I've seen a million Zumiezes, and I've rocked them all.
Well, almost. I've been to Utah Zumiezes at Fashion Place in Murray, Valley Fair in WVC, University in Orem, The Gateway in downtown SLC, Newgate in Ogden, Layton Hills, Cache Valley in Logan, the Park City Outlets store, the Outlets at Traverse Mountain store, The District in South Jordan, and South Town in Sandy. Now I can add the Provo Town Centre to my list.
This tells me two things. One, Orange Julius is probably quaking in its boots as King of the Malls. Two, people REALLY like what Zumiez has to offer.
I definitely get the snowboard element being we're so close to the mountain resorts. Zumiez has a great collection of boots, shop bindings, kits, tools, and snowboards. I think it really is geared toward the teenage badass: Get your snowboarding gear, and stay for the other awesome shirts, shoes, hoodies, flannels, jackets, sunglasses, jeans, and pants.
The boldest part of their fashions (in my opinion) is the significant amount of Vans shoes and apparel. Yes, Zumiez is packed with skateboards and longboards (and the boarding crowd loves Vans), but a lot of the malls with Zumiez stores ALSO have a Vans store. I don't see a lot of redundancy, so I guess the thinking is you can never have enough Vans. As a wearer of their shoes, I tend to agree.
So are their differences between stores? They are almost identical in some ways, like having a back area with tons of colorful skateboards and couches for lounging. This Zumeiz seems to be smaller and with a little less merch than in my personal fave (The Gateway).
Still, I never met a Zumiez I didn't like. And I'm sure their are some rebellious teens who feel the same way. read more