Retailers that attract younger customers who feel little impact of the financial crisis seem to be shrugging off the downturn, a report in the New York Times suggests. As young adults tend to rent with flexible leases and have few investments tied up with the stock market, they have the income to buy into brands that offer fashion and style - at a price that suits.
While sales at most stores plummeted last month, the teenage retailer Hot Topic enjoyed a 6.5 percent gain… As the nation’s retailing landscape has deteriorated, Hot Topic is one of a handful of chains that seem to be coming out ahead… - niche chains that cater to teenagers and young adults.
For these chains, never has the quality of a management team, and its ability to see around corners, mattered as much as it does now.
“The management team needs to be able to keep finding the next one-hit wonder,” said John D. Morris, a retailing analyst with Wachovia.
The margin for error has probably never been narrower. While teenage retailers like Hot Topic, American Apparel and Buckle have landed on the right product at the right time (and the right price), and the discounters are catering to consumers’ desire for bargains, analysts are scrutinizing many more critical factors as they struggle to make sense of a changed retail landscape and predict which chains will survive a brutal shakeout expected to unfold early next year.
NY TimesYoun
Facebook
Twitter
Digg
Reddit
StumbleUpon
Please watch the video…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=26NaGLx6Tdg
MC Lars - Hot Topic Is Not Punk Rock
December 22nd, 2008 at 6:16 am
Dr. Tantillo, ‘the marketing doctor’ blogs about branding and consistently emphasizes the importance of knowing your Target Market. His most recent post comments on this NY Times article–pointing out how the retailers proving successful even in this economy are those embracing “narrowcasting,” or a niche market.
He also did a recent post on the Jay Leno move to prime time as a case in point of how the value of tv advertising has decreased and how the general trend is now toward narrowcasting, away from broadcasting.
December 29th, 2008 at 3:53 am
I think these findings are interesting regarding the target market; however, I think the particular in question may provide skewed data. I think the success of “youth-oriented” retail is partially due to the fact that the impact of the economy on their income and expenses—and therefore their spending—is probably minimal. They are probably not losing their part-time jobs, and their expenses are not significantly increasing (housing, food, etc.).
January 27th, 2009 at 1:59 pm
I think these findings are interesting regarding the target market; however, I think the particular in question may provide skewed data. I think the success of “youth-oriented” retail is partially due to the fact that the impact of the economy on their income and expenses—and therefore their spending—is probably minimal. They are probably not losing their part-time jobs, and their expenses are not significantly increasing (housing, food, etc.).
January 27th, 2009 at 2:05 pm