Most of this is old news (especially after all the conference calls last month), but hard times in the financial world have impacted teen fashion spending according to a story on Blumberg.com.
“There is absolutely a slowdown in teen spending,” said Holly Guthrie, an analyst at Janney Montgomery Scott LLC in Philadelphia.
Retailers dependent on that group are feeling the pinch. First-quarter net income at American Eagle plunged 44 percent because of discounting, and the retailer may post its first annual profit drop in five years. . . . At Gap Inc.’s Old Navy chain, sales in May were off 25 percent from a year earlier. Abercrombie’s same- store sales dropped in five of the past six quarters.
“While we believe the teen customer has slightly more discretionary income than their parents, they’re still impacted by the sluggish economy,” Zumiez Inc. Chief Executive Officer Richard Brooks said on a May 22 earnings call.
Zumiez’s 309 stores . . . reported its first quarterly profit drop since going public in 2005.
[Link: Bloomberg]
