Express fashion jewelry

Bauble bonanza - discount jewelry - Special Supplement: Apparel Merchandising

Jewelry at discount is bought on impulse with price points so attractive that even the most budget-conscious shopper will, for example, stop and pick up a great pair of earrings for $2.99 without consulting her wallet. That's one reason why costume jewelry has become such an important pick-up item at the stores.

Because of the emphasis on pricing, multi-packs represent an important merchandising device. At Bradlees, Braintree, Mass., for instance, a customer mayu very well pick up a card of earrings with three looks such as studs, pearls and hoops for $3.99.

"It's great value and the customer is getting a variety," says divisional merchandise manager Ciundy Quinn.

This craving for value is keeping manufacturers on their merchandising toes, and a lot of producers are competing for a share of the burgeoning business. New York-based Fantasia produces multiple jewelry cards with three, six and nine pairs of earrings that will retail for $3 and $4. At about 80 percent of its sales, earrings for Fantasia are big business.

Sasson offers multi-pack promotions about once a year. "It's value purchase," says Felix Porcar, vice chairman of the Sasson licensee Accessories Associates, Inc., Providence, R.I., of the value packs which range from $3 to $7. Its multiple card this year was introduced for back-to-school and offers two pairs of earrings for $5. According to Porcaro, "We try to hit all age brackets," by offering a variety of looks to coordinate with career women and juniors in fashion colors. Earrings are about 75 percent of AAI's business.

Although domestic vendors have an assured position in the accessories market, some retailers are creating their own programs to keep costs down and help differentiate themselves.

"I think buying direct we can aim toward that Rose's customer," says dmm Kristi Hipple, who has converted the lion's share of her jewelry department into private label marketed under the store's Southern Style umbrella brand. The retailer dropped a serviced program and has been purchasing product directly since August in an attempt to better unify its costume jewelry offerings.

The custome jewelry department--on a day-to-day basis up 25 percent to 35 percent--which also includes jewelry boxes and Spiedel ID bracelets, generates 45 percent of total jewelry sales; the remaining 55 percent is fine jewelry.

According to Hipple, 90 percent of its private label costume jewelry is earrings, ranging in price from $1.99 to $4.99. The new programs not only allows Rose's greater margins, but allow buyers to tailor its assortments more easily to Rose's customers. They can also coordinate jewelry with ready-to-wear at the store.

Manufacturers will color coordinate jewelry to correspond with the colors of the season's clothing line. For spring, denim-friendly and natural fiber pieces will also do well.

Coordinating jewelry color palettes with either a retailer's or manufacturer's women's line pulls the total picture together for the shopper. When she sees a favorite brand name on a piece of jewelry, she knows it will match with that great outfit sht just bought. Rose's in-house Southern Style jewelry line works off the same colors as its Southern Classics and Southern Nights' women's lines.

Suppliers also make sure their collections work with clothing lines. AAI's Sasson line coordinates with Sasson's clothing colors. For spring, AAI is producing an agate stone grouping, its first fash ion issue for Sasson. Bearing smokey, muted colors, the line is close to Sasson's new Festia Brights colors.

Gold and silver tone basics remain consistent sellers for discount store shoppers watching their purse.

The popularity of jewelry at the mass market has also allowed some expansion into higher price points.

Sarah Conventry, somewhat more expensive than other discount lines, has been successfully courting the mass market since 1988.

"Previously some discount customers were going to the department store to get their jewelry. This is another marketing niche in the discount channel," says Betsy Kain, director of Sarah Conventry, which is made by R.N. Koch.

Prices range from $5 to $12.50 for such items are earrings, pearls and stones.

Even with fashion jewelry's success, there's a large niche for fine jewelry at mass market. However, it may not be impulsive, but a thought out purchase.

"Ithink the person that comes in to our store to buy custome jewelry is there to buy something else," says Bradlees' Quinn. "But fine jewelry is very promotional. They're looking for a price but they're looking for the quality as it pertains to the price."

Rose's 4-year-old fine jewelry program has "been doing extremely well," says Hipple, and is currently up 20 percent year-to-date. Formerly the program was comprised of 14K gold and sterling silver. This holiday, gold filled baby jewelry was added. Retail prices in gold and silver range from $14.97 for 14K charms to $347.97 for 14K necklaces.

While costume and fine jewelry is bringing in sales for the chain, watch sales are flat. Retailers and producers are scrambling to make a once large holiday item sell in a poor economy.

Quinn is trying with fashion-oriented styles. "Brand names are important in watches," she says. "Fashion is an opportunity for us." At Bradlees", bangles, jewel stones, colored bands and bracelet watch es, in brand names sell well. Bradlees does not have private label watches.

Fashion in watches is a relative term. "I think manufacturers and buyers are playing things very safe in these tough economic times," says Lucia Almquist, vice president of merchandising and licensing, accessories and intimates, Bonjour. "From what I have seen and heard, this seems to be true all over the world right now. For a lot of women, though, the watch is the jewelry they wear on their wrist," says Almquist. Her watches, however, conform to the mass market's price structure, wholesaling for $10-15. "You can go out and change your watch every season. It's not an investment."

Keeping prices affordable for their customers is what discounters are working toward. "Increasingly important is low to middle price points in fashion watch silhouettes," says Paul Bucciarelli, buyer, jewelry and watches, Fisher's Big Wheel, New Castle, Pa. Bucciarelli predicts the growth of LCD low end quartz watches such as Quantum and similar looks. "For the right price you are getting a pretty decent quality," he says, citing example of Quatum, promotionally price at $9.99.

At Rose's fashion watches are going for $22.97, for such brand names as Sharp, Armitron, Gitano, Brittania, LA Express and Casio.

Keeping jewelry prices sharp should allow discounters to continue moving costume and fine jewelry. After all, the housewife picking up motor oil for her husband's car and clothing for baby wants something for herself as well. Great jewelry at a great price will do.