Fast action on the latest looks is a necessity in a market where seasons are taking on less importance.
As tweens and teens become increasingly savvy about accessories, jumping onto every celebrity-inspired trend, junior accessories vendors say the pressure is on to get merchandise on the store floor quickly.
Add to that the need to not just spot the next trend but to create it, and vendors say the arena is more competitive than ever.
“We have to pay attention to what Hollywood is doing in some shape or form,” said Michael Summer, president of South Carolina-based jewelry maker Cruz Accessories. “The boho look is so hot that it’s kind of trending down to the tween market as well. That’s something else that we have to address.”
Many vendors said that their young customers seem to have more disposable income than ever before.
“Kids are buying jewelry like crazy,” said Joel Feinman, head of sales at Fad Treasures in New York. “Their parents give them a certain amount of dollars, and if they can’t afford jeans or clothing, they can afford a necklace. But it’s very seasonal. We need to refresh the collections all the time, to give them something different to purchase, to change it up a little bit. But overall, the business has been doing well and we anticipate having a great first quarter.”
Nonetheless, vendors agree that longevity is not the strong suit of the junior accessories category, and that companies that can’t keep up with the mercurial trends won’t last long.
“It’s very difficult, because trends seem to die much faster than they used to,” said Karen Chou, an account executive with Super Trader, a maker of handbags and jewelry in Los Angeles. “And it’s definitely more competitive, with a lot more vendors in the market. So it’s a question of having more unique things, to develop items that are different.”
For a company like hers, which imports from mainland China, Hong Kong and India, simply sourcing existing products for the U.S. market is no longer enough. Instead, her team has to create new designs to provide accessories that buyers would not be able to source directly.
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“If it’s something they can’t do on their own, they are willing to pay a little more for it,” she said. “But price is definitely a big issue, and we’ve seen a lot more of that in the last year, as a lot of buyers are actually doing their own import programs.”
Summer of Cruz Accessories said that although it was crucial to stay on top of changing trends, it was just as important to not go “extremely fashion-forward.”
“For us, it’s important to bridge the gap between what will sell consistently year after year, yet still touch on the trends. It’s walking a fine line,” he said.
Interestingly, some vendors say that while they are able to respond to what the end consumer wants, many stores are not.
“I think the challenge is to find a way to convince a customer to be faster on the trend,” said Irene Torres, general manager of Finetime Inc., a Los Angeles-based company that produces fashion watches under the Da Vanci label. “Sometimes they hesitate and then it’s too late. We have to be really on trend with what’s happening in Europe.”
At Finetime that translates to watches in currently hot color combinations, like black and white, interspersed with brass, enamel and Austrian crystals.
“If you use the right materials and the right colors, customers don’t care about the price. It’s a matter of having the right merchandise that’s trendy. For us, business has been very good.”
For some companies, growth has been explosive in the last 12 months.
“It’s increased 100 fold,” said Andrew Mendoza, sales manager of eyewear brand Edge I-Wear in Pomona, Calif., which has been around for four years.
“We went from a few thousand dollars in sales last January to over $100,000 this January.” Mendoza attributes the boom to a couple of factors: getting widespread exposure through trade shows, including WWDMAGIC, and keeping a well-stocked warehouse.
“We’re never really out of stock,” he said. “And through some of the key trade shows that we are at, we’ve landed some big accounts.”
Trends in eyewear, he said, are as fast-changing as those in jewelry or handbags; there are staples such as black or tortoiseshell, and then high-fashion items that blaze onto the scene and then disappear just as quickly.
“Sometimes, it’s hard to keep up with the colors. But we have to catch the trends before we start designing, and have everything come in ahead of time.”
Mendoza added that customers return once they’re sure of a couple of things: the quality of the merchandise, good customer service and fair prices.
“Those are the things that boost your name,” said Mendoza. “There might be more and more companies in the market now, but we’re not concerned. We have a strong client list already and we feel established.”
Feinman of Fad Treasures agreed that even if there were more junior accessories brands on the market, as long as an existing company knows who the customer is and what she wants, the increased competition shouldn’t be any cause for concern.
“It’s part of the game,” he said. “But we have to keep going forward, staying on top of fashion, finding new products and new designs. We have our own customer base, so even if it is a tough and challenging market, we should be able to stay ahead.”
And sometimes, of course, business is great because it just so happens to be a great year for fashion.
“It’s a good time for the headwear business, and there are so many different hats out there being used as an accessory,” said Lisa Steinmetz, brand manager of San Diego-based hat vendor Peter Grimm. “And the whole thing with celebrities hiding under a hat from the paparazzi. Every time there is a picture of Lindsay Lohan ducking beneath a hat, it’s good for business.”
For Peter Grimm, the year is shaping up to be a good one, largely because the company is diversifying from its core base of straw cowboy hats into the cut-and-sew business.
“We’re expanding our entire line,” said Steinmetz. “The military cap is coming back and that’s exciting. There are so many hat options these days.”
Because of the expanded offerings, the brand is no longer just in surf shops, but can also be found in specialty boutiques, Western stores and golf outlets. That has led to exceptional growth for the company, which has in the past year gone from renting a 9,000-square-foot building to purchasing a 43,000-square-foot one, and from having a handful of reps to covering the U.S. and Canada.
It helps also that hats have a bit more life in them than handbags and jewelry.
“The same trends tend to resurface,” said Steinmetz. “Every customer has their favorite hat, and once they’re done with it, they almost want the same one again. We’re always hearing stories like that.”