Buckle opens at mall amid excited young shoppers

Tag : Men's Sweaters

The Buckle Inc., a publicly held corporation that began as a men'sclothing store in 1948 in Kearney, Neb., began ringing up salesThursday.
For months, shoppers and fashion-conscious teens and young adultshave peered behind the paper screens for tell-tale signs of itslong-heralded opening.
“I love it,” Aaron Ramos, 18, of Indio said as hechecked out the goods that drew him in, most notably the Afflictionline and shirts by Ed Hardy.
Equally thrilled was Jarred Bernstein, 18, of La Quinta.
“It's pretty much dress yourself with the whole store, if youknow what I mean.”
Lori Cody, the corporation's marketing director, said the PalmDesert store opening sticks to Buckle's strategy for consistent,steady growth.
With 380 stores in 38 states, the Midwest venture has posted salesgains in an economy where other stores that include Steve &Barry's, Disney stores, Demo, Ann Taylor, Bombay Co. and Gap Inc.have trimmed stock or turned out the lights.
Known for its medium- to better-priced casual attire and a constantstream of new lines, layers and looks — from the hot“tattoo-art” T-shirt brands, ranging in price from $36to $72, to the Lucky-brand, Silver, MEK and new Sang Real jeanlines — the Buckle builds customer loyalty through itsshopping experience.
“It's about lifestyle and discovery,” Cody said.“We help young people create their own look and establishtheir own identity.”
The Buckle, a brightly lit store occupying the former spot of thedismantled Bombay Co., was one of three stores the Midwest-basedcorporation opened this week. Other new store locations are inVirginia Beach, Va., and Augusta, Ga.
Cody, while declining to discuss the strategy involved in Buckle'sdecision to open in Palm Desert, did note that The Buckle has seenconsistent growth over the years through a “fairlyconservative” expansion strategy.
Primary expansion areas have been in Texas and California, shesaid.
The Palm Desert store marks the 18th notch in California's belt.
Headquartered in Kearney, Buckle Inc.'s comparable store net sales,for stores open at least one year, for the five-week period endedJuly 5 rose 28.9 percent over the same period the year before.
Net sales for the 22-week fiscal period rose 35.8 percent to $273.1million from $201.1 million for the prior 22-week fiscal period theyear before.
What's The Buckle's secret?
“We change lives,” said Tyler Gerard, store manager.
It's also given 20 teens and young adults work in a competitiveeconomy, as noted by the nearly 400 applications The Bucklereceived before the store opened.
“The interest in our store was incredible,” he said,and it will likely help keep some back-to-school shoppers closer tohome.
Billy Jones, 17, said he won't have to drive two hours to Irvineanymore.
As Michelle Peru of La Quinta tried on the BKE sweaters and MEKjeans she'd only dreamed of wearing as she flipped through thepages of Teen Vogue, her mom pulled a $155 tag out of the“got to get it” pile.
“Thank god for layaway,” mom Reyna Peru said.