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Teen retailers get the cold shoulder for holidays

FILE - In this Nov. 28, 2013, file photo, people wait outside the American Eagle store for it to open at the Citadel Outlets in Los Angeles. Drops in sales and weak profit forecasts are quite a change for the retailers that gained popularity in the last decade among teens that coveted their logo tees and trendy jeans that became a high school uniform of sorts. But these stores have been losing favor with their core demographic since the recession. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)
FILE - In this Nov. 28, 2013, file photo, people wait outside the American Eagle store for it to open at the Citadel Outlets in Los Angeles. Drops in sales and weak profit forecasts are quite a change for the retailers that gained popularity in the last decade among teens that coveted their logo tees and trendy jeans that became a high school uniform of sorts. But these stores have been losing favor with their core demographic since the recession. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File) FILE - In this Nov. 28, 2013, file photo, people wait outside the American Eagle store for it to open at the Citadel Outlets in Los Angeles. Drops in sales and weak profit forecasts are quite a change for the retailers that gained popularity in the last decade among teens that coveted their logo tees and trendy jeans that became a high school uniform of sorts. But these stores have been losing favor with their core demographic since the recession. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)

By Associated Press 4 min read

NEW YORK (AP) – Being a teen can be tough, but catering to one is even more difficult.

Teen retailers are learning that lesson the hard way this holiday season.

The longtime CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch on Tuesday abruptly retired just a week after the retailer posted an 11.5 percent quarterly sales drop and slashed its annual profit forecast. And American Eagle and Aeropostale gave dismal forecasts for the quarter that includes the holiday shopping season after each posted weak sales for the fall.

Teen retailers are facing ho-hum results at a time when overall U.S. retail sales are up 5.1 percent over the past 12 months, the Commerce Department said Thursday.

It’s a major shift for teen retailers. They became popular in the last decade for their logo tees and trendy jeans, which became a high school uniform of sorts. But since the recession, these stores have been losing favor with their core demographic.