Young men's matures - men's clothing - Special Supplement: AM

Discount Store News, Sept 7, 1992 by Jill Lettich

The young men's market has undergone a necessary metamorphosis at mass merchandisers, fueled primarily by the aging of the American baby boomer.

The news is not at all good. According to MRCA Information Services, the young men's segment in all retail tiers suffered the most in the past year. The research company reports that overall, dollar volume for young men's apparel was down 13.4 percent from $2.3 billion the first half of 1991 to only $2 billion through the first half of 1992.

Clothing purchased for young men ages 16 to 24 accounted for only 17.2 percent of men's dollar market share through the first half of 1992. A year earlier, that share was slightly healthier at 20.2 percent, MRCA reported.

The news is no different at mass merchandisers. The typical men's wear discount customer is between 35 and 54, according to a consumer buying study by Leo J. Shapiro for Discount Store News. This aging baby boomer statistic is a fact of life that discounters and offprice specialty stores have worked to their advantage.

In the men's wear category it means that the focus of the merchandise mix has shifted from young surfer-inspired apparel and funky detailed pant styles of a few years ago to a more basic (read: older) blend of five-pocket denim and dressed-up casual looks through lines such as Gitano's AmeriCo., Wrangler's Timber Creek and Brittania.

The 35- to 54- age group, in fact, is the bread and butter of most discount stores, accounting for 90 percent of all discount store customers in all categories, according to that same study.

So, what has happened to the young men's market as Father Time marched on?

In some cases it has been scaled back, and it has been redirected, but despite the daunting consumer demographics it has not disappeared.

"Certainly we see our customer getting older; it's proven by the success of our Dockers business, for instance. But, we're not ready to give up on the young men's market," says Meg Rist, national product development manager, men's apparel, Sears.

Other mass merchandise retailers concur. At Venture, Maxine Clark, executive vice president, notes that the young men's area has changed little for the retailer over the last few years, with the standard young men's categories such as jeans, knits and sweaters doing well.

Fleece and T-shirts are standard successes in both young men's and men's categories. These items are termed "young men's" when infused with more color and details than the standard issue versions. For instance, multicolored Tshirts and fleece tops with collar details are considered younger designs, while the gray sweatshirts and white T-shirts are more basic choices.

The problem in defining young men's is that often it is a matter of attitude. The Gap, the specialty store everyone loves to copy, made a star out of the basic white T-shirt when worn on young, lithe bodies. That retailer also succeeded in making color--rather than silhouette or pattern--a fashion statement.

This return to basics that has extended into the young men's market does not mean the potential for growth is limited. In fact, manufacturers see a potential gold mine in new areas for the young men's market, even for mass merchandisers. Bill Aron, an executive with M. Aron, the licensee for Gitano neckwear, says that retailers have to tap into an existing customer base for young men's business.

"Young men are going to specialty retailers like Edison Brothers and Oaktree for their apparel. But they are walking into discount stores for their cassette racks and other goods. Discounters have to get their attention with updated soft line offerings," he notes.

Roughly covering the ages of 17 to 34 in the young men's area, like its Juniors counterpart in women's, is generally the category that leads in terms of fashion direction. Here, the colors are somewhat brighter, the patterns more daring and the fit is tighter (or looser) than the rest of the men's market. Novelty looks, such as Generra's Hyper Color T-shirt styles, also do well in department and specialty stores. However, mass merchandisers have been cautious about how trendy they get with their apparel.

Because it is defined by fashion, and the age range of the category is broader for value retailers, mass merchandisers no longer define set floor space as "the young men's department."

It is treated instead as a fashion category within the many men's classifications. Some categories--sports licensed apparel, denim, activewear and shorts, for instance--lend themselves naturally to the young men's category.

Even at Sears, which has one of the strongest young men's areas among the mass merchandisers, the emphasis is less on age-specific merchandise and more on styling.

The Men's Store at Sears, the retailer's moniker for its men's department, includes everything from colored denim, a definitively young item, to staid polyester pants. Though both come under The Men's Store domain, the wide fashion gulf between the two dictates a different market.

Sears revamped its men's department in 1989, when it went more upscale and began cutting back its tailored clothing area.