Work trousers

Work trousers comprise the biggest selling element in workwear and within the whole head to toe protective wear market they only come second in terms of value to safety footwear. You spend a lot of time in them and yet people have such widely differing views with regard to what presents the best proposition in terms of price versus value. They generally have to put up with more abuse and general wear than any other element of workwear and some people swear by Snickers which are priced at €79.99 and others would laugh at the idea of paying more than €19.99.



Who is right? Budget Work trousers or Quality Work Trousers?



There is such a wide range of brands but they basically are all selling two relatively similar styles. Both are cargo style trousers with multiple pockets and the only significant difference is that one has knee pad pockets for the insertion of ...you guessed it...knee pads, whilst the other style simply has a plain front. Again even within this simple difference there is a huge divided loyalty that it is sometimes hard to make sense of. This conundrum is caused by the fact that almost half the customers of work trousers insist on having the knee pad pocket style and yet over 80% of people who buy this style do not buy the knee pads that go into those knee pad pockets and never do !



Snickers are very strong in the work trouser market and are rightly seen as innovative and as market leaders. A large degree of styling and fabrics used within work trousers have been pioneered by Snickers and then later adopted by other brands. The Snickers style 3214 personify s all that is good and great about work trousers and the benefits of wearing a purpose made work trouser


This trouser features an advanced cut with Twisted Leg™ design, Cordura reinforcements for extra durability and Velcro tool fasteners. Plus, a range of pockets, including holster pockets and angled phone compartment. All that for €79.99.



Other brands such as Timberland Pro and more recently CAT have developed and launched similarly priced styles such as the C172 which has a few added features such as double brushed cotton for immediate comfort and fit.



Cat C172 Work Trouser

Both of these styles feature great quality material and innovative design and have built up a large following. But their real competition, other than each other comes from the growing band of brands that are competing on price. Brands such as Hi-Tec which now have a range that retails at €24.99. Although you obviously don't get the same degree of quality and style for this retail price the argument could be that at the same time you can buy three pairs of this Hi-Tec style and that these would outlast your premium brands. In reality the same argument can be applied , and rarely satisfactorily answered to any consumer product.



In my own humble opinion I have found that the market is really divided into three parts. Approximately 22% to 27% simply want the cheapest, 15 to 20% want the most expensive, simply because it's the most expensive. This leaves 70% that want value for money. This is the largest section of the market double the size of those looking for the lowest price and over 50 times the size of those only interested in the most expensive,. And yet nearly every brand currently involved in workwear at the moment are chasing either the most expensive or the cheapest leaving a HUGE market untapped...for now.