- NEW YORK (AP) -- The souring
job market and rising costs of the usual teenage indulgences - a slice
of pizza, a drive to the mall, the hottest new jeans - are causing teens
to do something they rarely do: be thrifty.
-
- It's a far cry from the freewheeling spending of recent
years, when teens splurged on $100 Coach wristlet handbags, $60 Juicy
Couture T-shirts and $80 skinny jeans from Abercrombie & Fitch.
-
- Now jobs for teens are less plentiful, and parents who
supply the allowances are feeling the economic pinch themselves.
-
- The stalwart retailers of teen apparel, such as Abercrombie
and American Eagle Outfitters Inc., are reporting sluggish sales, defying
the myth that teen spending is recession-proof: It holds up longer, but
can eventually fold.
-
- It's even becoming cool to be frugal.
-
- Last week, Ellegirl.com, the teen offshoot of Elle magazine,
launched a new video fixture called Self-Made Girl, which shows teens how
to make clothes and accessories. The first video offers tips on how to
create a prom clutch. "It's a little tacky in the economic unrest
to tote a big logo bag," said Holly Siegel, the site's senior editor.
She said it's no longer about teens "one-upping each other,"
but rather where they can get it cheap.
-
- Victoria Bradley, a 16-year-old from Springfield, Mo.,
says the $80 she earns each month from baby-sitting is being eaten up by
more expensive school lunches, late-night snacks with friends and stylish
clothes.
- Now, she says, she and her friends head for the thrift
store or just browse at the mall. "I used to be able to buy
a T-shirt and s, cell phones and headsets, analysts say.
-
- What makes this slump different, says Deloitte Research
chief economist Carl Steidtmann, is the soaring cost of basics such food
and gas, which have a direct impact on younger consumers.
-
- Gas could reach $4 a gallon this summer, and prices for
teen favorites like pizza and potato chips have all climbed, squeezing
the amount of cash teens can spend elsewhere.
-
- Sales at teen retailers open at least a year averaged
a 0.5 percent decline last year, compared to a 3.3 percent increase in
2006 and a 12.1 percent gain in 2005, according to a UBS-International
Council of Shopping Centers tally.
-
- Retailers like American Eagle and Tween Brands Inc.,
which operates Limited Too, have cut their earnings outlooks amid deeper-than-expected
sales declines. Abercrombie & Fitch reported a disappointing 10 percent
sales drop in March, while Pacific Sunwear of California Inc. announced
earlier this year it was shuttering its urban-inspired Demo stores.
-
- Among the few bright spots is Aeropostale Inc., whose
jeans are about 30 percent cheaper than Abercrombie & Fitch. Candace
Corlett, principal at consulting firm WSL Strategic Retail, said low-price
chains like H&M and Steve & Barry's should do well.
-
- And Urban Outfitters Inc., which operates its namesake
stores and the Anthropologie brand, has held up well. Trend experts believe
that's because it has a thrift-store feel.
-
- Secondhand clothing chains have seen business surge this
year as teens and their parents buy popular brands like Gap, Banana Republic
and Juicy Couture at a fraction of the regular price.
-
- Kerstin Block, president and co-founder of Buffalo Exchange,
a Tucson, Ariz.-based chain that sells second-hand clothing, said Gap jeans
there run $9 to $20. A new pair runs $50 to $60. Block noted that buying
second-hand is also appealing to a growing eco-friendly sentiment among
teenagers.
-
- "It is way cooler to get a super deal on that shirt
rather than being able to spend the most money on something," said
Anna D'Agrosa, director of Consumer Insights at The Zandl Group, a market
research company focusing on teens. "Kids are becoming really aware
of what is happening to their economy and to their families."
-
- AP Business Writers Lisa Cornwell in Cincinnati and Marcus
Kabel in Springfield, Mo., contributed to this report.
-
- Copyright 2008 The Associated Press
ORK (AP) -- The souring job market and rising costs of the usual teenage
indulgences - a slice of pizza, a drive to the mall, the hottest new jeans
- are causing teens to do something they rarely do: be thrifty.
-
- It's a far cry from the freewheeling spending of recent
years, when teens splurged on $100 Coach wristlet handbags, $60 Juicy
Couture T-shirts and $80 skinny jeans from Abercrombie & Fitch.
-
- Now jobs for teens are less plentiful, and parents who
supply the allowances are feeling the economic pinch themselves.
-
- The stalwart retailers of teen apparel, such as Abercrombie
and American Eagle Outfitters Inc., are reporting sluggish sales, defying
the myth that teen spending is recession-proof: It holds up longer, but
can eventually fold.
-
- It's even becoming cool to be frugal.
-
- Last week, Ellegirl.com, the teen offshoot of Elle magazine,
launched a new video fixture called Self-Made Girl, which shows teens how
to make clothes and accessories. The first video offers tips on how to
create a prom clutch. "It's a little tacky in the economic unrest
to tote a big logo bag," said Holly Siegel, the site's senior editor.
She said it's no longer about teens "one-upping each other,"
but rather where they can get it cheap.
-
- Victoria Bradley, a 16-year-old from Springfield, Mo.,
says the $80 she earns each month from baby-sitting is being eaten up by
more expensive school lunches, late-night snacks with friends and stylish
clothes.
- Now, she says, she and her friends head for the thrift
store or just browse at the mall. "I used to be able to buy
a T-shirt and s, cell phones and headsets, analysts say.
-
- What makes this slump different, says Deloitte Research
chief economist Carl Steidtmann, is the soaring cost of basics such food
and gas, which have a direct impact on younger consumers.
-
- Gas could reach $4 a gallon this summer, and prices for
teen favorites like pizza and potato chips have all climbed, squeezing
the amount of cash teens can spend elsewhere.
-
- Sales at teen retailers open at least a year averaged
a 0.5 percent decline last year, compared to a 3.3 percent increase in
2006 and a 12.1 percent gain in 2005, according to a UBS-International
Council of Shopping Centers tally.
-
- Retailers like American Eagle and Tween Brands Inc.,
which operates Limited Too, have cut their earnings outlooks amid deeper-than-expected
sales declines. Abercrombie & Fitch reported a disappointing 10 percent
sales drop in March, while Pacific Sunwear of California Inc. announced
earlier this year it was shuttering its urban-inspired Demo stores.
-
- Among the few bright spots is Aeropostale Inc., whose
jeans are about 30 percent cheaper than Abercrombie & Fitch. Candace
Corlett, principal at consulting firm WSL Strategic Retail, said low-price
chains like H&M and Steve & Barry's should do well.
-
- And Urban Outfitters Inc., which operates its namesake
stores and the Anthropologie brand, has held up well. Trend experts believe
that's because it has a thrift-store feel.
-
- Secondhand clothing chains have seen business surge this
year as teens and their parents buy popular brands like Gap, Banana Republic
and Juicy Couture at a fraction of the regular price.
-
- Kerstin Block, president and co-founder of Buffalo Exchange,
a Tucson, Ariz.-based chain that sells second-hand clothing, said Gap jeans
there run $9 to $20. A new pair runs $50 to $60. Block noted that buying
second-hand is also appealing to a growing eco-friendly sentiment among
teenagers.
-
- "It is way cooler to get a super deal on that shirt
rather than being able to spend the most money on something," said
Anna D'Agrosa, director of Consumer Insights at The Zandl Group, a market
research company focusing on teens. "Kids are becoming really aware
of what is happening to their economy and to their families."
-
- AP Business Writers Lisa Cornwell in Cincinnati and Marcus
Kabel in Springfield, Mo., contributed to this report.
-
- Copyright 2008 The Associated Press
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