Mass Merchants Vie for Teenage Traffic with Trendy Junior Apparel
Vying for the coveted “seal of approval” from teen shoppers, mass merchants are always looking for the right mix of popular styles and unique new looks to support a trendy junior fashion department. This is no easy task, since all it takes is a few influential teens’ opinions to either make or break the junior apparel department of a mass retailer.
For example, Target employs a team of junior apparel buyers with years of experience in seeking out the next trendy junior fashion clothing and accessories. Target knows that becoming the “approved store” for junior apparel will drive sales in other departments as well. They believe so strongly in this that they display their trendy junior fashion section right in the front of the store, where it cannot be missed.
Buying wholesale junior apparel in large lots before a style has proven to be popular can be a huge risk for mass merchants. While some large retailers let the clothing speak for itself, general merchandise retailers like Target, Sears and Wal-Mart will invest heavily in the merchandising of these items to their target audience – teenage girls and their mothers. This includes colorful displays, funky signage, techno-metal fixtures, hip mannequins and ambient lighting.
Expert marketers like these rely heavily on research and focus groups to determine how much to invest in a particular part of their stores, and it has been shown that women with teenage daughters will often choose their “favorite” one-stop shop based on the store’s selection of junior apparel. Mothers appreciate the ability to buy less expensive junior apparel that their teenagers will actually wear, and teenage girls know that if they go to a store like Target for some “school supplies”, they can usually talk their mom into a new top from their trendy junior fashion collection.
Teenage girls are more influential a part of these retailers’ marketing strategies than many other demographic groups, and their opinions of a store’s junior apparel department can have an immense impact on the store’s overall success.
To find out more about the junior clothing wholesale apparel buyers who help set the contemporary apparel and junior fashion trends, visit Fashion Spot LA.