Precious pleasures - costume jewelry - AM: Apparel Merchandising

Discount Store News, Oct 18, 1993

* When Steve Katkin talks about costume jewelry, it's easy to see the sparkle in his eye.

"Costume jewelry is running double-digit increases for us," says the executive vice president of merchandising, De Pere, Wisconsin-based Prange Way Stores. Year-to-date, "it did better than other accessories."

Several styles are driving industry sales of casual and dressy jewelry--including the always reliable goldtones, which spruce up career wardrobes without sapping wallets--but retro 1970s looks continue to provide the category with heat this year.

Particularly popular are chokers in romantic arrangements of black grosgrain or crocheted bands decorated with cameos, hearts or beads, in black-and-white combinations as well as multiple colors.

"We're selling significantly more neckwear than in our past," says Becky Milton of Accessories Associates Inc. (AAI) "Any neckwear, from a choker to something slung over the shoulder."

Color is also important. "Consumers are paying attention to what colors they wear with apparel," says Michael Arcidiacono, director of merchandising for Infinity Jewelry. "They buy apparel first, then when they go to the jewelry section, it's a multiple jewelry sale."

And the apparel they're buying covers much of the retro '70s look, like natural colors and ethnic prints--styles that help to drive sales of hot jewelry items, such as cinnamon-colored clay and imitation ivory, some wrapped in leather or twine.

"The whole choker look is very retro," says Maxene Pollack, national sales manager for Fantasia. And "organic, free-from crosses and hearts have been among the most identifiable styles this year."

She adds, "If stores are doing the job properly, they're featuring ready-to-wear with jewelry that goes with it, so that it puts the shopper in the frame of mind to say, 'Oh, right, that outfit needs a bone pendant.'"

Hills Department Stores has had success in cross-merchandising costume jewelry bought specifically to go with apparel programs in western, romantic and retro themes, says accessories merchandise manager Manny Francione, who works closely with his counterparts in sportswear and ready-to-wear. "It's been successful both for me and for them."

Retail price points for costume jewelry continue to fall within a narrow range, from $2 to $7 earring pairs or necklaces, and from $5 to $12 for multi-packs.

Retro styles should carry over into spring '94, with new variations. Instead of a wintry fabric like velvet, chokers will appear as macrame cording dyed in fashion colors and manipulated with wood beads and cork.

"I believe in romantic and the naturals, as two separate themes for spring," says Arcidiacono.

* Some retailers and vendors report relatively soft sales of earrings, though popular styles this year include short, or "miniature collectibles" worn with high-neck clothing styles." They're more petite size earrings worn to create a kind of balance between the neckline and the ear," Pollack says. Also strong are hoops in various shapes and styles.

"We'll see a lot of hoops for spring," says Milton.

Francione adds that sales of earrings, like that of other jewelry, can get a significant boost when they're merchandised in a way that recognizes sportswear fashions. "Earrings have not done as well as they have in the past, but if you do them in a way that complements what is hot in sportswear, there is still a lot of business for them."

In a time of tight apparel sales, jewelry can be expected to continue playing a strong role in perking up merchants' bottom lines--even for stores not known for broad apparel lines.

Like Prange Way's Katkin, Val Discount Center women's buyer Theresa Helm also has noticed strong jewelry sales at her New Castle, Indiana-based chain, which is 85 percent hard goods.

Trendy styles alone aren't responsible for improved jewelry sales. In many cases in-store displays are major contributors to the effort.

At Prange Way, sales are driven by new AAI-serviced "tower" fixtures. Reworked with background scenery and additional room for merchandise, the open display towers "make it easier to shop in our stores for costume jewelry," Katkin says. "As soon as you walk into our stores, you're hit with cases of fine jewelry and off to the left are the AAI towers." Some retailers prefer to mix the serviced presentations of an AAI with their own direct purchasing from a variety of manufacturers. "We augment it with direct buy, which is more fashionable, more timely," says Francione. "We shop the market, and who is hot is who we buy from."

Retailers are also reaching value-driven consumers with an increasing variety of multi-pack jewelry displays, which come with retail price points (for three-piece packs) ranging from $3 to $7 for earrings, and $7.99 to $11.99 for necklaces. "That trend is coming into its own," says AAI's Milton, noting that display cards with two or three items are accounting for an increasing percentage of AAI's business.

While demand for other accessory categories tends to be more seasonal, costume jewelry--in traditional gold-tones as well as the fashion-driven retro look--can be expected to shine throughout the year.