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%

Pre-teen fashion boosts Aéropostale

Aéropostale has posted some impressive numbers, thanks largely to its push into the pre-teen space via P.S. from Aéropostale (for ages seven to 12, with nine the sweet spot). A few years back it was hard to distinguish Aéro from Abercrombie and American Eagle, but today it's a leader as credited to Mindy Meads, a former Victoria's Secret exec who was hired as chief merchandiser in 2007 and is now c0-CEO. The company has also invested in technologies that allow it to track sales almost as they're being booked, and to adjust inventory not only in response to changes in demand, but also for variations in size and color by store and region. Ahhh the benefits of vertical integration!

Our 72andSunny customer research suggested that Aéro is a brand that's left behind as teens age up and individualize - so this feels like a smart way to gain share at a critical age.