Teen stores in tight spot for back-to-school season

August 5, 2010 at 12:00a.m.

Associated Press

NEW YORK

Half-priced jeans and promotional freebies are already popping up at the mall with the start of school still weeks away.

Teen-clothing sellers may have had some misplaced optimism about the strength of the economic recovery when orders were placed in the spring, and department stores are armed with hip jeans and fast fashion of their own. The battle for back-to-school dollars is giving parents more-affordable choices for back-to-school clothing.

Aeropostale Inc. just started marking down all new jeans by 50 percent. They’re 40 percent off at Abercrombie & Fitch Co., based in the Columbus suburb of New Albany, Ohio. Other sales gimmicks include free cell phones and a chance to audition for a movie.

The economy, which seemed on the mend a few months ago, has hit some speed bumps, and that has some industry experts wondering if teen merchants will be able to get rid of the piles of jeans and flashy T-shirts they bought expecting a stronger consumer rebound.

Stubbornly high unemployment, especially bad among teens, has shoppers keeping a lid on spending and spurring bargain-hunting in a teen back-to-school clothing market worth $11 billion, according to market research firm NPD Group Inc.

Consumers have been shopping increasingly later for back-to-school needs, with the bulk of the buying in August and September. That’s why stores are trying to grab shoppers now with big discounts, though they could take a hit on profits if the discounting goes too far.

Often, that’s what it takes to get parents to spend.

“If my kids really want something that’s not on sale, I make them use their own money,” said Lori Ahrenhoerster, 40, of Whitefish Bay, Wis., the mother of two daughters, age 7 and 15, and a 12-year-old son.

With Americans spending more of their limited discretionary dollars away from clothing and more toward gadgets such as flat-panel TVs and Apple Inc.’s iPads, the fight to get shoppers to spend for back-to-school fashions will be intense for all clothing merchants. But for teen chains in shopping malls, it’s been a slower climb out of the recession’s sales funk than for their bigger rivals. More-expensive merchants such as A&F had to cut prices to cater to thriftier shoppers.

J.C. Penney Co. and Macy’s Inc. are muscling in on their turf as well, taking a page from white-hot fast-fashion chains such as Forever 21 and Swedish fashion retailer Hennes & Mauritz AB by quickly changing assortments of exclusive, affordable fashions.

Cincinnati-based Macy’s is betting its new Material Girl fashion line, created by pop star Madonna and her 13-year-old daughter, Lourdes, will resonate with a younger generation who didn’t go clubbing in sheer lace tops. The collection, a modern twist on that 1980s look, is priced from $12 to $40.