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Retailers Respond to Pre-Teen Girls' Strong Buying Power
"Spa-going has become so mainstream, it's only natural that it would begin to appeal to a younger audience," she said. "It's just a reflection of what women are doing." Nearly 25 percent of the spas on her Web site offer services specially packaged for teens, including spa parties, popular for 16th birthdays. "Spas are responding to teen customers who come in seeking services," she said. "They are responding to the trend, not driving it. " The site provides a place for people to get spa information, but also takes and answers questions through a feature called "Spa Girl." Brundage said more than 15 percent of the spa related questions come from teens." Video gaming companies want them. Disney is packaging merchandise and movies across product lines to reach them. Countless retail stores are popping up to serve them. Throughout the nation, and certainly the Chicago area, businesses big and small are tuning in to the tremendous buying power of little girls. About a decade ago, market research published survey results of an age group called 'tweens, those kids from toddler age to teens, who were demonstrating their buying power in stores across the country. More technology savvy, more involved in family buying decisions, and certainly more mature for their age than in the past, this pre-teen age group is said to account for more than $40 billion a year in sales. They go to movies, choose their own clothes, buy video games and grocery shop. And now, the teen market is being segmented once again, as retailers and media companies alike recognize the emerging sales opportunities among the female side of the teen phenomenon. U.S. Census figures estimate there were nearly 20 million 5-to-12 year-old girls in 2000, double that of the 13-to-17-year-old group. One popular response to girls' buying decisions has been the creation of retail stores focused solely on them. From jewelry to makeup to bags and bangles, these stores are decidedly feminine, but there's more to it than sugar and spice. Many of these stores have capitalized on the princess craze. The Disney princess line, which includes costumes, tiaras and other accessories based on Disney heroines like Cinderella and Belle from "Beauty and the Beast," is expected to bring in $2 billion in retail sales this year. But the real success stories come from stores that have recognized the value in moving beyond simply putting the right product on the shelf. Providing girls with a combination of shopping and entertainment, stores are drawing on the success of other retail experiments, particularly the American Girl Place in Chicago, which features in-store activities and entertainment based on the American Girl dolls. Many stores offer club-like get-togethers, parties, party-planning, dress up and makeover sessions in addition to its merchandise. Many of these businesses are neighborhood storefronts, or even operate out of salons or other apparel businesses. One of Geneva's newest stores is It's a Girls Thing, which took up residence in a 100-year-old home in the town's historic downtown. Like many such stores, it carries accessories and some apparel, but its main revenue comes from the parties and events. "Retail sales are good, "said co-owner Mary Sinacore. "Not very good, but good. But the party end of the business has been incredible." Sinacore opened the doors to the store in June after many years as a credit investigator for mortgage lenders. "We have had to turn people away." Sinacore said the store has hosted 100 birthday parties since opening, and much of the success is due as much to the feelings of the parents, as the desires of the children. "It is a diverse group of mothers," Sinacore said. "But they all want to do something special for their children... " A popular event is a Friday night pajama party, where parents drop off their girls for a night of makeovers and dress-up fun while they go out to dinner. Cost for the party and the pizza they eat is $21 per girl. One of the first stores of this kind, and perhaps the biggest success story, is Club Libby Lu. The first Club Libby Lu, founded by Mary Drolet, a former Montgomery Wards executive, opened in August 2000 in Schaumburg. Club Libby Lu bills itself as an "experience-driven" mall-based retailer that offers a preteen fantasyland for shopping, birthday parties and special events. It sells beauty and bath products, casual wear, jewelry, dress-up apparel, shoes and accessories. The entire Club Libby Lu concept is based on Mary Drolet's childhood fantasies and her real world experience as a fashion retailer and mother. She identified the large and rapidly growing market catering to 'tweens and realized the concept would work. Club Libby Lu is a funky place for girls to hang out, interact and explore their imagination while being treated like a princess by older teen girls who work at the store. The stores also host themed birthday parties, offer club memberships and related privileges such as newsletter subscriptions and free gifts. In May 2003, Club Libby Lu and the teen girl craze hit the big time, as Saks Incorporated acquired the company for $12 million. Today, Club Libby Lu operates 35 stores and is a part of the Saks Department Store Group. But if teen girls want to be princesses, their older sisters want to be rock stars, says Carrie Rosenstein, spa director for Michael Thomas Salon and Spa in Buffalo Grove. "Teenaged girls today are so influenced by singers and dancers," she said. "It's a very fashionable era. The glitz is in. " And that desire to be fashionable has many teen girls opting for the very trendy spa experience, including facials, manicures and pedicures, bronzing and waxing, procedures once reserved for their aunts and mothers. "It's like playing house," Rosenstein said, "the modern version." Attracting the slightly older girl, about 13-17, are high-end spas like Michael Thomas, who have discovered a market segment with many of the same characteristics as the 'tween girl. Carolyn Brundage, founder of Chicago Beauty Online agrees, saying much of the teen interest in a spa experience is just an offshoot of the current popularity of spas across the board. "Spa-going has become so mainstream, it's only natural that it would begin to appeal to a younger audience," she said. "It's just a reflection of what women are doing." Nearly 25 percent of the spas on her Web site offer services specially packaged for teens, including spa parties, popular for 16th birthdays. "Spas are responding to teen customers who come in seeking services," she said. "They are responding to the trend, not driving it." The site provides a place for people to get spa information, but also takes and answers questions through a feature called "Spa Girl." Brundage said more than 15 percent of the spa related questions come from teens. The Michael Thomas Spa is conveniently located to serve that group, within walking distance from Stevenson High School. And to be responsive, Rosenstein has packaged spa services for teens, offered discounts to patrons with high school IDs, and even planned parties, very similar to the ones at the frilly stores for their younger counterparts. Rosenstein holds periodic Thursday evening "Girls' Night Out" events, packaging two or three spa services with snacks, a complimentary t-shirt, and discounts on products. The girls come with their friends, they come with their mothers, and, not surprisingly, they come with their younger sisters. "Catering to the young sets is where the money is," Rosenstein said. "They know what they want. As a business, you feed that."
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