Teen retailers sluggish in July; Zumiez an exception

According to the New York Times, July sales at teen retailers were sluggish, especially in comparison to discount and department stores. Given last July's 12% decrease in comps, a gain should've been a lay-up. Retailers like Buckle (same-store sales down 9.3%), Hot Topic (down 9%) and Wet Seal (down 4.3%) were hit particularly hard. Aéropostale - doing well of late - clocked only a 1% increase, missing analysts’ 7.1% estimate by a big margin. The company cited “a change in consumer shopping behaviors".

Interesting, Zumiez (not mentioned in the Times article) made huge gains across their 389 stores. Same store sales increased 9.4% in July vs. a 6.8% decline last July. Strong categories were accessories, men’s, footwear, boys; weak categories were hardgoods/gear and juniors, further suggesting girls' move away from 'action sport' or Amerian-style clothing to fast-fashion.

July is often considered a good index for BTS shopping.