Bradlees believes in juniors - junior-style clothing - Special Supplement: AM Apparel Merchandising

Discount Store News, April 5, 1993 by Jill Lettich

* Ask a group of retailers what's next on their agenda, and a good number of them will tell you they want to rebuild their juniors business.

Not Bradlees; it doesn't have to.

While many retailers abandoned juniors in the late '80s, Bradlees has stood firm. True, the retailer shifted some dollars and space to the misses area--a reaction to demographic shifts over the last few years--but it always kept juniors fashionably merchandised. Now, Bradlees is in the driver's seat with one of the most developed and most successful juniors departments in the discount tier.

"No one approaches juniors the way we do," says Cecilia Swartz, vice president, general merchandise manager, softlines.

There are two primary differences between Bradlees' juniors approach and that of most other mass merchants: * Bradlees has maintained a designated juniors department on its selling floor of about 1,500 square feet. Bradlees uses distinctive signs to highlight the area. * It has a designated buyer for the area.

The fact that Bradlees maintained its juniors area gives the company a head start on a category that many analysts believe is due for a comeback.

Karen Sheehan, divisional merchandise manager, juniors and ready-to-wear, attributes some of the growing interest in juniors industrywide to a "new president along with a new emphasis on youth. It's been a while since trends began with youth and moved up," she notes.

"This is a big year for juniors and young men. Things that we carried in juniors are now in missy. Juniors was one of the biggest businesses for the company in 1992, and it's likely to be again as far as percent increase for '93," Sheehan says.

"Many people walked away from that business but we never did. Now that there is a resurgence in the market, we're prepared," adds Swartz.

During 1992, Swartz says increases were in the "high singles" for the department, which accounts for about 5 percent of its total apparel business. The juniors area generates about 25 percent of Bradlees women's ready-to-wear business.

Healthy sales results are expected for this year as Bradlees remodels additional stores, paying special attention to the juniors department in many of them. In its new Yonkers, N.Y., store--a former Alexander's site that opens as a Bradless this month--juniors is going to be played up significantly, notes Sheehan.

* New displays and graphics play an important role in the look of the store in all categories, but Swartz notes that the juniors department has a look all its own. "The prototype we are using in refurbished stores benefits juniors," she says. "It allows us to present products and graphics in an exciting way above the merchandise line."

The most distinctive feature in juniors is the retailer's creation of a focal point on a main wall where particular fashion looks can be highlighted. For example, the retailer will display a current trend -- like coordinating shorts and tops on that wall. "That is a distinct display technique in juniors," according to Swartz. "It is distinct to the refurbished stores and to the juniors department within those stores."

Naturally, the merchandise itself plays a role in creating Bradless juniors department display. Color is key. "We lay out a floor with the more colorful fashion on the aisle, the fringes and wall. Basics like tights and leggings we have on roundracks in the middle of the department," Sheehan notes.

While Bradlees' definition of the junior shopper is a young woman between the ages of 16 and 24, Swartz notes that much of the fashion merchandise attracts a broader consumer base. In fact, for Bradlees, its departments are decidedly lifestyle-oriented, not age-related. "The aging baby boomers that are the core shopping group are much more contemporary than the same age group was 40 or 50 years ago," says Swartz. Presumably, that means they are just as likely to look in juniors for apparel as in any other department.

The standard discount industry shopper profile -- a budget-conscious family woman -- holds just as true for Bradlees as for other discounters. But within that classification, Bradlees addresses the varying lifestyle options, including a juniors shopper.

"Our demographic profile is no different, but we cater to a broader array of customers," says Swartz. "The standard lower-middle-income profile may refer to a shopper that is petite, missy, plus size or junior." The latter category, especially, attracts a fashion-conscious shopper.

According to Sheehan, for the first time in a number of years, the juniors area is in the fashion driver's seat, influencing misses. For example, modified hip-hop looks such as oversized tops, and accessories, such as caps, have moved from the younger market to the more mature women's area.

In addition, one aspect of Bradlees juniors business includes a collection of work wear clothing under its New Concepts private label that represents a slightly older, but still contemporary, juniors customer.

Colored denim is one of the most pervasive trends in stores right now, and Sheehan expects these looks to continue to sell well through the fall season.