Zutopia Loves The Girls

Tween-focused retail is heating up — especially for girls. The Gymboree Corp. (Burlingame, Calif.) will convert Zutopia, its addition to tween market retail, from a boys and girls shop to a female-only concept, targeting girls aged 7- to -14.

Since its opening in 1999, the apparel chain has discovered the difficulty in serving the “sensibilities of two different genders,” says Carole Whitacre, vp of Zutopia stores. Generally small formats, these stores offer apparel, accessories, beauty and home goods, so dropping boys'merchandise opens space for more female-oriented offerings in all of these categories.

There are 19 current locations, including units in Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Los Angeles and San Francisco.