Fresh themes, colors brighten jewelry sales - Discount Industry Annual Report: Part 2: Merchandising & Productivity

Discount Store News, July 17, 1989

Fresh Themes, Colors Brighten Jewelry Sales

Freshness in the apparel industry helped propel jewelry sales at many discounters across the country last year.

After a lackluster 1987, when numerous apparel styles floundered and flopped at retail, new fabric treatments, colors and themes helped to revitalize the category.

Jewelry, in turn, benefited from the revival, as pattern mixes, Southwestern influences, tropical prints and ethnic looks proliferated.

Dots, checks and stripes--singularly or mixed--decorated earrings and necklaces, belts, handbags and scarfs. Bright tropical prints and jungle themes complemented the geometric patterns, and stood alone as well.

The past year also saw jewelry turn to a Western theme. Unlike the past, however, the influence this time was more Tex-Mex, as jewelry sported a cross between Indian, Western and Guatemalan looks.

Additionally, jewelry took on a gilded craftware feel, that combined ethnic looks with a hand-crafted impression. On pins, earrings and necklaces the folklore theme represented worldwide influences from such areas as Asia, Africa and the Mediterranean. The ethnic influenced-jewelry worked especially well with apparel's batik prints, tie-dyed looks and olive drabs.

And, working with these varied jewelry looks were also nostalgic and romantic themes. Crystals, gemstones, moons, stars and charms combined to supply discounters with near "Beauty and the Beast" mystical looks.

The '60s influence continued to hold strong during the year, too, with a definite turn toward surf-inspired brights. Channel looks and traditional classics also kept their place at most discounters.

Watches, too, played an important role in many jewelry departments. No longer desired by consumers to be merely a functional piece, watches took on more character and uniqueness during the past year.

Although the introduction of Swatch watches and ensuring knockoffs in the past few years had created much of this appeal, not until recently were consumers able to start finding many of these department store looks at the discount store level.

For holiday, watches were studded with rhinestones and chip diamonds, while year-rounded looks included retro 1930s styles, moon faces, textured leather bands and chain bracelets in gold and silver.

In many instances, watches became the focal jewelry point, as many women opted for a less-is-more look with their accessories.

And although there were a few exceptions, most discounters tried to keep their fashion watches under $100.

Traditional and basic watches also supplied discounters with a stable and less fad-intensive selection. Generally under $50, the basics came on strong for such traditional times as Father's Day, Christmas and graduation.

In both watches and general jewelry advertising, discounters turned this past year to varied techniques.

At Minneapolis-based Target, major promotions included running popular brands and categories at 25 percent off, while at Canton, Mass.-based Hills the advertising centered around everyday low pricing.

For Henderson, N.C.-based Rose's, the chain aggressively advertised its jewelry department after completing a major remerchandising program last fall.

Going forward, DSN projects that full-line discount stores will record $2 billion in jewelry sales, while catalog showrooms capture the bulk of the volume with $2.6 billion in sales this year.

At full-line stores, the average jewelry department measures 650 square feet, achieves an annual turn ratio of 2.1 times and a gross margin of 42.8 percent.

Key jewelry styles now on the horizon show an expansion of many of the past year's looks. Romantic and nostalgic styles, with simple yet exquisite lines and pearls, will play off textured and multi-finished classics. Fun, low-end looks will also proliferate at most discounters. Fad items like Batman digital watches under $10 will add novelty to the category.

PHOTO : Revived in part by a turnaround in apparel, jewelry sales finished 1988 in strong fashion.