Fashionably profitable

Tonja Lavelle comes by her love of bracelets and handbags honestly. Her grandmother — a former buyer for The Crescent department store — passed along the art of accessorizing to her own daughter.

In turn, Lavelle’s mom nurtured the matriarchal passion for fashion within her own family. Today, the real estate agent for Tomlinson Black North is a leisure-time shopper with an extensive collection of handbags and fashion jewelry that she shares with her own 6-year-old daughter.

“The shoes and the belts need to pretty much match and then you’ve got to coordinate the jewelry,” Lavelle said.

Women are putting the “bling” into shopping for retailers across the nation. Last year sales of fashion jewelry, belts, handbags, scarves, sunglasses, umbrellas and other accessories totaled an estimated $30 billion in the United States, not including online and outlet-store sales, said Accessories magazine, a New York-based fashion trade publication.

Savvy stores like Macy’s, J.C. Penney, Nordstrom and Target are placing the high-profit-margin items in visible places near store entrances and by other popular merchandise, such as fragrances and makeup. With irresistible greens, blues and neutrals designed to complement the latest apparel, costume jewelry is becoming the Hershey bar of retail — impulse items that are snatched up in droves.

Last spring, single-strand necklaces with chunky beads were the rage. The year before, chandelier-like earrings hit a chord. This year, sunglasses are holding their own and layered necklaces are gaining popularity, said Irenka Jakubiak, editor in chief for Accessories magazine.For her money, Lavelle has embraced bracelets.

“It went from black this winter to everything green. I think costume is a blast because you can afford to mix it up,” Lavelle said.

Over the past several years, Jakubiak said, accessories made up anywhere from 5 to 7 percent of total merchandise in most department stores. In the past year, some stores have upped that merchandise category to 7 to 9 percent of the inventory.”Retailers can expect a pretty high return for their dollars per square foot of accessories,” Jakubiak said.

In a recent investor update, J.C. Penney Co. Inc., which has more than 1,000 stores in the United States and Puerto Rico, including three in the Inland Northwest, identified handbags and fashion jewelry among a handful of “key businesses” that the company plans to focus its resources on.

Seattle-based Nordstrom Inc, which operates 156 stores in 27 states, said it’s beefing up its accessories, as well. The company’s most recent annual report said some stores are testing new concepts with “trend accessories.”Federated Department Stores Inc., which owns more than 850 department stores that include Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s, Marshall Field’s and others, told investors that last year 34 percent of merchandise sold fell into categories including feminine accessories, intimate apparel, shoes and cosmetics (excluding May Company stores).

In addition to retail giants, small stores are finding success with accessories.

Finders Keepers, at Carnegie Square in downtown Spokane, is poised to expand this year, after sales increased by about 65 percent for several years in a row.

The store specializes in vintage, retro and custom jewelry, some of which combines new and vintage materials. The store’s jewelry offerings are accentuated by displays of handbags, sunglasses, hats, shawls, vintage apparel and more.

Storeowner Deena Moe-Caruso started the business as an antique shop eight years ago. After eBay chipped away at the antiques and collectibles business, she converted her store one section at a time into jewelry. “The jewelry was always very consistent. I saw that the money was really going to be in antique jewelry,” Moe-Caruso said.

Today, Finders Keepers has a mix of regular and new customers, some of whom come in to buy a necklace or earrings to match a special-occasion outfit.

“I made probably 200 pairs of earrings for girls to match their prom dresses,” said Moe-Caruso.

In addition, “we do really, really well with the hair accessories,” she said. “Ladies will come in and they’ll be having a bad day and they buy a tiara to wear in the bathtub that night.”

Part of the accessory craze is fueled by celebrity glamour and the media, said Karen Giberson, president of the Accessories Council in New York, a nonprofit trade association. Plus, many shoppers like designer brands and a number of designers have ventured into accessories.

“Fashion eyewear is huge,” Giberson said, noting designer sunglasses are especially popular with younger customers.In the past few years designers like Betsey Johnson, Mark Jacobs and Prada have entered the accessories market, affording fashion-conscious consumers a chance to create a head-to-toe look or simply sport a single hot accessory.

Although some designer handbags can go for hundreds of dollars, Giberson pointed out that stores like Target are offering value-priced accessories by designers like Isaac Mizrahi.

Terri Reimann, manager of Target in Spokane Valley, said in the past five years Target has upgraded its accessories, adding fashion jewelry, handbags and other accessories designed by Mizrahi and fellow Target designer Mossimo Giannulli. Giannulli is a respected designer who once sold his brand in surf shops and high-end department stores.

Jewelry made by Marvella and Target’s brand Xhilaration also are doing well, she said. Target Corp. operates 1,418 stores in 47 states.

Reimann has noticed that women now often select entire outfits and then cross the aisle to pick out matching jewelry and handbags. “They are going for the complete look,” she said.

The demand for fashionable accents has fueled growth for Claire’s Stores Inc., a 2,900-store chain that sells value-priced jewelry for teens. Claire’s, which has stores in Spokane, Spokane Valley and Coeur d’Alene, saw a 7 percent increase for fiscal 2006, the company’s Web site said.

At Coeur d’Alene’s Accessories By Gosh, which opened three years ago, sales have grown 25 percent annually, said Don Bennett, who owns the store with his wife, Carol Bennett.

The store’s anchor brand is Brighton — a maker of luggage, jewelry, sunglasses, handbags, belts and other accessories. Brighton’s earrings feature etched silver, or silver and gold, enamel and stone and cost an average of $15 to $35.

About 40 percent of the store’s business comes from guests staying at the Coeur d’Alene Resort, Bennett said.

He attributes part of his store’s success to friendly employees and loyal local customers. But he also credits a fun mix of products and the right pricing to stimulate impulse buys.

Said Bennett, “They don’t have to think about it for a while; they can make a decision.”