COLUMBUS, Ohio — Alex Penrod is much different than generations of men before him: He likes to shop for clothes.
"I love clothes," he said as he left an Express Men's store at a downtown mall carrying a T-shirt he bought on sale.
The 19-year-old is the new kind of fashion-oriented male shopper that Limited Brands Inc. is banking on as it replaces struggling Structure men's stores with its Express brand, best known for young women's fashions.
Limited Brands said in February 2001 that it would reunite the labels, and Structure stores would become Express Men's. Structure started as a division of Express in 1987 and became a separate outfit in 1990.
Michael Weiss, credited with turning around Express after returning as chief executive in 1997, initially focused on changing the fashions of a brand that had been languishing for years because of a series of missteps, said Richard Jaffe, a retail analyst at UBS Warburg Securities. In one case, Structure was still selling European styles when customers were more interested in the American look of designers like Tommy Hilfiger and Polo Ralph Lauren Corp.
Once that was done, Weiss turned to the stores themselves.
Express has opened 31 stores that sell clothes to men and women — a first for Limited Brands — and has converted Structure stores in Chicago, Detroit and Philadelphia to Express Men's as a test. After a review, the company will begin switching over its remaining stores to Express Men's.
Limited Brands has about 370 Structure or Express Men's stores and about 630 Express stores for women.
"We are pleased with the early performance," Weiss said in a conference call with analysts last month, following the company's release of its second-quarter financial results. "Sales are up, and productivity is up even more."
Weiss said sales for the first half of the fiscal year totaled $932 million, up 5 percent from a year ago, and that the profit from the second quarter was the highest it had been since 1995.
Despite increased interest among some young men in clothes and fashion, selling fashion to them is no easy task.
"They're more into clothes, they're more into brands, they're more into style," said Michael Wood, vice president of Teenage Research Unlimited. But, he added, "Teenagers are not store loyal nor are they brand loyal."
Despite the array of brands selling clothes for young men ranging from American Eagle Outfitters Inc. to the Gap Inc., Jaffe said young men actually have fewer choices than they did 10 years ago.
"The fashion market is tough. You don't need new clothes," he said. "Guys are not inspired to buy."
Wood said he believes the move from Structure to Express is risky because of Express' strong identity with women. It also comes at a time when new fashions for young men — such as low-rise jeans that hug the hips — look more like women's clothes than traditional men's apparel.
"That's a strong franchise, but does it translate over to guys? I'm just not sure," he said.
Teenage Unlimited's research has shown that teenage boys always list Structure as one of their favorite stores where they could be comfortable shopping, Wood said.
As is the case with many retailers targeting young people, the stores are heavy in denim along with sweaters, casual shirts and accessories that include jewelry. The dual-gender stores typically have one side with men's clothes and the other with women's and a section joining the two devoted to denim.
Unlike the women's brand, which has a target market of 21-year-olds, Express Men's is geared toward the 28-year-old man. Its variety of clothing from casual to dressy puts it up against competitors that include department stores and Brooks Brothers, along with teen retailers.
"The guy who shopped Structure in the 1980s has grown up, and the guy who is now in the early part of his career is approaching his wardrobe with an entirely different attitude," Weiss said in a speech he gave to reporters in New York in March.
Some analysts have suggested that if the new concept does not work, Limited Brands may leave the men's business.
Jaffe said the specialty retailer under chief executive Leslie Wexner has been aggressive with store closings and other steps to bolster the bottom line in recent years.
"Les Wexner has demonstrated a high degree of discipline regarding businesses he was unable to make work successfully enough," Jaffe said.
But Jaffe believes Weiss will be given plenty of time to make Express Men's work.
"I think the response has been quite good," he said.
Penrod, dressed from head to toe in Abercrombie & Fitch, said he was impressed with the styles at the new Express Men's, including the shirts and ties.
"I love Express," Penrod said. "It's one of my new favorite stores."