NEW YORK — It is the season to be merry and indulgent, but in the accessories category in 2005, indulgence became a year-round given, driven by the boom in luxury spending.
This year, Christian Dior flaunted a $38,000 handbag, Vacheron Constantin created a $1.6 million watch and Sotheby’s Diamonds launched a $16 million sparkler — a 101.41-carat, pear-shape diamond pendant that hangs from a black diamond necklace. Even Wal-Mart added a yellow diamond ring retailing for $10,000 on its Web site.
To cater to customers’ demands to embellish their wardrobes, more vendors rolled out handbags, shoes, sunglasses and other accoutrements to build their assortments. Brands such as Ruehl, Guess and Bebe introduced accessories-only stores, and designers revisited often overlooked categories such as belts to raise interest.
Here, four executives reflect on their accessories business in 2005 and discuss their expectations for 2006.
Gordon Thompson, executive vice president and creative director, Cole Haan
Accomplishments: “Cole Haan had its biggest year to date. We quadrupled our [corporate] space in New York by opening our design studio on West 18th Street — and also got my commute down to four minutes — aggressively expanded our retail locations both domestically and internationally and focused on refining our brand vision for handbags, footwear and outerwear.”
Challenge or disappointment: “Like a lot of growing companies, our eyes were bigger than our stomachs. Our long to-do list was still not completed by the end of the year. Our New Year’s resolution is, less is more.”
Goals: “I am really excited about finding a new partner to help lead Cole Haan into the future [chairman and chief executive officer Matt Rubel left the company in May to become ceo of Payless ShoeSource]. It’s like the business version of Match.com. You need to find the right mate, make sure you agree on the big picture and small details, and make sure they don’t hog the closet.”
Frédéric de Narp, president and ceo, North America, Cartier
Accomplishments: “[This year] was a big year for me because I started in my role as president and ceo of Cartier North America in September, leaving my post as ceo of Cartier Italy. One of my biggest goals when I started was to better understand the U.S. market and to meet the people on the front line who work in retail in our 32 boutiques in North America. In my first four days on the job, I took a plane around the country in an effort to get to understand the specifics in each city, such as who is the end customer and what is the atmosphere like. This way, I can get to understand the reality through people first.
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“I was also very lucky to be part of the launch of Caresse d’Orchidées par Cartier, the new high jewelry line based on orchids, in the U.S. It was a very strategic move for the company because it was the first time in 160 years it launched a collection Stateside, which demonstrated the priorities it is placing on this market.”
Challenge or disappointment: “When I was touring the U.S., I found many of our boutiques needed to have an update. When you want people to dream of the brand, you feel frustrated when the boutiques aren’t up to where you desire them to be. So refurbishing some boutiques to make them more modern while maintaining the heritage of the brand will be important for us going forward.”
Goals: “Cartier is the king of jewelers in Europe and Asia, but our image, while good, could be bigger in the U.S. American women are very independent and they have tremendous buying power, and our role at Cartier is to share with them how much fun they can have with a wardrobe of jewelry.”
Paul Marciano, co-ceo and creative director, Guess Inc.
Accomplishments: “[This year] brought a lot of exciting developments for Guess. First, Guess successfully launched a global store expansion program, which included the new Guess Accessories store concept. After our first accessories store opened in Los Angeles as a test lab, we proceeded to open 11 stores in North America and 26 stores outside the U.S. Twenty more stores will be opened in the next 60 days. Combined with the stores in the U.S. and Canada, this will make a total of 57 accessories stores worldwide to be opened by year-end 2005, only 15 months after the very first store opened.
“Our global store expansion is possible due to the strength of our brand and our licensee relationships. We have been in business with our Guess handbag licensee [Signal Products] for 13 years, with our eyewear licensee [Viva International] for 15 years and our watch licensee [Callanen International] for 22 years.
“We have long-term relationships with them because we provide a strong brand, marketing and advertising worldwide, consistent image, clear direction for product, a true global strategy and multiple retail concepts, including Guess stores, Marciano stores and accessories-only stores.”
Challenge or disappointment: “Our company will be 25 years old next year, and while this is a dream come true, we can’t get comfortable or slow down. We need to focus every day on one thing: maintaining and capitalizing on the strength of Guess. We must, and will, execute our strategies with a clear vision of our brand.”
Goals: “We plan to continue the growth of the new Guess Accessories store concept, opening another 100 accessories stores in the next two years in the U.S. and internationally.”
Benny Shabtai, president and ceo of Di Modolo and Raymond Weil USA
Accomplishments: “[We are trying to] revolutionize the luxury market by making fine jewelry approachable, fun and flexible. We want Di Modolo to speak to all women, to exude personality. [Actress] Téa Leoni has been in our ads throughout the year and it has been very successful. She represents what we are. We have expanded and built upon our Triadra collection, taking the most elemental components into something elegant and complex.”
Challenge or disappointment: “I wish we could grow faster. To move too quickly may hurt the brand. If you saturate the market, it’s over. I am going to take it slow and move forward only when I know that I hit it right. But, I’m a bit impatient.”
Goals: “For us, it’s about a relationship with people. I will continue to bring new things to excite the consumer and the retailer. We opened a store on Milan’s Via Gesu earlier this month and plan to open a store in the Mall at Short Hills [Short Hills, N.J.] in September in addition to the Manhattan boutique.”