Skate and Annoy: Daily

Zumiez

Rad investment portfolios.

(Cue the Devo Corporate Anthem) Hey all you Rad Daddy Warbucks, TheStreet.com has some pros and cons on investing in Zumiez stock.

I confess to getting a kick out of analyst reports describing Zumiez customers as “antimainstream kids” and referring to the company’s focus on the “action sports teen lifestyle.” Before going over all the positives, let’s get one thing straight — Zumiez is very much in the mainstream. It’s not some bastion of coolness or a hush-hush hangout where the skaters go. Rather, it’s a chain of stores in the mall where kids go to spend their allowances…

…The fact that Zumiez is pulling customers in while the competition loses them is a pretty obvious indicator of who has the right stuff in their stores. There are a number of forces at work here. First, Zumiez has identified what’s cool and, more important, captured the attitude necessary to convince customers that even though they’re shopping in a corporate chain located in a mall, it’s still cool. Yes, teenage tastes are fickle, but Zumiez has staked out an attractive niche between the more vulnerable one-brand clothiers (such as American Eagle and Abercrombie (ANF – Cramer’s Take – Stockpickr)) and “old school” skateboard shops that cater to a cultural group (this is where the Street likes to use the term “lifestyle”).

So go put your parent’s money where your mouth is.

4 comments.  

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4 comments

  • All the cool kids shop at the mall, right? Support the local skate scene.

  • the Only thing Zumiez has worth buying there over a skateshop are shoes. Man they have cheap shoes.

  • nweyesk8

    all those wasted adolescent years trying to figure out what is cool, when all I had to do was ask zumiez for the answer

  • not a fan of zumiez… but they do have the buying power to allways keep up on the trends which you core shop might not be able to do …
    they have a Vans store in the mall too, not sure how i feel on this one as I’ve allways wore vans, but i hate the mall…hmmm

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