Move out Gap – J.C. Penney is coming back in. If there’s one kind of shopping destination that’s gaining in popularity this year, it’s the department store.
While specialty apparel chains such as American Eagle Outfitters and The Gap have traditionally hindered department store growth, the rate of change in sales this year has made a reversal.
Compared to this time last year, department stores have increased their total sales for the year by 4.4 percent, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers. Specialty chains, on the other hand, have seen only a 1 percent increase.
Several developments account for this change, explained marketing associate professor Janet Wagner.
“Department stores have done a really good job of consolidating the industry,” she said.
As a result, the companies are able to carry fashionable clothing at lower prices.
One recent buy-up was of Arlington-based department store Hecht’s by Federated Department Stores, a company that includes Macy’s and Bloomingdales.
In addition, significant competitors such as The Gap and Wal-Mart have been doing relatively poorly this year. Wagner attributes Wal-Mart’s stumble to its failed attempt to attract higher-income customers.
The Gap has traditionally targeted baby boomers, but as the generation is getting older, fewer are attracted to the specialty chain, Wagner said. “[The Gap] no longer understands what consumers want,” she said.
At The Mall at Prince George’s, Macy’s and J.C. Penney compete with specialty stores like The Gap and Old Navy, which often sell to the same customers, said J.C. Penney manager Tim DeMuth.
The resurgence of department stores may also have to do with a renewed interest in the brand-name clothing they carry, which is not available in specialty stores that feature only their own lines.
Shuang Song, a graduate student in nutrition, said while she likes shopping at specialty chains like Banana Republic, she shops in department stores when she wants brands such as Levi’s and Calvin Klein.
Interest in department stores may also have to do with where students have grown up. Junior government and politics major Lindsey Mendoza, who grew up on the Eastern Shore where there aren’t many malls, said she finds small stores in Georgetown preferable.
Similarly, senior journalism major Maggie McGuire, who opts to do her holiday shopping online, said she grew up in upstate New York and isn’t used to department stores.
“I can’t stand department stores,” she said. “It’s too much to look at.”
Contact reporter Ellie Falaris at newsdesk@dbk.umd.edu.
