peppa Pig. In all, there are about 30 categories based around popular film and TV character brands.

If Thingimijigs has a secret, it lies in knowing which brands children really like, and when they like them. "Our aim at Thingimijigs is always to get into their world, respect their desires and respond to what they're thinking," says White. "For example, we don't listen to what the adult 'trend-setters' are predicting. My market research is my own three children, together with monitoring real conversations - the sort you find on chat boards and Twitter. Our best judge of upcoming fashions, frankly, is my eight year old daughter. She knows what's going on in the playground and she has very clear ideas about what will work."

If a week is a long time in the economy, it's even longer in the playground. Children's tastes can turn on a hair, and a successful retailer needs to be able to turn with them. "We're small, which means we can be flexible and responsive," concludes White. "But we're also intuitive. Several times, we've ignored some character being pushed by the marketers and instead followed a fashion that's finding favour with my daughter's friends. And as a result, we've had the right products in place at the right time."

If only the economy were as manageable.