Accessories may beat slump

Discount Store News, Jan 7, 1991 by Jill Lettich

Accessories May Beat Slump

Finding `the item' that customers love is a tall order for retailers in the apparel category, where tastes and whims can make or break a trend or a season. Accessories, however, may be the department that succeeds in being the place where `the item' is found.

"Items are things that are different and that really do something in the marketplace. We as manufacturers are certainly moving in that direction," said Susan Cioffi, marketing manager for Willard Industries, a sock and accessory manufacturer.

Encouraging Multiple Sales

Willard is not alone in its effort to expand accessories. Even those better known for their sportswear are providing accessories that encourage multiple sales of a brand or attract a customer only wanting to spend a certain amount.

By nature, accessories are moderately priced and have managed to set fashion trends themselves, rather than simply follow them. These are two characteristics that have made them a growing category and may be the features that make them the most recession-proof products in the apparel department.

While industry observers see only economic gloom and doom in this first quarter, they also expect that various accessories will continue to do well.

Capitalizing on these features, the accessory department at discounters has steadily increased in space and profit potential in recent years. Items such as socks, scarves and costume jewelry have been upgraded and displayed with a more sophisticated merchandising eye. And most major players are continuing to look at ways to make the most of these products.

At Rose's, Henderson, N.C., for instance, the department in its flagship store has been developed to meet new standards.

"Customer-friendly," is how J. Avery Roberts, executive vice president of corporate affairs, described the new store. A long two-sided display area gives new focus to colorful scarves and headbands. A jewelry display case has also been brought to the front of the store for better visibility. In the new store layout, women's accessories, shoes and jewelry were deemed important enough to be featured in a center island, noticeable immediately upon entering the store.

With design changes such as wider aisles and better lighting implemented throughout the store, Roberts anticipates seeing an increase in sales per square foot from $170 to $200, overall.

Henderson store manager Ron Wells said the revamped accessories department has shown "double digit increases."

Dress Barn is an off-pricer that has also managed to do more with less. While its stores have basically remained the same size, some only 15,000 square feet, it has found ways to increase space for accessories.

According to Michael Palmer, executive vice president, many of the newer Dress Barn Stores take advantage of floor to ceiling wall space to showcase accessory products.

Loehmann's is another off-pricer that has made a commitment to more accessory products. It has traditionally offered scarves, belts and handbags, but in two of its stores, in Huntington, L.I., and Wayne, N.J., it has expanded the mix to include socks.

According to Hy Leder, it has also taken care to better merchandise the category. In its pricier Back Room, Loehmann's now offers accessories that match that department's upscaled apparel.

At new Kmart prototypes, accessories have also been expanded. From an operational perspective, the area is going through a transition, especially in the jewelry category.

"I did not think we had our fair market share in jewelry," Glenn B. Smith, president of Kmart's apparel division, noted. That problem should be remedied soon. The category is now operated by the apparel division and will be centrally merchandised. Among the changes Smith anticipates is that Kmart will "be in a better in-stock position and improve our shipping of the category to stores."

Expanding Licensed Brands

Manufacturers have also accepted the call to arms. In addition to traditional accessory brands, licensed brands have also expanded their place in the market.

Jacques Moret, known primarily as a bodywear manufacturer, has now expanded into shoes and nylon gym bags.

The leading women's licensed names include Gitano, Sasson and Bonjour, all of which market a range of accessory licensed products from watches to gloves to socks.

Sarah Coventry, which markets fashion jewelry to discounters, went a step further last season. Taking into account limited retail space, it created an interactive display case for its jewelry that combined fashion with efficiency. Apart from the state-of-the-art technology that allows customers to obtain information from the computerized unit, it is compact and acts as both a storage unit and a display case.

According to Sarah Coventry brand director Betsy Kain, the unit provides "an inviting environment for our customers."

Willard, which has made socks and hosiery products for the past 33 years, is also expanding and is now in another related accessory area.

According to Cioffi, the company's latest product, Socks N' Toppers, is an accessory designed to accent socks. It is a sock with a loose contrasting or matching knit tube topper that is slipped on over the sock. It gives the item a layered look--still an important fashion statement in the market.