Word: pacsuns
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...harder," Buckingham laments, "because the minute we spot a trend, we've got about four seconds to tell our clients. A mall clothing store can take down designer fashion within the next season. You see it in September on the runways. Then you've got it at Rampage and PacSun and all those places the same time you've got it in the Gucci stores, which means that it's going to be over much more quickly...
...example, Pacific Sun tends to downplay rather than call attention to its house brand. PacSun stores carry the company's private-label clothing, called Tilt, but instead of stitching the name prominently on the outside of clothes, the retailer hides the logos on inside tags. The strategy provides insurance against the inevitable moment when a brand goes from In to "losers only" with customers. "When a teen decides a brand is dead," Weaver says, "they don't kill it slowly. They put it immediately out of its misery." That is also the reason PacSun stocks a wide variety of brands...
Though the chain's mer chandise looks cutting edge, Weaver is quite care ful to avoid fashion extremes. Unlike competitor Abercrombie & Fitch, which plays up the libidinous elements of its teen offerings, PacSun sells clothes that would pass muster at any high school with a dress code. Weaver says he avoids resorting to sexual advertising messages to move merchandise. "Many teenagers love it," he says, "but why would I alienate the parents? I can't forget my customer is 15 and doesn't have a credit card...
Fortunately, PacSun was broadening its customer base at about the same time. Before, its clothes had a punkish surf-skate attitude that appealed mainly to teenage boys--an image the company reinforced by, among other marketing moves, sponsoring the X Games. But in 2001 Weaver took some tentative steps into the girls' market. Customer response was strong, helping pull the chain out of its mild slump. Weaver today attributes much of the past year's success to the purchasing instincts of girls, who, unlike boys, buy not just a single item of clothing but an outfit with a belt...
...PacSun isn't finished with expansion. Weaver says the company is looking at possible acquisitions, although he plans to stay squarely in the teen market. For as fickle as teenagers can be, they can also be charmingly oblivious to events that suppress the purchasing appetites of other consumers. Teens "are CNN-proof," he says. "Sept. 11 and a day or two after were clearly brutal, but within four or five days, business came back." For teens, the sun rarely sets. --With reporting by Paige Bowers/Atlanta, Esther Chapman/Omaha, Harlene Ellin/Chicago and Adam Pitluk/Dallas