Retail's lost generation - clothing for teenage boys - AM Apparel Merchandising

Discount Store News, Sept 6, 1993

"But, we don't have a young men's buyer or shop. I don't think you can define fashion by age. It's an attitude. I think putting labels on things is absurd," Lonabocker says.

Lonabocker's point is well taken. Baby boomer-age men are certainly more open to fashion than were their fathers, and pigeonholing too broad a range of fashion into a young men's area would undoubtably be a mistake. However, by not nuturing male teens, who in many cases became aware of discount store apparel shopping after these operations metamorphosed from down-and-dirty marketers of hard lines into cleaned up soft lines purveyors, may also be a case of missing a long-term growth opportunity.

On the manufacturing side, one company, Sun Apparel, is making an effort to market specifically to young men. The firm plans a major advertising push for its X-AM line of jeans and jeans-related items later next year.

"It will be marketed like an upscale brand, but sold at discount store prices," says president Eric Rothfeld, who plans to use print, regional television, and point of sale to promote the X-AM label. Rothfeld also sells jeans under the Sasson label. "This will go younger than Sasson," he says.

Should mass market retailers take the cue and make more of an effort to market to young men? It's not an easy decision in a discount store environment.

Says Hill's Lonabocker, "If you had a young men's shop, and devoted 1,500 square feet to it, you'd obviously do more young men's business. But, if you have a finite amount of space, you then have to decide whether you can make more money catering to a lifestyle or chasing a hot item."

While it is perfectly understandable that discounters don't want to be locked into feeding a standing young men's section, they should also be making every effort to court the young men's--and, for that matter, the junior--customer. These consumers, who spend a large portion of their disposable income on apparel, represent the future.