From Western Style Handbags to Apparel and More

The holiday season has come and gone and many retailers are wondering how they can bring huge business into stores during the beginning of 2012. All over the world – especially in Vietnam – handbag sales went up in the last quarter of 2011, showing the extreme potential that this fashion product has for store owners. As you consider choosing a line of wholesale handbags for your shop in 2012, you should think about other fashion items as well.

Consider the success that major brand-name stores have had shifting handbag buyers’ eyes from favorite western-style handbags over to other items like apparel and accessories. An article in Bloomberg discusses how huge department stores are creating “reasons” for shoppers to buy clothing:

“U.S. department stores are leading the charge [to change marketing], with Saks Inc. (SKS), Nordstrom Inc. (JWN) and Macy’s Inc. (M) improving in-house clothing lines and refurbishing women’s departments. The retailers are counting on women to spend more overall and not simply shift their dollars away from higher-margin purses and footwear…”

The article does admit that handbags are not only big sellers, but bring in the big money as well. However, women are still spending more of their money on clothes, but overall purchases have been leaning towards accessories over the last few years. The difference is a little under 3-to-1 ratio:

“Women’s apparel sales amounted to $108 billion in the 12 months ended in September, according to NPD Group Inc. Women bought $22.5 billion of footwear and $5.7 billion of handbags, the Port Washington, New York-based firm said.”

Store owners need to look at their current offerings and adjust to fit demand for western style accessories versus western style clothing. By using what the biggest department stores have recently discovered, you can leverage your sales of both accessories and clothing to benefit your bottom line. Whether you use your full price handbags to sell discounted clothing or vice versa, make sure you have enough supply to support your offerings!