Shopping Centers Today is the news magazine of the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC)
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18 S C T / A U G U S T 2 0 1 7 T he Children's Place appears well ensconced at the top of the U.S. children's apparel pyramid, and the Secaucus, N.J.–based company also seems to be working hard to stay there. The $1.7 billion chain operates roughly 1,000 stores in the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico, plus an e-commerce site and roughly 150 franchise units across 18 countries. And unlike many in the category, including The Gymboree Corp., which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in June, Children's Place continues to operate from a position of strength. In May Children's Place reported first-quarter results that included a 4.1 percent net-sales increase, to $436.7 million, and a comparable-store sales increase of 6.1 percent, its highest first-quarter comps increase in over a decade. It is notable too that the company realized those comp-store results both online and at its stores. Indeed, Children's Place has been outperforming not only Gymboree but all its other competitors as well. Overall revenues for U.S. children's apparel retailers slipped by an average of 0.5 percent between 2011 and 2016, but IBISWorld is projecting that they will see average annual growth of 0.9 percent between now and 2021. Combined, the category's top four retailers — The Children's Place, Carter's, Gymboree and Tween Brands' Justice chain (Ascena Retail Group) — represent nearly 56 percent of the $9.7 billion children's and infant's apparel market in the U.S. Of that, Children's Place and Carter's account for 16.1 percent each, followed by Gymboree, with 12.6 percent, and Justice, with 10.9 percent. Some observers note reasons that Children's Place is doing so well. "I think the simple answer is that they really have good product assortment in the stores, and they seem to know what the customer wants right now," said Eric Griffith, vice president of mall leasing at CBL & Associates Properties, which has 54 Children's Place stores across its portfolio. These have been S T O R E F R O N T S W H AT T H E T E N A N T S A R E U P TO In first place The Children's Place is untouched by kids' apparel woes By Beth Mattson-Teig