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The UK’s leading daily city deals website investigated the link between social exclusion and brand snobbery amongst teenagers. Teenagers were asked if they thought there was a correlation between wearing or owning cheaper brand items of clothing and bullying, and the majority of respondents, 73%, said they knew people that had been bullied due to this.

The UK’s leading daily city deals website, http://www.Groupola.com saw a significant rise in searches for discounts for sporting brands throughout the last academic year. With this is mind, the site decided to ask 16 – 18 year olds if branded clothing is important to them, and if they experienced bullying throughout secondary school as a result of their clothing.

http://www.Groupola.com commissioned the research of 1,216 teenagers to discover if wearing certain brands contributed towards bullying whilst at they were at school. Three quarters, 73%, of teenagers said they knew somebody that had been bullied due to their cut-price clothing or school accessories, whilst 27% said they had been subject to bullying for wearing apparently socially unacceptable brands.

1 in 10, 9%, of the respondents admitted that they were likely to highlight the fact that a peer was wearing lower cost clothing when they were at secondary school.  According to the survey, here are the top 5 brands that caused bullying at school:

1.       Hi-tek – 57%

2.       LA Gear – 53%

3.       Donnay – 49%

4.       Dunlop  – 46%

5.       Gola  – 38%

http://www.Groupola.com asked the teenagers which brands they thought were ‘bullying-proof’, with the following five brands named as the ones peers are unlikely to subject peers to taunting for

a.       Nike – 92%

b.      Adidas – 90%

c.       Reebok – 86%

d.      K-Swiss – 83%

e.      Converse – 79%

Almost a quarter of the respondents, 23%, admitted that they were bullied at school for owning a ‘cheaper sports branded school bag’ while 19% were picked on for wearing plimsolls during PE lessons.

24% of those polled by http://www.Groupola.com said they were bullied during school for ‘not having expensive trainers’ and a further 14% admitted that their bullying stopped when they wore more mainstream branded trainers.

The study by http://www.Groupola.com also reveals that teenagers are picked on at school for the packed lunch that they bring in, with almost 1 in 10, 8%, saying that they received taunts for ‘bringing in value products’.

When asked ‘what other things are likely to result in bullying at school?’ 96% of respondents admitted that having ginger hair was the most likely reason. 84% said they thought ‘being overweight’ was one of the main reasons people were bullied, whilst and 22% said they thought ‘being shorter or taller than average’ contributed to bullying whilst at secondary school.

Mark Pearson, founder of http://www.Groupola.com commented on the findings;

“Unfortunately bullying is a common thing in most schools – kids will find anything to pick on people for, as the results show.”

He continues;

“I don’t want to advocate conforming for the sake of letting the bullies win, but am acutely aware of the pressures of school life and the social difficulty even the slightest of differences can present.”

LINK http://www.Groupola.com

***ENDS***

For more information, please contact Charlotte Horsfall, 10 Yetis Public Relations Agency on 01452 348 211, charlotte@10yetis.co.uk

Editors Notes

Groupola.com has saved £3.3m for consumers since launch

Overnight, Groupola.com became the biggest Group Buying Power website in the UK.

Groupola.com operates in 10 of the largest cities across the UK, including London, Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester, Brighton, Bristol, Cardiff, Nottingham, Glasgow and Edinburgh.

Mark Pearson, MD of MyVoucherCodes is a regular media contributor regarding online shopping and the credit crunch. At 29 his personal worth is more than £30 million. Mark was previously a trainee chef working for Gordon Ramsay at Claridges, London.

MyVoucherCodes has had sales exceeding £481m in the last year

Consumer savings on online shopping via MyVoucherCodes.co.uk up from £28m in 2008 to £52m in 2009