It seems that department store retailers, faced with sagging sales and a slumping economy, have made what appears to be a logical decision: Re-brand and reposition teen apparel to capture that market.


Of course, this is a tall order. Teens have long eschewed department stores in favor of shopping at hip, trendy specialty stores. After all, do they really want to shop in the same stores as their parents? Marketing professor, Leon Schiffman of St. John's University, "It's somewhat of a natural process to reject the kinds of retail environments that your parents are associated with."
All of this according to a recent article in USA Today, titled: "Big retailers seek teens (and parents)", J.C. Penney, Macy's, Bloomingdale's, Saks Fifth Avenue and Kohl's are all using slick new marketing techniques: some high tech like mobile marketing and some low tech like hipper store environments to woo the all-important teen consumer.
"The reasoning: even as parents tighten their belts, they still spend freely on their children. If kids get their parents to drive them to stores, the parents will end up shopping for themselves, too". I might also add that teens are always willing and eager consumers, with large discretionary incomes–and they aren't subject to higher taxes and costs of living that have cut into their parents' discretionary spending. Result: teens are an extremely important group to marketers.
Will the introduction of new celebrity-designed brands and a new look to teen departments help capture this fickle consumer? Help woo them away from Abercrombie & Fitch, Forever 21, Aeropostale and Urban Outfitters?
J.C. Penney's marketers are asking these kinds of questions. Even though young teens buy heavily from the retailer, once they have drivers' licenses in hand, they're out of there, shopping in trendier retail outlets, only to return years later when they have kids of their own. When surveyed by market research firm TRU, teens stated they shop at Penney's because they follow their parents in there, but they like shopping in trendier stores.
New teen brands "Fabulosity" and "Decree" will be marketed to teens, rather than the Penney umbrella retail brand. Marketing research divulged that teens wanted to see more displays showing outfit combinations, so the retailer will oblige, dividing apparel vignettes into lifestyle categories: "ranging from wholesome active wear to hip city styles."
The hope: hip offerings, the right setting and fashion guidance will create emotional connections with teens. The marketing techniques: ads in theaters, interactive web site features and mobile marketing. The idea: to create retail theater.
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Will that be enough for Penney's to change teen perceptions given some time?
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Should the retailer borrow a current marketing idea from American Eagle, Target, Abercrombie & Fitch and Forever 21 and start a Facebook page?
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Should Penney's invite its teen "fans" to link to a Facebook page as retailer H&M has done? H&M claims to have 60,000 Facebook fans. . .
What do you think of these ideas? Or are the department stores missing the boat completely with teens? If so, what would you advise them to do?
I'd love to hear from you.