Zumiez Q3 Profits Highest Ever, Others Report Strong November Sales

The headline says it all. Amidst a down economy, Zumiez has had an exceptional quarter driving same store sales up 14.4% in Q3 and 20.7% in November alone.

Some interesting points to note:

• Juniors was down slightly and remains a challenging area for Zumiez despite the strides they've made over the past year. Unlike PacSun though, Juniors only accounts for 10% of their overall business.
• Private label only accounts for 15.7%, but they intend to grow this
• They're expanding with plans to build stores in Canada and grow the total number of stores from 400 currently to 700-800 over the next few years
• Their e-commerce business increased 165% this year and now accounts for 6% of total sales

Read the rest on Shop-Eat-Surf.

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Meanwhile, many other retailers reported healthy November sales, bolstered by Black Friday weekend sales. Of PacSun's primary competitors, Abercrombie posted the most impressive sales, while heavyweights American Eagle and Aeropostale saw flat rather flat sales. It should be noted, Forever 21 and H&M were not mentioned.

Abercrombie & Fitch (Total): +22%

Hollister: +22%

The Buckle: +7.9%

Aeropostale: -1%

American Eagle Outfitters: Flat

Gap (total): +4%

Gap: +5%

Banana Republic: flat

Old Navy: +5%

International: -1%

Wet (Total): +7%

Wet Seal: +8.3%

Arden B: -0.3%

Hot Topic (Total): -2.1%

Hot Topic: -14.5%

Torrid: +1.6%

Kohl's: +6.1%

Target: +5.5%

Macy's: +6.1%

Nordstrom: +5.1%

Dillard's: +8%

Chloe Sevigny for Opening Ceremony

Win-win.

Fashionista and Hollywood starlet Chloe Sevigny teams up with Opening Ceremony again for another buzzworthy spring collection that includes everything from apparel to shoes to sunglasses.

A&F Models Are All Store Associates

I didn't know that. All these people work for A&F, they're not ridiculously over-paid models, but they're well on their way to becoming such and quitting their retail jobs. Every year the "Casting Crew" travels to major cities around the world to hold casting calls with store associates who signed up for the opportunity to model. While A&F undeniably has some issues with the moral territory surrounding their hiring policy and printed assets, for that matter, there is a genius kernel in really embracing your store associates as brand ambassadors.

Corporate Campus Spirit

Now we're talkin'. This is the corporate office for Urban Outfitters. How could you come to work with squelched creativity or even be angry in this room? It's so colorful and everyone could see you whining. This is really inspiring for PSun's own corporate remodel. From ArchDaily.

New GAP Online Campaign Integrates Foursquare

The GAP logo debacle aside, they've been killing on the location-based marketing forefront. Again, they up the ante and are now integrating "Add to Foursquare" buttons directly in their online ads.

When clicked, a GAP "To-Do" gets added to your Foursquare profile and enables a 30% discount on a single item. The ad is also location-aware as well, so consumers will be able to associate the To-Do to nearby stores.

To boot, GAP is donating $1 to a charity for every To-Do add.

Read more on Mashable.

Whe know location-based marketing is only going to continue to blow up as adoption rates for Foursquare and Facebook Places increase. AdAge and Trendrr compiled a list of the Top 10 retailer check-ins on Black Friday - the winner, Target with 17,872 check-ins.

Not only is the ROI on these location-based marketing programs direct, i.e. foot traffic, playing in this new, buzzworthy space is generating a lot of PR value that brands won't necessarily be able to reap as easily as these practices become more mainstream.

No better time than now to establish yourself as a progressive and innovative player in the social media space.

Black Friday Roundup

Black Friday drew out both crowds and wallets this year, according to the Huffington Post. The National Retail Federation reported that 212 million people came out for the deals (up from 195 million in 2009) over the course of the 4-day weekend and spent an average of $365.34, up from $343.31 last year.

Total spending on Black Friday marginally increased 0.3% to $10.7 billion this year according to another study by ShopperTrak. Over the course of the weekend, total spending came to $45 billion compared $41.2 billion last year.

Shop-Eat-Surf did a round up of some of the deals retailers were offering. As Kelly pointed out, the stores that seemed to have the most traffic had a massive, store-wide deal (40% off everything; 50% off all sale items) or a time-sensitive deal that rewarded customer’s business early in the day (Gap – 50% off everything until 10am; A&F - $50 gift card for use that day for every $100 spent).

Below are some details around PacSun's offerings and some key competitors - hit the link above to see a slide show of all the store windows and deals.

PacSun

Offered fleece, sweaters and denim, buy one, get one 50% off, all brands.

It also offered guys flannels for $15 until 1 p.m. on Friday. While the store at the Irvine Spectrum wasn’t mobbed, it was the busiest I’ve ever seen it.

And, I had the best service ever. A salesgirl actually introduced herself to me and told me all about the deals.

Macy’s

25% off jackets and some sweaters from action sports brands. Also offered branded Ts two for $34. The section was very busy.

Also had 50% off summer Ts and boardshorts in the back.

Urban Outfitters

By the time I got to Urban Outfitters at the Irvine Spectrum, the salesgirl told me the promotion was over. From 4 a.m. to 10 a.m., Urban had offered 50% off sale goods, she said. She said the line snaked around the whole store.

What amazed me was how busy the store was at 1 p.m. – packed, and it looked like a bomb had gone off. And it was that busy with no big discounting going on.

Tilly’s

Before noon on Friday, all brand screen Ts and hoodies were buy one, get one 50% off.

The rest of the weekend, there were deals on RSQ jeans, junior’s thermals and more, including 25% off boots, excluding Uggs.

GAP

50% off of everything before 10 a.m. The store at Fashion Valley was mobbed, with a line at least twenty deep at all times and clothes thrown everywhere.

At South Coast Plaza, they actually had to rope off lines in front of Baby Gap, with about 100 people waiting to get into the store to shop.

Abercrombie and Fitch

Abercrombie and Fitch was packed at Fashion Valley. Upon entering, the music was extremely loud and there was an overwhelming scent of men’s cologne that I picked up about five feet before going inside. Customers who purchased $100 received a $50 gift card they could use right then before noon.

Hollister

There was a guy handing out cards that smelled of men’s fragrance upon entering. The music, like Abercrombie and Fitch, was incredibly loud. The store offered a 30% off storewide discount before noon and was packed, making it very difficult to navigate the narrow passageways. About fifteen people waited in line to pay.