Sizing up girls' fashions - Apparel Merchandising Supplement

Discount Store News, Sept 5, 1994

The 7- to 14-size range, once a child-like category, is being seduced by the more mature styles of the juniors circuit. is gradual blurring of size ranges is giving mass merchants no other choice but to re-evaluate 7- to 14-size assortments and its position on the selling floor.

Selling 7- to 14-sizes is no easy assignment. Retailers must walk the fine line between the juvenile and juniors markets, all the while making certain they don't alienate either end of the customer base.

In the past, pre-teen departments were commonplace and helped ease the transition between young girls' and juniors merchandise. However, these areas have disappeared from retailing floors.

But sportswear manufacturers and retailers have come up with a modified method of bridging the gap by adding size 16 to the mix.

"Offering size 16 is a good way for retailers to keep [the customer] in the children's department," explains Gary Silverstein, vice president of merchandising for New York-based Bonjour. who plans to debut size 16 for spring 1995.

"It will not be carte blanche. but it will play a key role in a number of categories," he says. "Retailers have not asked for size 16 basic jeans, but that's not to say that we won't add it for fall."

Retailers are also making attempts to position sizes 7 to 14 on the floor so that it appeals to a broad range of consumers. At Omaha, Neb.-based Pamida, for instance, 7 to 14, which according to vice president of soft lines Steven Drexler. is a top selling category and segmented into two lifestyle departments. Basics. such as T-shirts and leggings, sit adjacent to sizes 4 to 6X. The trendy "Young Ideas" section is zoned next to ladies' sportswear.

Wal-Mart gives 7 to 14 its own department in its Middletown, N.Y., location. Although it is positioned next to 4 to 6X, it is distinguished by fashion-forward pieces in age-appropriate silhouettes.

However, some retailers, like Abilene, Kan.-based Duckwall-Alco choose to merchandise 7 to 14 and 4 to 6X together. Belinda Ostwald, buyer of infant, toddler and girls' wear for the store, says juniors styling is enough to make 7 to 14 product stand out. Duckwall-Alco does not currently stock size 16. but Ostwald says the need is there, and she would welcome such product with open arms.

Secaucus. N.J.-based James way also houses 7 to 14 in the same quad as 4 to 6X. Nevertheless, Bob Greenwald, senior vice president and general merchandise manager, says the 7 to 14 business has "grown tremendously." Mired in Chapter 11, Greenwald says he cannot accurately compare current sales to last year's, but maintains "7 to 14 is making up for lost ground," and he expects fourth quarter numbers to be very positive.

While size 7 to 14 floor positioning is important in attracting customers, the merchandise mix, too, plays an essential role. Drexier, who describes the Pamida shopper as trend-aware, is skewing the mix toward juniors. "Seven to 14 is a size, not an age," he contends, pointing out that there are many fashion-oriented girls who fit into 7- to 14-size clothing.

Therefore, Pamida is "bridging the gap between children's and missy" by creating a contemporary sportswear section--he feigns at the term "juniors"--aimed at those in limbo between kids' and missy. Drexler says he will stock "The Limited-type" clothing that's "not too faddish," but embraces key trend concepts. Vests, body suits, broomstick skins, silk T-shirts, colored denim separates and hooded canton tops from Who Says?, Kikomo, Faded Glory, Goodfellows and Whiskers now retail for $14.99 to $19.99.

Jamesway shoppers also favor junior styling. Greenwald says tops are color-banked and offered with denim bottoms from Chic by H.I.S., as well as various other private label goods, retail priced $6.99 to $19.99.

The theme at Wal-Mart is casual mix-and-match. Elements such as leggings, T-shirts with mock vests, body suits, jeans, vests and shorts are offered from such brand and private names as Sister be Cool, Blue Attitude, E.J. Gitano, Bobbie Socks. Girls on the Go, Girltown, Classics by Youngland, French Toast and Bonjour.

Ostwald of Duckwall-Alco shops the market extensively and is always looking to bring in new vendors--she just placed an order with Sun Apparel Corp. for its new X-AM denim-driven line. Yet, she says she must be mindful of the chain's "fairly conservative" core consumer. She recollects that form-fitting junior silhouettes did not check out well last spring. Neither did the swank neutral color palette. So, she says she will stick with what her customers want: a casual mix anchored by colored denim from Chic, mixed media tops, silk shirts and fleece sets from Randy of California, Kleinert's, Second Edition and Britannia by Tultex, retail priced $5.99 to $24.99.

Bonjour, like many other manufacturers, is making the slippery size range a bit easier to swallow by allowing retailers of different scopes to customize their assortments by mixing and matching basic and fashion pieces. Stores can build a basics area with the "Bonjour Colors" program, consisting of five-pocket jeans and shorts, and knit and woven shirts in primaries and seasonal fashion tones. Silverstein describes the trend program as "not a knockdown, but a re-interpretation of juniors." He says that by gaining a better understanding of the user, Bonjour is able to give 7 to 14 an identity apart from juniors'. "The young woman who shops in the juniors department would wear neutral shades from head to toe. But an 8-year-old doesn't want that [monochromatic] look. So we give her a neutral ground and mix in some dusty mid-tones for color."