RANKING ACTION SPORTS BRANDS FOR SPRING

I’ve heard many executives reference the Piper Jaffray “Taking stock with Teens” survey, so thought I’d take a look at the latest results for this spring.

The study surveyed 670 teens in 11 cities around the country. The average age of the students was 16.

After reading the survey, a few highlights jumped out.

Hollister continues to dominate, landing the No. 1 ranking for clothing brands for the seventh season in a row.

Young men love action sports brands, which the survey categorizes as West Coast brands. Young women are more into fashion and less brand loyal.

Within the West Coast brands, which includes retailers such as PacSun and Zumiez, Volcom came on super strong for spring. Overall, Volcom came in No. 2 at 24 percent mindshare up from 4 percent the same period last year.

LRG is also coming on strong, ranking No. 5 among West Coast brands.

PacSun’s new juniors strategy of carrying more in-house fashion styles and denim is paying off. Within the female West Coast brand category, PacSun recorded 81 percent mindshare vs. 30 percent in spring 2007.

Here are some more details from the survey. I included three main categories: Top clothing brands overall, top West Coast brands, and top board sport brands. The percentage figures measure the mindshare of the brands with students.

An interesting survey note: The students were given blank spaces to fill in their favorite brands by order of preference rather than choosing from a list of brands. They had to come up with the brand names on their own.

Top clothing brands - all students
1. Hollister - 13 percent
2.West Coast brands - 11 percent
3.American Eagle - 9 percent
4. Abercrombie & Fitch - 5 percent
5. Forever 21 - 5 percent

Top clothing brands - female
1. Hollister - 14 percent
2. Forever 21 - 9 percent
3. American Eagle - 8 percent
4. Nordstrom - 8 percent
5. Abercrombie & Fitch - 5 percent
6. West Coast brands - 4 percent

Top clothing brands - male
1. West Coast brands - 17 percent
2. Hollister - 13 percent
3. American Eagle - 10 percent
4. Nike - 7 percent
5. Abercrombie & Fitch - 6 percent

Interesting juniors trend: Fast fashion retailers (Charlotte Ruse, Wet Seal, H & M) as a category continue to gain ground with juniors with 16 percent mindshare this spring vs. 13.9 percent last spring.

Detailed look at West Coast brands by percentage of mindshare within the West Coast category - all students
1. PacSun - 35 percent
2. Volcom - 24 percent (up from 4 percent in spring 2007)
3. Quiksilver - 10 percent
4. Zumiez - 7 percent
5. LRG - 6 percent
6. (tie) Billabong, DC - 5 percent
8. (tie) Hurley, Sun Diego - 2 percent
10. (tie) Element, O’Neill, RVCA, Zoo York - 1 percent

Top 3 West Coast brands - female
1. PacSun - 81 percent (up from 30 percent in spring 2007)
2. Volcom - 13 percent
3. Zumiez - 6 percent

Top 3 West Coast brands - male
1. Volcom - 26 percent (up from 5 percent in spring 2007)
2. PacSun - 24 percent
3. Quiksilver - 12 percent

Top boardsport brands
1. Volcom - 43 percent
2. Quiksilver - 17 percent
3. LRG - 11 percent
4. (tie) Billabong, DC - 9 percent
6. Hurley - 4 percent
7. (tie) Element, O’Neill, RVCA, Zoo York - 2 percent