Retailers catering to teens struggling

Associated Press

NEW YORK

Being a teen can be tough, but catering to one is even more difficult.

Teen retailers are learning that lesson the hard way this holiday season.

The longtime CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch on Tuesday abruptly retired just a week after the retailer posted an 11.5 percent quarterly sales drop and slashed its annual profit forecast. And American Eagle and Aeropostale gave dismal forecasts for the quarter that includes the holiday shopping season after each posted weak sales for the fall.

Teen retailers are facing ho-hum results at a time when overall U.S. retail sales are up 5.1 percent over the past 12 months, the Commerce Department said Thursday.

It’s a major shift for teen retailers. They became popular in the past decade for their logo tees and trendy jeans, which became a high-school uniform of sorts. But since the recession, these stores have been losing favor with their core demographic.

One reason is technology. Teens are more interested in playing on smartphones than hanging out at the mall where these stores are. They’re also more likely to spend their money on iPhones and other tech gadgets than on clothes.

And when they do buy clothes, they do so differently than past generations who found comfort in dressing like their peers. Today’s teens shun the idea of wearing the same outfit as the girl or guy sitting next to them in chemistry class.

Case in point: Olivia Nash, a 16-year-old junior from Washington, D.C. Nash used to shop at American Eagle and Abercrombie, but now she pulls together pieces at a variety of other retailers.

“When I was younger, everyone wanted what everyone else had,” she says. But now, Nash says, “everyone is putting their own individual spin” on their look.

This change in teen shopping patterns isn’t lost on retailers that spent years building their brands around a sort of “insta-look” that shoppers could buy right off the rack.

The three big teen retailers are getting rid of shirts and other items that have their logos and adding trendy fashions and athletic styles. They’re allowing shoppers to buy online and pick up in stores.