Toy 'wearables,' fashion fads add excitement to jewelry

Discount Store News, March 2, 1987

Toy "Wearables,' Fashion Fads Add Excitement to Jewelry

Toys that double as jewelry for children, the emergence in popularity of silver and burnished metals and brand name costume jewelry for young adults are throwing new twists into what has become a staple for discount stores.

In the fall, the "natural look' will add more excitement to the category with wood and bone jewelry for young adults. Colors will tie in with khakis and taupes and ivory. Different tones of brown will be important, as well as the tortoise look.

Discount store buyers said their stores had experienced a resurgence in costume jewelry sales in recent years, fueled by the widespread popularity of entertainers like Madonna and Cyndi Lauper, who made these items fashionable for younger women. Now, the category is a strong staple that follows the latest fashion trends, most discounters agreed.

Meanwhile, the growth in children's jewelry is becoming explosive.

"Children's jewelry used to be a two-month a year item, said Richard Kronrad, vice president/sales and marketing for Providence, R.I.-based R. N. Koch, a company that has been servicing costume jewelry departments for more than 15 years at a number of discounters including K mart, Wal-mart, Pamida, Rose's, Richway and Jamesway.

"We would put the jewelry in the stores in the beginning of November and mark it down at the end of December. Now, it is a 12-month item,' Kronrad said. Little girls' jewelry could account for 10% to 15% of total jewelry sales, he added.

The discounters Kronrad's firm services allot from 35 sq. ft. to 200 sq. ft. of space, with fashion discounters, such as Richway, on the higher end of the spectrum and hard lines discounters, such as Jamesway, K mart and Wal-mart, on the lower end.

One large Midwest discount chain has made a substantial investment in children's jewelry, with the toy and jewelry combinations and necklaces and bracelets. Sources said the chain is considering adding Mattel's new Lady Lovelylocks and the Pixietails doll "wearables,' introduced last month at this year's 84th Annual American International Toy Fair in New York.

A buyer for the company said that some of the toy and jewelry combinations are being merchandised in the costume jewelry section while others appear in toys.

Other toy and jewelry combinations that attracted retailers' interest at the fair included: Kenner's Furrever Friends, a line of kitten characters that can be attached or detached by velcro fasteners to double as scarves, belts, bracelets or hats at $10.99 retail, and Matchbox Toys' My Precious Puffs, a new line of mini dolls for play and wear. Hasbro Toys was so successful with Watchimals (a line of 12 animals with liftable mouths hiding a digital watch selling for $9.99) last year, that it introduced Wearimals (six colorful clip-on plush characters) and Slime Time, a boys' line similar to Watchimals.

Kronrad said necklaces and pierced earrings are the best-sellers in children's jewelry in the stores he services.

For young adults, Kronrad said silver jewelry as a category is becoming popular, but spring color jewelry is still selling well in many of the stores he services. He also sees puffy heart necklaces and earrings becoming more popular in ladies' jewelry, and stores are carrying higher priced goods.

Discount stores also are carrying brand name costume jewelry at higher price points. Sarah Coventry jewelry started selling in discount stores in the spring of 1985 after its home party plan was discontinued. By the end of 1986, sales exceeded $10 million at discount level, said Frank De-Paola, marketing manager, Sarah Coventry fashion jewelry program, P & B Manufacturing, Warwick, R.I. Prices range from $4 to $13.50 at retail, with $6 the most popular price.

Earrings Are No. 1 Seller

Another Midwest chain, which carries 4,000 pairs of earrings and 2,500 necklaces priced from 95^ to $5, said earrings are the No. 1 selling item among older teens and adults. Colorful items are stronger than metals in young adult jewelry, the chain's buyer said.

The fashion color business is still good for us despite forecasts that it may decrease, said Jamie Boblitt, vice president of merchandising, Accessories Associates (AAI), Providence, R.I. Colors should be used in conjunction with creative, contemporary shapes and styles, he added.

A competing retailer in the upper Midwest disagreed on the viability of colors in the costume jewelry category. The buyer for that chain, which generates approximately $3 million a year in costume jewelry with 20-sq.-ft. free-standing racks in 165 stores, sees young adults moving away from colors into burnished metals and metal looks and plans to get more involved with metals in its line.

This increased interest in silver over colors is what the category needs to bring it back on a positive note, the buyer said. The retailer sells costume jewelry from $2 to $14, with the $3 to $5 price range selling the best.

In costume jewelry, discounters must be able to shift trends quickly. "We were all slow to react. Color was so good for so long that we didn't see the slowdown right away,' the buyer said. Costume jewelry is located next to apparel to help sales.