It makes sense to capture teens, because if you catch their attention when they're younger, you have a better chance of keeping it as they get older.

MrAchievement
Stanley Bronstein
Attorney, CPA, Author, Blogger & Professional Motivational Speaker

Actually, Stanley, marketers are reaching out to children at much earlier ages than the teen years. Research shows that toddlers are brand aware. Pre-schoolers already ask their parents for specific brands. Children are being targeted younger and younger for just the reason that you stated: "...if you catch their attention when they're younger, you have a better chance of keeping it as they get older."

Not only do children have a huge influence over family purchase decisions these days; they also have substantial money of their own to buy whatever they wish to. That makes kids at every age a very desirable target for marketers.

Thanks for making an observation to this post, Stanley. I appreciate it.

Ted, this is a tough one. Most of the department stores I've been in lately already seem to be working on this effort. My local Macy's makes it seem like you've entered another world when you walk into the teen section. That said, these companies can't be everything to everyone--part of the quandry in being a department store. That said, it appears they are on the right track with "stores within stores" and new brands. Teens are a fickle market.

Thanks for making an astute comment, Paul. Department stores are in straits these days for a variety of reasons. As many DF readers pointed out in a past blog of mine, "Stars Aligning at Macy's", customer service has been so uneven and so poor for major retailers, that they have consistently lost consumers to specialty stores over the past couple of decades.

Having said that, department store retailers have to balance their marketing to continue to appeal to boomers who have the income to make substantial purchases with an increased appeal to youth, if they are to survive. It's even harder for operations like Macy's that have tried to take a national approach to product mixes. That just doesn't work. Recent press on the subject discloses that Macy's, in particular, is beginning to go back to taking a regional approach in its stores since "one size does not fit all" across the country. What sells in NYC doesn't necessarily have relevance in Florida, Kansas or California. So apart from the fact that teens are indeed a fickle market, regionality does play a big role in preferences as well. Stay tuned for more on this subject.

Thanks, Paul, as always, for weighing in.

It's a tough sell. I mean they can call it whatever they want, but kids will still know it's from Penney's.

Best bet is to make the rest of the store hipper and then maybe kids will follow.

They make be able to do this with the new line Ralph Lauren is designing for them- and teens will buy that.

But brand names are incredibly important to teens and they would rather have one A&F shirt than 3 knock-off ones.

Not sure what a FB page would do for them other than make it seem to kids as if their (hopelessly uncool) moms had landed on FB. Net effect would be negative.

Curious to read your last paragraph re: Macys. I've been surprised by the extent to which MTV (first) and the internet (later) has erased regional differences and helped to create more of a national teen culture.

Interesting observations, Toad. Thanks for weighing in on this. Actually, to cite your example, Ralph Lauren is way too "preppy" for lots of teens. It is very important for them to wear fashions from designers teens align themselves with. Agreed.

Penny's has the same problem Macy's has. How not to alienate mature customers while trying to attract teens. . .that demands creating microcosms within retail environments that are cool and hip and marketing to this demographic without losing focus on the adult market. Or without making them feel the instore environments are becoming so focused on youth segments that mature consumers no longer fit in.

Regardless of the impact of new media, Toad, there still are pronounced regional differences and preferences among teens and every other segment. Macy's found that out when it gobbled up regional department store chains and decided to merchandise them all out of NYC. Retailers with a national presence have to find a way to cater to regional consumers. Otherwise, they will become increasingly irrelevant to consumers.

I appreciate your input, Toad.

Unfortunately the only way for these stores to rank higher on teen's list is to change their apparel. Brand name speaks volumes and teens are 10 times more likely to step into the same department store as mom if they can get mom to buy them the $50.00 jeans from Juicy or Lucky as the case maybe.

They don't just need to carry more brand names but the right brand names. Many of these high class stores already carry expensive clothing; however you’re not going to find any typical 16 year old sporting Tommy Hilfiger willingly. These are considered out-dated name brands. The key is to carry the newest name brand clothing and stay ahead of the game when doing so.

It would also do wonders if these stores didn’t try so hard to be trendy. Their attempts to find new and unheard “cool” music and blast it through the store doesn’t capture anyone’s attention and only further serves to make them look like the mom in the minivan trying to rock out to “My milkshake” or any other song equally as awkward.

Lieca,

I found myself nodding at the points you made in your comments. Let me guess: you have teens in your home. You're right that it's hard to gauge teen interest and hot brands come and go quickly, as new brands become quickly adopted by kids.

We get what you mean about "trying hard to be trendy", but when it comes to marketing to teens, I don't think there's much of a choice. Blasting music. . .can't wait for that one, as the parents of soon-to-be teens.

Thanks for sharing your insights and wisdom with us, Lieca. I appreciate it.

As I read the post, I started to wonder if having the right teen brands and trying to be cool will be enough for department store retailers to attract teenagers. Yes, they will go with their parents when they are paying for the merchandize, but in the same manner, teens are taking their parents to their preferred boutique to buy the products. The boutiques stores provides teens with more than trendy brand goods, they provide them with a experience of being cool, being seen, and signal to the rest of society their image, identity, and status. The Macy’s of the world have a tough road to re-brand their images to be relevant and lure teenagers as destination stores. Would it not be better for them to create specialized boutique stores, similar to what GM did with Saturn?

I was surprised to read that Macy’s implemented a “one size fit all strategy.” It reminded me when Madison ad agencies 20 years ago pitched the idea that because teens are teens any where in the world, creative from New York, will be effective in any country. Although TV spots were entertaining, they lacked the local social and cultural context, which is essential for relevancy.

Ted: Thanks for the response.

re: Ralph Lauren- while the Polo line is no doubt too preppy for some teens, the clothes in the ads I've seen from JC Penney (I think it's called "American Living") look like they fall into the Abercrombie and American Eagle vein. Lots of kids wearing preppy clothes still too.

As for Macy's- are you sure that the regional differences weren't in regards to older consumers? Kids seem to have a fairly standard uniform wherever you are (I mean the aforementioned A&F and American Eagle sell the same stuff from coast to coast and online) whereas dress codes for adults vary greatly across the regions.

Javier,

Excellent observations in your first paragraph. I just want to point out that department stores are trying to create store within the store environments for teens; that is true. But as you point out, for many young consumers they aren't as compelling as boutiques. No matter what department stores do, some teens will just run from "my parents' stores".

All national retailers have the same problem when they have centralized buying. It's hard to know where they can program the same merchandise into stores nationally, and where they need to tweak assortments for regional preferences. Macy's is not alone in this regard. They are addressing it and this will probably lead to some subtle, and not so subtle changes in the near future. Not being an insider in the retail operation, there's no way to read more into this than what the press is reporting to us.

Thanks for weighing in, Javier. I appreciate it.

Toad,

Thanks for raising an excellent point re Ralph Lauren. I just became aware of the new "American Living" line that is being positioned in Penny's stores. If it's heavy on comfortable, worn-looking jeans and tees, it will probably fare well. If it's too preppy, I'm not so sure.

I get the sense that Macy's assortments will be tweaked in every department of their stores. While we adults may think teens have the same look from coast to coast, I'm not sure that's true. Think about it: teens in L.A. probably don't dress exactly like kids in Omaha or Portland, Maine. I'm sure there are some differences. Cutting edge kids'fashion trends usually happen in urban environments, for example, and eventually trickle into suburban and more rural areas.

Thanks for making some excellent points as always, Toad. Much appreciated.