LIDS GOES FOR KIDS

Hat World Lids is up and ready to fashion themselves for children. Their first Lids Kids store just opened in Castleton Square Mall in northeastern Indianapolis. The brightly lit, 800-square-foot store with kid mannequins and novelty portraits will cater to infants through 10-year- olds.

Lids Kids will not only be selling hats, but also jerseys, dresses and accessories. It's a paradise for miniature sports fans and their fanatical parents.

Retailers such as Gap and J. Crew also have fashion emporiums for little ones. "It's hard to quantify how much parents are spending on that age group. A lot of retailers see this as a market and are leveraging the equity of the overall brand," said Michael Wood, vice president of Teenage Research Unlimited.

Although traditional enclosed malls traffic has dipped 30 percent in the past decade, the folks at Hat World are optimistic. Castleton Square is one of the most productive shopping centers for Simon Property Group and the average annual household income for the Castleton area is $77,000.

Hat World plans to open twelve more Lids Kids stores. The most immediate will open in Greenwood Park Mall and University Park Mall in Mishawaka.