Consumer Accessory - Pacsafe - Backpack Market Research

Mens and Womens Fashion Accessories in the U.S.
Bags, Belts, Gloves, Hats, Scarves, Ties and Handkerchiefs
January 2009
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MENS AND WOMENS FASHION ACCESSORIES IN THE U.S.:
BAGS, BELTS, GLOVES, HATS, SCARVES, TIES AND
HANDKERCHIEFS
JANUARY 2009
Mens and Womens Fashion Accessories in the U.S.: Bags, Belts, Gloves, Hats,
Scarves, Ties and Handkerchiefs has been prepared by Packaged Facts. Our
market intelligence reports are specifically designed to aid the action-oriented
executive by providing a thorough presentation of essential data and concise
analysis.
Vice President of Publishing Don Montuori
Publisher Tatjana Meerman
Author Tim Dowd
Research Director David Sprinkle
Communications Associate Daniel Granderson
Publication Date January 2009
All rights reserved. No part of this report may be reproduced without permission of the publisher.
Copyright 2009 Packaged Facts
LA1905380 1-59814-242-9
Mens and Womens Fashion Accessories in the U.S. Table of Contents
Mens and Womens Fashion Accessories in the U.S.:

Bags, Belts, Gloves, Hats, Scarves, Ties and Handkerchiefs
Table of Contents
Chapter 1 Executive Summary ................................................... 1

Highlights ...................................................................................................1
Introduction .................................................................................. 3
Market Parameters.....................................................................................3
Terms Used: A Glossary ..........................................................................4
Apparel versus Clothing ...................................................................................... 4
Better versus Bridge............................................................................................ 4
Carbon Footprint ................................................................................................. 4
Couture Collections versus Diffusion Lines......................................................... 5
Direct ................................................................................................................... 5
Ethnic .................................................................................................................. 6
Fair Trade............................................................................................................ 6
Green .................................................................................................................. 6
Market versus Category versus Segment ........................................................... 6
Mass.................................................................................................................... 7
SKU ..................................................................................................................... 7
Specialty.............................................................................................................. 7
Supermarket, Chain Drugstore, Mass Merchandiser .......................................... 7
Sustainable (also, Renewable)............................................................................ 8
Methodology...............................................................................................8
The Products ................................................................................ 9
Seven Fashion Accessories Categories ..................................................9
Bags ............................................................................................................9
Belts and Small Leather Goods........................................................................... 9
Gloves and Mittens ..................................................................................10
Handkerchiefs and Pocket Squares .......................................................10
Hats ...........................................................................................................10
Scarves and Shawls ................................................................................12
Ties and Other Neckwear ........................................................................12
Accessories a Component of the Wider Apparel Market......................13
Specialty Niches and Specialty Outlets .................................................13
Size Systems ............................................................................................13
Belts .................................................................................................................. 14
Gloves ............................................................................................................... 14
Hats ................................................................................................................... 14
Intuitive .............................................................................................................. 15
Table 1-1 Hat Sizes, According to Five Size-Systems .................................. 15
January 2009 Packaged Facts I

Table of Contents Mens and Womens Fashion Accessories in the U.S.
Chapter 1 Executive Summary [Cont.]
Summary of Report ....................................................................16

Seven Fashion Accessories Categories ............................................... 16
Fashion Accessories Market Surpasses $16.3 Billion in 2008 ............ 16
Steady Rise Foreseen, to $20.2 Billion in 2012..................................... 16
Table 1-2 U.S. Retail Dollar Sales of Fashion Accessories, 2004-2012 (In
Millions) ......................................................................................................... 17
Bags Account for a Third of Accessories Sales................................... 17
Men Account for Surprisingly Notable Shares of Accessories Retail
Dollars .................................................................................................. 17
...Though Women Still Lead Accessories Spending Overall ............... 18
Table 1-3 Share of U.S. Retail Dollar Sales of Fashion Accessories, by Seven
Product Categories, and by Gender That Is Purchasing, 2004-2008 (In
Millions) ......................................................................................................... 18
Americas Taste Has Been Upscaled..................................................... 19
...And Simultaneously Hip-Hopped........................................................ 19
Basic-Need Items, Splurge and Impulse Factors, and Lean Economic
Times........................................................................................................ 20
Fashion Accessories versus Electronic Accessories.......................... 20
Weather Events and Conditions a Key Factor in Growth .................... 21
Hard to Identify True Marketers in Maze of Licensing, Distribution
Deals......................................................................................................... 21
...But Accessories Marketers Probably Number Thousands............... 22
Product Trend: Bags and More Bags ................................................... 22
Product Trend: Luxury Accessories Intros Continue... ...................... 23
Product Trend: ...As Do Low-End and Mid-Priced Intros.................... 23
Product Trend: New Green-Minded/Eco-Friendly Products ............... 24
The Consumer: Ladies Handbags, Mens Belts Are Most Widely
Purchased Accessories.......................................................................... 24
Table 1-4 Numbers of U.S. Adult Purchasers of Fashion Accessories, by
Product Type, 2008 (In Thousands).............................................................. 25
Table 1-4 [continued] Numbers of U.S. Adult Purchasers of Fashion
Accessories, by Product Type, 2008 (In Thousands).................................... 26
Chapter 2 Trends and Opportunities ........................................27

Highlights................................................................................................. 27
Trends and Opportunities..........................................................29
Choose to Emphasize Accessories ....................................................... 29
Americas Tastes Have Upscaled -- Forever ......................................... 30
Admit It: Hip-Hoppers Are a Huge Audience ....................................... 30
Bag and Tie Categories Thriving ........................................................... 31
Evolve the Bag! ....................................................................................... 31
Consumers Need Accessories Education ............................................ 32
Men Understand Accessories as Gifts .................................................. 32
Tactic: Designer Accessories for Less ................................................ 33
II Packaged Facts January 2009

Chapter 2 Trends and Opportunities [Cont.]

Some Potential in Green and Fair Trade Practices ...............................33
Chapter 3 The Market ................................................................ 35

Highlights .................................................................................................35
Market Size and Growth ............................................................ 37
Fashion Accessories Market Surpasses $16.3 Billion in 2008.............37
Bags Category Rides Status Wave to $5.9 Billion ................................37
Belts/Small Leather Items Approach $3.5 Billion..................................37
Gloves/Mittens, in Warming Climate, Slog On to $856 Million.............38
Handkerchiefs/Pocket Squares Push to $71 Million .............................38
Hat Category Breaks $2.2 Billion Mark ..................................................38
Baseball Cap Craze Pumps Segment to $410 Million. ..........................38
Scarves/Shawls Also Find Weather Warm, Slide to $521 Million ........39
Ties Thrive in Hard Economic Times, Build to $3.3 Billion ..................39
Table 3-1 U.S. Retail Dollar Sales of Fashion Accessories, by Seven Product
Categories, 2004-2008 (In Millions)............................................................... 39
Bags Account for a Third of Accessories Sales ...................................40
Men Account for Surprising Shares of Accessories Retail Dollars .40
...Though Women Still Lead Accessories Spending Overall................41
Table 3-2 Share of U.S. Retail Dollar Sales of Fashion Accessories, by Seven
Product Categories, and by Gender That Is Purchasing, 2004-2008 (In
Millions) ......................................................................................................... 42
Department Stores Dominate Accessories Sales by Retail Channel ..42
Table 3-3 Share of Retail Dollar Sales of Fashion Accessories, by Retail
Channel, 2008 (In Millions)............................................................................ 43
Imports and Exports .................................................................. 44
Accessories Imports Valued at Over $5.9 Billion in 2007.....................44
Exports Valued at $429.1 Million ............................................................44
Table 3-3a Value of U.S. Imports and Exports of Fashion Accessories, by
Seven Product Categories, 2006-2007 (In Thousands) ................................ 45
Context ....................................................................................... 46
U.S. Apparel and Accessories Market = $83.2 Billion...........................46
Sources Disagree on Market Definition, Thus Accessories Sales
Estimates Vary .........................................................................................46
Luxury Apparel and Accessories World Market $58.0 Billion,
Worldwide.................................................................................................47
Factors in Future Growth .......................................................... 48
Americas Taste Has Been Upscaled .....................................................48
...And Simultaneously Hip-Hopped ........................................................49
Shifting Demos Have Potential to Pump Accessories Sales, Too.......50
Boomers Still a Force ........................................................................................ 50
Wow! Gen-Xers Are Grandparents! .................................................................. 50
Teens/Tweens, and Accessories versus Cellphone Bills .................................. 50
January 2009 Packaged Facts III

Chapter 3 The Market [Cont.]

Table 3-4 Projected U.S. Population, by Age Bracket, 2008-2014* (In
Thousands) ................................................................................................... 52
Potential in Dressing Americans According to Season....................... 52
The Fad Factor: Following the Followers of Fashion.......................... 53
Times........................................................................................................ 55
Fashion Accessories versus Electronic Accessories.......................... 56
Weather Events and Conditions ............................................................ 57
Projected Sales...........................................................................58
Fashion Accessories Foreseen in Steady Rise to $20.2
Billion in 2012 .......................................................................................... 58
Bullish Bags Category to Push to $8.2 Billion...................................... 58
Belts/Small Leather Goods to Struggle to $3.8 Billion......................... 58
Gloves/Mittens Also Struggle, to $973 Million ...................................... 58
Handkerchiefs/Pocket Squares in Slow Rise to $80 Million ................ 59
Hats to Post Fair Growth to $2.6 Billion ................................................ 59
Scarves/Shawls Expected to Stagnate Their Way to $554 Million ...... 59
Ties/Other Neckwear to Shoot Past $4.0 Billion Mark.......................... 59
Table 3-5 Projected U.S. Retail Dollar Sales of Fashion Accessories, by
Seven Product Categories, 2008-2012 (In Millions)...................................... 60
Chapter 4 The Marketers............................................................61

Highlights................................................................................................. 61
The Marketers .............................................................................63
Hard to Identify True Marketers in Maze of Licensing, Distribution
Deals......................................................................................................... 63
...But Accessories Marketers Probably Number Thousands............... 63
Marketer-Retailers and Retailer-Marketers ........................................... 64
Specialists versus Generalists/Types of Firms Involved..................... 65
Foreign Participation and Fair Trade..................................................... 65
Table of Marketers and Brands .............................................................. 66
Table 4-1 Selected Fashion Accessories Marketers and Their Brands, by
Audience Served, 2008 ................................................................................. 66
Marketer Rankings .....................................................................73
For Fashion Accessories Biz, Few Reliable Share
Data Are Available................................................................................... 73
Jones and Liz Claiborne Have Biggest Stables of
Recognized Brands................................................................................. 73
Limited Brands, Inc., Liberty Interactive Group, L.L. Bean Among
Rulers of Direct........................................................................................ 74
In Luxe Bags, Coach and LVMH Are U.S. and Euro Giants ................. 74
Buxton the Leader in Value-Tier Wallets............................................... 75
Randa -- Necktie King ............................................................................. 75
Key Marketers Are Profiled ................................................................. 76
IV Packaged Facts January 2009

Chapter 4 The Marketers [Cont.]
The Competitive Situation......................................................... 77

Overview: Economy Pressures Competition,
Yet Opportunities Exist ...........................................................................77
Examples of Key Deals............................................................................78
Eight Marketers Profiled..........................................................................80
Competitive Profile: Coach, Inc............................................... 81
Phenomenal Growth to $3.2 Billion in FY2008 ......................................81
Coach as American as the Baseball Glove............................................82
Coach Consults Consumers ...................................................................83
Coach the Retailer ...................................................................................83
Competitive Profile: Herms International SA ....................... 85
Total Revenues of Sales Estimated at 1.6 Billion................................85
Herms Limited-Distribution, High-Profile Strategy ............................85
Herms Ups Stake in Gaultier to 45% ....................................................87
Competitive Profile: HSN, Inc. (Home Shopping Network) ... 88
Net Sales of About $3.0 Billion ...............................................................88
A Long History, a New Beginning ..........................................................89
Other HSN Brands ...................................................................................90
Competitive Profile: Jones Apparel Group ............................ 91
Net Sales of $3.8 Billion in 2007 .............................................................91
Outlook for 2008 Is Mixed, Dependent on Holiday Season ..................92
One of Worlds Largest Apparel Firms Positions Itself Broadly..........92
JAG a Key U.S. Apparel and Accessories Retailer ...............................94
Other JAG Apparel Brands .....................................................................94
Competitive Profile: Randa Accessories................................ 95
Private Randa Discloses Sales of More Than $400 Million ..................95
At Once a Marketer and All-Services Contract Manufacturer ..............96
Randa an Avid Acquirer and Globalist...................................................97
Three Marketers to Watch ......................................................... 98
A Hat-Maker, a Bridal Outfitter, and a Fair-Trader.................................98
Vera Wang Bridal House, Ltd.................................................. 101
World of Good, Inc................................................................... 103
Marketing and Product Trends ............................................... 105
Bags and More Bags .............................................................................105
Luxury Accessories Intros Continue....................................................105
...As Do Low-End and Mid-Priced Intros ..............................................106
New Green-Minded/Eco-Friendly Products .........................................106
Table 4-2 Selected New Introductions of Fashion Accessories,
2007-2008 ................................................................................................... 107
Consumer Advertising Positioning........................................ 110
The Simple Beauty Shot Dominates.....................................................110
But Lower-End Approaches Survive ....................................................110
January 2009 Packaged Facts V

Chapter 4 The Marketers [Cont.]

Accessories Touted Within Ads for Clothing ..................................... 111
Celebrities, Hired or Spotted ................................................................ 112
Use of Product Placement in Entertainment and Print Media ........... 112
Sources of Ads ...................................................................................... 113
Consumer Promotions.......................................................................... 113
Discounts and Free Shipping .......................................................................... 113
From Batman to Some High-Profile Tie-Ins .................................................... 113
Free Merchandise ........................................................................................... 115
Key Accessories Trade Shows ...............................................116
MAGIC Marketplace............................................................................... 116
Accessories the Show .......................................................................... 116
Material World and Technology Solutions .......................................... 117
Chapter 5 Distribution and Retail............................................119

Highlights............................................................................................... 119
Distribution ...............................................................................121
Orders Taken Months Ahead................................................................ 121
Product Paths Mostly DSD and Direct Sales ...................................... 121
Vertical Integration Characterizes Apparel/Accessories Majors....... 122
E-Tail Inventories Can Be Bigger Than Brick and Mortars ................ 123
At the Retail Level ....................................................................125
Department Stores, Mass, Chain Specialty Stores Dominate ........... 125
Table 5-1 Share of Retail Dollar Sales of Fashion Accessories, by Retail
Channel, 2008 (In Millions)......................................................................... 126
Handbag Rentals ................................................................................... 126
Retail Focus: Hip-Hop Accessories Retailers.......................128
Neighborhood Storefronts, e-Tail -- and Wal-Mart ............................. 128
Retail Focus: Macys, Inc./Bloomingdales ...........................130
Sales of $26.3 Billion in 2007................................................................ 130
Womens Accessories a Prime Component of Sales......................... 131
Outlook for 2008 .................................................................................... 131
Top U.S. Department Store Operator Owns Macys,
Bloomingdales...................................................................................... 132
Macys Private-Label Stable ................................................................. 132
Bloomingdales Goes International ..................................................... 134
Chapter 6 The Consumer.........................................................135

Highlights............................................................................................... 135
About Simmons Data ...............................................................136
What They Are.................................................................................... 136
And How to Use Them....................................................................... 136
The Surveys Overall Gauge................................................................. 138
VI Packaged Facts January 2009

Chapter 6 The Consumer [Cont.]

Marketing Regions Defined...................................................................138
Northeast......................................................................................................... 138
East Central..................................................................................................... 138
West Central.................................................................................................... 138
Southeast ........................................................................................................ 138
Southwest........................................................................................................ 138
Pacific.............................................................................................................. 139
Table 6-1 Projections of Numbers of U.S. Adults, by Demographic Factor,
2008 (In Thousands) ................................................................................... 139
Consumer Attitudes Relevant to Fashion Accessories
Purchase................................................................................... 142
Conservatism, Value Are Leading Fashion Orientations ...................142
Table 6-2 Numbers of U.S. Adults Strongly Agreeing With 11 Statements of
Attitude ........................................................................................................ 143
Concerning Fashion and Appearance, 2008 (Thousands of Adults, in Recent
12 Months) .................................................................................................. 143
The Purchaser of Womens Fashion Accessories................ 144
Almost 18.0 Million Buy Womens Belts ..............................................144
Womens Belts Data Indicate Some Affluence in Purchaser-Base....144
Nearly 17.9 Million Buy Womens Gloves ............................................144
Womens Glove Purchasers Tend More to Middle Age ......................144
Table 6-3 Demographic Characteristics Most Favoring Purchase of Women's
Belts and Gloves, 2008 (Adults in Thousands, in Recent 12 Months) ........ 145
Handbags Have Largest Accessories Purchaser-Base: 54.1 Million147
Womens Handbag Purchasers Skew Affluent....................................147
One in 20 Women Owns 100-Plus Handbags ......................................148
15.6 Million Purchase Womens Wallets ..............................................148
Purchase of Womens Wallets Encouraged by Affluence, Relative
Youth.......................................................................................................148
Handbags and Wallets, 2008 (Adults in Thousands, in Recent 12 Months)149
Handbags and Wallets, 2008 (Adults in Thousands, in Recent 12 Months)150
Over 11.3 Million Buy Womens Scarves .............................................151
For Women, Scarves Signal Youth and Freedom ...............................151
Scarves, 2008 (Adults in Thousands, in Recent 12 Months)....................... 152
The Purchaser of Mens Fashion Accessories ..................... 155
39.5 Million Adults Buy Mens Belts.....................................................155
Straightforward Belt-Purchaser Data Indicates Affluence .................155
About 16.0 Million Buy Mens Gloves ..................................................155
Mens Glove Purchasers Display Wider Age, Income Spans.............155
Table 6-6 Demographic Characteristics Most Favoring Purchase of Men's
Belts and Gloves, 2008 (Adults in Thousands, in Recent 12 Months) ........ 156
Over 24.6 Million Are Necktie Purchasers ...........................................158
January 2009 Packaged Facts VII

Chapter 6 The Consumer [Cont.]

Necktie Data Skew to Greater Financial Security ............................... 158
Almost 4.2 million -- Mostly Women -- Purchase Mens Scarves...... 159
For Mens Scarf Purchasers, Details of Affluence Differ Slightly ..... 159
Table 6-7 Demographic Characteristics Most Favoring Purchase of
Men's Neckties and Scarves, 2008 (Adults in Thousands, in Recent
12 Months) ...............................................................................................160-161
Mens Wallet Purchaser-Base at 24.4 Million ...................................... 161
Mens Wallet Profile Skews Affluent in Most Ways ......................... 161
Mens Wallets, 2008 (Adults in Thousands, in Recent 12 Months) ..........162-164
The Purchaser of Hats/Baseball Caps Bearing Licensed
Sports Team Logos ..................................................................165
Almost 21.6 Million Buy Hats/Baseball Caps with Licensed Sports
Logos ..................................................................................................... 165
Purchase of Hats/Caps with Sports Logos: Skews to Men,
Affluence, Presence of Kids ................................................................. 165
Table 6-9 Demographic Characteristics Most Favoring Purchase of Hats
and Baseball Caps with Licensed College or Professional Sports Team
Logos, 2008 (Adults in Thousands, in Recent 12 Months).......................166-168
Background: College Teams, NFL Lead Popular Sports Licenses
for Clothing ............................................................................................ 168
Table 6-10 Numbers of Purchasers of Clothing Bearing Licensed College or
Professional Sports Team Logos, 2008 (Adults in Thousands, in Recent 12
Months) ........................................................................................................... 169
The Purchaser of Fashion Accessories from Mail-Order
Catalogs ....................................................................................170
Almost 10.7 Million Buy Accessories from Mail-Order Catalogs ...... 170
Accessories Mail-Order Has Distinct Profile That Skews Affluent ... 170
Fashion Accessories from Mail-Order Catalogs, 2008 (Adults in Thousands,
in Recent 12 Months) ...............................................................................171-173
Numbers of Clothing/Accessories Purchasers at
Department and Discount Stores............................................174
Almost 174.3 Million Clothing/Accessories Purchasers at
Department/Discount Stores ................................................................ 174
Wal-Mart, Target, JC Penney Are Leaders .......................................... 174
Table 6-12 Numbers of Purchasers of Clothing and Accessories at Selected
Department Stores and Discount Stores, 2008 (Adults in Thousands, in
Recent 3 Months) ............................................................................................ 175
Appendix: Addresses of Selected Marketers .............................i
VIII Packaged Facts January 2009

Mens and Womens Fashion Accessories in the U.S. Chapter 1: Executive Summary
Chapter 1 Executive Summary
Highlights
Packaged Facts organizes fashion accessories into seven product categories:
o bags
o belts/small leather goods
o gloves/mittens
o handkerchiefs/pocket squares
o hats
o scarves/shawls
o ties/other neckwear
In describing products that make up the available assortment of fashion accessories, it

is important to stress that the entire market is considered an extension of, or a vague
area within, the overall apparel market. , i.e., clothing is the focus of nearly all
apparel advertising; accessories are blended into the larger fashion message.
Both womens and mens fashion accessories are covered in this report. When
possible, as in Chapter 3, The Market, or in Chapter 6, The Consumer, Packaged
Facts discusses them separately. However, gender aspects of the market are often
lumped together in media coverage and in companies own literature.
Packaged Facts projects that the U.S. fashion accessories market will break the $16.3
billion mark at retail by the end of 2008. This level will reflect an increase for the
year of almost 5%, and a total increase for 2004-2008 of nearly 28%. This progress
during the four-year period translates into a compound annual growth rate (CAGR)
of more than 6% -- quite bullish for such a large sales base.
January 2009 Packaged Facts 1

Chapter 1: Executive Summary Mens and Womens Fashion Accessories in the U.S.
Six out of seven categories have experienced retail dollar growth during 2004-2008.
Scarves/shawls has been the only category to lose ground. Yet just two categories,
bags and ties/other neckwear, can be described as bullish at this time; their strong
progress is largely responsible for the bullishness of the overall market.
2 Packaged Facts January 2009

Introduction
Market Parameters
Fashion Accessories: The U.S. Market is a new Packaged Facts report that examines the
retail marketplace for accessories from handbags to neckties as sold through a host of
outlet types that include clothing stores, department stores, mass-retailers (principally mass
merchandisers, but supermarkets and chain drugstores, too), brand-dedicated stores (Coach,
Ralph Lauren, etc.), mall kiosks, sporting goods stores, and other specialty stores (which may
sell accessories, in general, or just bags or ties exclusively). The list goes on to include
street vendors, newsstands, independent haberdashers, womens plus-size and mens big &
tall stores, direct (that is, direct-to-consumer outlets that include Internet websites, mail-
order catalogs, and television home shopping networks), and so on and on...
The fashion accessories market, while deserving of the spotlight, is usually considered a part
of the wider apparel market. For this reason, Packaged Facts discussion often depicts the
accessories business within this larger context. For example, we present Competitive Profiles
of accessories specialists Coach and Randa; but we also profile a fashion house that sells
luxury goods (Hermes) and a corporation that owns a large number of fashion brands in the
full spectrum of price-tiers (Jones Apparel Group).
Both womens and mens fashion accessories are covered in this report. When possible, as in
Chapter 3, The Market, or in Chapter 6, The Consumer, Packaged Facts discusses them
separately. However, gender aspects of the market are often lumped together in media
coverage and in companies own literature.
Sunglasses and footwear are excluded in this report. The markets for those products are
better covered in reports devoted just to them (Packaged Facts Market Trends: Sunglasses
and The U.S. Market for Footwear, for example).

Terms Used: A Glossary
The following terms, relevant to marketing fashion accessories, may be used in this report:
Apparel versus Clothing
Trade publications sometimes use apparel to mean clothing, and sometimes, to mean
clothing together with footwear and sometimes even accessories. Because this report focuses
on accessories, Packaged Facts uses the term clothing to refer to clothing only. Apparel
may be used as a variant of clothing, or to designate the parent industry, inclusive of
clothing, footwear, and accessories.
Better versus Bridge
Both are garment industry terms: Better refers to the moderate-to-high-priced, ready-to-
wear (RTW) clothing intended to please the masses, This class of product is exemplified by
the RTW assortment available in many department stores. Bridge, however, refers to RTW
clothing priced between better and couture, which is tailored to order.
An example, drawn from Jones Apparel Group literature: The company designates its Anne
Klein brand, priced at $75-$1,203, as bridge, and the collections extended from it AK Anne
Klein, AK Sport, Anne Klein Dress, and Anne Klein Suit priced at $14-$600, as better.
The less expensive the collections, the more likely they include casualwear.
These distinctions are important to clarify, for the sake of understanding brand-positions from
which fashion accessories extend.
See couture collections versus diffusion lines, below.
Carbon Footprint
This increasingly used catchphrase refers to the impact of ones personal lifestyle upon the
environment, based upon measurement of fossil fuels consumption and the resultant carbon
dioxide. Household heating or cooling, air miles flown, automobile ownership, electrical
usage, and the purchase of transported goods plus how many miles those goods are
transported the limiting of travel, and so forth, are all used to compute a lifestyles carbon
footprint. Carbon dioxide emissions are the critical factor in the production of greenhouse
gases, which cause global warming.

To take the measure of your carbon footprint, visit Al Gores

www.climatecrisis.net/takeaction, www.carbonfootprint.com (British-based),
www.safeclimate.net/calculator, or other sites.
Carbon offset or carbon credit is the term for the value (or unit of measurement) of
green-conscious activity that mitigates the size of a persons carbon footprint.
Couture Collections versus Diffusion Lines
Couture is made-to-order, highly expensive, and often wild clothing designs that are shown
off on fashion runways two or three times a year in New York, Paris, Milan, Tokyo, and other
fashion hubs.
Collections is a relative term that can apply to any apparel line, even those sold through
discounters such as Wal-Mart; but in fashion, collections is also the nickname for
couture, especially as displayed during the seasonal shows.
Diffusion lines are ready-to-wear (RTW) clothing collections/lines extended from couture
brands to take high-fashion names to the masses. A famous couture name may have four or
five layers of diffusion extending into lower price-tiers, covering bridge, better, mid-range,
low-end, etc.
Direct
Direct is used to speak of direct-to-consumer sales channels that bypass physical stores
(also called brick-and-mortar stores). Direct retail channels include Internet websites ( e-
tail), mail-order catalogs, print ads with order blanks, television home shopping networks
such as HSN and QVC, television infomercials, networks of sales associates (such as Avon or
Tupperware), multilevel marketing schemes, and so on.
Multilevel marketing refers to programs in which consumers become salespersons who in

turn benefit by recruiting other consumers to become salespersons, too. Examples are the
sales forces for Amway household goods, Herbalife nutritional, skincare, and weight-loss
products, and Mary Kay cosmetics.

Ethnic
Ethnic generally describes persons of color, as well as their culture and lifestyle. The
three largest ethnic minorities in the United States, in descending order of population, are
Hispanics (who may be of any race), African Americans, and Asians.
About 5.2% of Hispanics or nearly 2.4 million are of African heritage, according to the
U.S. Census Bureau.
Fair Trade
Refers to materials-sourcing from developing countries, according to practices that benefit

the manufacturer or marketer, at the same time that local, usually impoverished, farmers or
laborers are paid fair rates for what they produce. Fair-Trade practice also involves enabling
those locals to achieve better lives. Fair-Trading manufacturers/marketers often insist that
goods not be made by children, and that raw ingredients used are renewable and harmless to
workers and the environment.
Fair Trade was pioneered by Anita Roddick, who founded The Body Shop PLC in 1976. Ms.
Roddick positioned her quasi-natural, The Body Shop-brand personal care products on
ingredients sourced via Fair Trade relationships with local producers in the Third World. The
Body Shop and its 2,100 brand-dedicated stores were acquired by LOral in 2006.
In the fashion accessories market, World of Good is a standout example of a company that
vouches Fair Trade practices. World of Good is profiled in the Three Marketers to Watch
section of Chapter 4, The Marketers.
Green
This term describes environmentally responsible actions or thinking, as in states of green-

mindedness, green-consciousness, and so on. Green is also used alone as an adjective;
for example, green design or green manufacturing.
Market versus Category versus Segment
Too many sources use the terms market, category, and segment interchangeably.
Packaged Facts designates the overall fashion accessories business as the market; the seven
main product groupings (bags, belts/small leather goods, gloves/mittens,
handkerchiefs/pocket squares, hats, scarves, and ties/other neckwear) as categories; and the

various product-types (purses, wallets, caps, etc.) within those categories as segments or even
sub-segments. Example: Ascots and string ties are counted as segments of the ties/other
neckwear category of the overall fashion accessories market.
Mass
The word mass references the mass retail channel, itself composed of three principal
channels: mainstream supermarkets, chain drugstores, and mass merchandisers. In mass,
fashion accessories are sold mainly through mass merchandisers, but are also sold through
larger supermarkets and chain drugstores, as well as through hybrid formats such as combo
stores and hypermarts.
SKU
Acronym for stock keeping unit. Every version of product design or packaging is a
separate SKU. Take the example of a brand of ladies wallet made in eight colors, each
available in three possible configurations of slots or holders for credit cards, coins, photos,
etc. The brand-lines total number of SKUs is therefore 24.
Specialty
A specialty retail channel or outlet is literally specialized in the sale of one product or one
group of products. Sporting goods, for example, are sold through a variety of outlet types,
but dedicated sporting goods stores, such as Dicks_, are what is indicated by the word
specialty. Specialty, as used in this report, applies to any retail outlet or channel that sells
mainly fashion accessories, or a particular kind of accessory. For example, handbags. Or
that sells accessories (and usually apparel) under a single brand. Or that targets a specific
demographic, as both haute couture designers boutiques and hip-hop or urban-style
apparel/accessories stores do. Specialty also describes stores or e-tailers that specialize in
just about anything else gourmet foods, baby products, travel goods, yoga gear, etc. while
including a few fashion accessories in its product mixes. An example is a shop selling books,
stationery, keepsakes, and so forth, for airplane pilots; one would not be surprised to find
aviators scarves, and ties with aviation themes, in the shops product mix.
Supermarket, Chain Drugstore, Mass Merchandiser
As noted under the entry for Mass, these three outlet types comprise the mass retail
channel: Supermarket refers to any grocery store transacting at least $2 million at retail

annually. Drugstore, unless otherwise noted, refers to a chain outlet that sells a full
selection of HBC products, some general merchandise, and prescription medications. A
mass merchandiser is any large, usually chain retailer that offers a broad range of non-food
products, whether or not it also sells foods and beverages. Most mass merchandisers (for
examples, Wal-Mart, Kmart, Target) are discounters, at least to some degree.
Large-format supermarkets and drugstores often additionally sell general merchandise. The
terms combo store or hypermart are used to describe huge mass retail venues that sell
both groceries and extensive non-food assortments.
Sustainable (also, Renewable)
Refers to natures raw material sources that replenish themselves, if they are not over-
exploited. Wood, for example, given that forests are properly managed, is a sustainable
resource; but fossil fuels, which take millions of years to form deep below the earth, and
which are being consumed at a much faster rate, are not sustainable.
Sustainability is closely allied with green-consciousness, and is a green concern.
Methodology
Fashion Accessories: The U.S. Market is based on information gathered from primary,
secondary, and syndicated sources. Primary research involves on-site study of how
accessories are sold through retail stores; Packaged Facts also consults with industry
executives. Secondary research involves the evaluation and comparison of data from
mountains of articles found in financial, marketing, and retail publications, as well as on
corresponding types of websites. Company literature, government agencies, and other
sources also provide valuable secondary data.
Stats on market revenues and growth trends derive from all available data on the fashion
accessories marketplace, be they quantitative or qualitative. A broad range of societal and
economic trends are factored in to help shape the most accurate possible view of sales
progress.
Analysis of consumers purchase and use of fashion accessories is based on semi-annual

surveys by Simmons Market Research Bureau, Inc., one of the leading compilers of
demographic data in the United States.

The Products
Seven Fashion Accessories Categories
Packaged Facts organizes fashion accessories into seven product categories. In descending
order of retail dollar sales, the categories are 1.) bags, 2.) belts/small leather goods, 3.)
ties/other neckwear, 4.) hats, 5.) gloves/mittens, 6.) scarves/shawls, and 7.)
handkerchiefs/pocket squares.
Bags
The word bags is the least common denominator for the group of products that includes
handbags (also known as purses or pocketbooks) made of cloth, be it canvas, denim, or
synthetics like nylon and polyester; or made of leather that may be stiff and shape-holding, or
soft enough to pleat; of plastic or vinyl; of see-through synthetic meshes; and more rarely, of
metal, rubber, wood, or even glass.
Buckles, clasps, straps, zippers, and other fittings are typically of leather, metal, or plastic.
Design touches include metal studs, plastic beads, printed fabric, and so on.
The bag category can also be broadly divided up between small and large sizes; between
strapped shoulder bags, strapped handbags, and strapless clutch purses; and between
traditional strapped handbags and innovative hybrids that share some features with diaper
bags, ditty bags, duffel bags, knapsacks, rucksacks, and totes. Some totes may be open at the
top, others are zippered; totes may also be quite small, or huge.
The majority of bags are for women, but slowly, the assortment of bags for men is expanding.
Belts and Small Leather Goods
This category is composed of belts; billfolds; key, business card and other pocketable leather
cases; wallets; checkbook covers; and a miscellany of leather products. Non-leather versions
of these products in cloth (natural or synthetic), metal, plastic, vinyl are also included
here.

Suspenders, which often have leather anchors and leather straps, but which more often have
straps made of very heavy, sometimes stretchy fabric, are included in this category, too.
Gloves and Mittens
The glove and mitten category include arm gloves that stretch to the elbow, fingerless gloves,
mitts, and tube gloves.
These products are manufactured from cotton knit fabric, or from fleece, leather, Spandex,
synthetics, wool, etc., or combinations thereof. Some gloves/mittens are lined for warmth.
Work gloves are sometimes coated to protect ones hands from toxic chemicals, or are
splattered with molten rubber, to enhance ones grip on tools .
Other specialty gloves or mittens are designed for bicycling, handball, motorcycling, rodeo
events, weightlifting, and other sports.
Handkerchiefs and Pocket Squares
The U.S. Census Bureau, in its 2008 Schedule B definitions of goods exported and imported,
distinguishes handkerchiefs from scarves: Scarves and articles of the scarf type, square or
approximately square, of which no side exceeds 60 cm (23.622 in.), are to be classified as
handkerchiefs (heading 6213). Handkerchiefs of which any side exceeds 60 cm, are to be
classified in heading 6214 [scarves, shawls, mantillas, mufflers, veils, etc.].
Handkerchiefs span the plain white cotton square; the kerchief large enough to roll and tie
around ones head; the neckerchief (also called foulards); and the square of silk used to
accent a suit or blazer (also known as carres, French for squares).
Hats
The hat category presents a universe of hat types and styles, for diverse uses, all of them
related to head-covering. Just some are:
Baseball Caps
Berets
Bonnets (for babies or adults)

Cloche Hats
Deerstalker Hats (Sherlock Holmes hats)
Derbies
Fedoras
Felt Hats
Fezzes
Golf Caps
Homburgs
Jester Hats (with or without bells)
Newsboy hats
Pakols (round roll-up hats from the Chitrali region of northwest
Pakistan; known in United States as Afghan hats)
Panama Hats
Pith Helmets
Pork Pie Hat
Rain Hats, Crushable/Bucket Hats
Robin Hood Hats
Shtreimel (hat of sable tail fur worn by Chasidic Jewish men on the Sabbath)
Ski Hats
Ski Masks
Skullcaps (a la Jughead)
Sombreros

Spodiks (Polish Chassidic Jewish mens Sabbath hats, which are taller versions of
Shtreimels)
Straw Hats
Sun Hats
Sun Visors
Sunday Meetin Hats/Nice Church Lady Hats
Top Hats
Toques/Watch Caps
Trilbies (fedora-style hats made of stitched cloth, as opposed to felt)
Tweed Caps
Umbrella Hats
Visored Caps/Greek Fishermens Caps/Motorcycle Caps
Western Hats/Ten-Gallon Hats
Witch Hats
Scarves and Shawls
This category encompasses the full gamut of scarves, from long wool mufflers for winter, to
shorter silk scarves intended for formal wear. Scarves are defined by the Census Bureau as
being longer than 60 cm (23.622 inches), on at least one side. Ladies scarves intended to be
worn around the neck or on the head as fashion accents are definitely included in this
category, as are shawls worn for warmth or just for the style.
Ties and Other Neckwear
The ties and other neckwear category comprises mainly regular mens and boys ties that,
when worn, are long enough to hang down to about the navel. Also included here are apache
scarves (a square or other shape of fabric that is looped around the neck and secured by

pulling its end through a ring at the base of the throat), ascots, bow ties, and western-style
string ties.
Accessories a Component of the Wider Apparel Market
In describing products that make up the available assortment of fashion accessories, it is

important to stress that this entire market is considered an extension of, or a vague area
within, the overall apparel market. In advertising, for example, clothing is the focus and the
accessories are blended into the larger fashion message.
Packaged Facts reiterates that, in this report, we use the term apparel in the broadest
possible sense, referring to clothing, and often to accessories and footwear, as well. But
clothing refers only to garments. Accessories and footwear refer only to those
respective groups of products.
Specialty Niches and Specialty Outlets
While accessories often seem lost in the wider world of fashion: clothing sales dwarf
accessories sales; certain accessories categories lend themselves well to exploitation as
specialty niches that warrant dedicated retail outlets. Think Coach-brand leather goods stores
and the host of small retailers, even street vendors, selling gloves and mittens, hats, scarves,
and ties.
Special uses also enable niche-marketing and retailing. Police gloves, for example, are sold
through law enforcement supply (ordinance) stores that may also sell uniforms, legal texts,
flashlights, etc. Archers and weightlifters gloves are sold through sporting goods stores.
Fine pocket squares are sold through upscale haberdashers, while reproductions of antique
shawls are sold through museum gift shops. And so on
Size Systems
Some fashion accessories, for examples, bags and wallets and scarves, are sized intuitively;
while others, specifically belts, gloves, and hats, are sized according to widely used, though
not necessarily standardized systems. Belts are an exception, because they are simply sized
according to waist measurement in inches.

Belts
Belts are sized by waist measurement: A 36 waist requires a 36 belt.
Gloves
Gloves and mittens are often sized as extra small, small, medium, large, and extra large. How
marketers define these sizes varies, but the basis for calculation is most often the
measurement around the hand at the knuckles or just below. For example, e-tailer
Walkabout.com defines an extra large womens glove as for an 8.0 hand measured in this
way; an extra large mens glove is for a 9.5-10.0 hand. Yet at Turtleskin.com, an 8.0-inch
hand measurement translates into a unisex small or medium.
The European system of glove measurement typically spans sizes 6 (152mm-178mm around
the hand) through 11 (279mm-plus).
Some glove marketers use sizing systems based on finger length, measured as the length
from the base of the palm to the tip of the middle finger.
Hats
Generally speaking, U.S. hat makers and marketers base size designations on ones head
circumference (measured at about a quarter of an inch above the ear) multiplied by a factor of
0.320, or 32.0%; this factor is close to the value of pi (0.314159), but is a little greater, to help
allow for the thickness of a leather inner headband. [Table 1-1]
Various marketers hat size-charts are slightly different, usually due to mathematical
rounding, to adjustments according to gender, to materials used or, to subjective
interpretations of which numbered sizes ought to equal the vaguer designations of small,
medium, and large. Size systems can also be affected by hat style, or even by marketers
whims.
Head circumferences of less than 20 inches are widely considered to translate into childrens
hat sizes.
Metric hat sizes have been adopted by most countries in the world. The United States, the
United Kingdom, and Ireland are prominent exceptions.

Intuitive
Other fashion accessories, for instance, bags, scarves, wallets, and so forth, are usually sized
intuitively; that is, they are designed in sizes comfortable to carry in ones hand or pocket, or
to provide adequate warmth when wrapped about ones neck, or to hold enough money,
photos, credit cards, etc.
Table 1-1
Hat Sizes, According to Five Size-Systems
Head Closest 1/64th Closest 1/8th

Circumference Inch Inch Metric Sizes Qualitative
(Inches) (Inches) (Inches) U.S. Sizes British Sizes French Sizes (Centimeters) (S-M-L)
19.5188 19 33/64 19 6 6 1/8 1 50 Child
19.9115 19 29/32 19 7/8 6 3/8 6 2 51 Child
20.3042 20 11/32 20 6 6 3/8 2 52 XS
20.6969 20 45/64 20 6 5/8 6 3 53 XS
21.0896 21 5/64 21 1/8 6 6 5/8 3 54 Small
21.4823 21 31/64 21 6 7/8 6 4 55 Small
21.875 21 7/8 21 7/8 7 6 7/8 4 56 Medium
22.2677 22 17/64 22 7 1/8 7 5 57 Medium
22.6604 22 21/32 22 5/8 7 7 1/8 5 58 Large
23.0531 23 3/64 23 7 3/8 7 6 59 Large
23.4458 23 29/64 23 7 7 3/8 6 60 XL
23.8385 23 27/32 23 7/8 7 5/8 7 7 61 XL
24.2312 24 15/64 24 7 7 5/8 7 62 XXL
24.6239 24 5/8 24 5/8 7 7/8 7 8 63 XXL
25.0166 25 1/64 25 8 7 7/8 8 64 XXXL
Source: Packaged Facts; industry sources

Summary of Report
Seven Fashion Accessories Categories
Packaged Facts organizes fashion accessories into seven product categories. In descending
order of retail dollar sales, the categories are 1.) bags, 2.) belts/small leather goods, 3.)
ties/other neckwear, 4.) hats, 5.) gloves/mittens, 6.) scarves/shawls, and 7.)
handkerchiefs/pocket squares.
Fashion Accessories Market Surpasses $16.3 Billion in 2008
Packaged Facts projects that the U.S. fashion accessories market will break the $16.3 billion
mark at retail by the end of 2008. [Table 1-2] This level will reflect an increase for the year
of almost 5%, and a total increase for 2004-2008 of nearly 28%. This progress during the
four-year period translates into a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of more than 6% --
quite bullish for such a large sales base.
Six out of seven categories have experienced retail dollar growth 2004-2008. Scarves/shawls
is the only category to lose ground. Yet just two categories, bags and ties/other neckwear,
can be described as bullish at this time; their strong progress is largely responsible for the
bullishness of the overall market.
Steady Rise Foreseen, to $20.2 Billion in 2012
Packaged Facts projects that U.S. retail sales of fashion accessories will nudge the $20.2
billion level by the close of 2012. [Table 1-2] The overall fashion accessories market will
expand a total of almost 24% during 2008-2012, or by $3.9 billion. This scenario translates
into a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of more than 5% during the same four years
excellent for such a massive dollar base.
Packaged Facts forecasts that the world economy, so badly ailing as this report goes to press
in late 2008, will recover some bounce within a year or two.

Table 1-2
U.S. Retail Dollar Sales of Fashion Accessories, 2004-2012 (In Millions)
Year $ % Change
2012 20,181 5.2
2011 19,186 5.5
2010 18,184 5.6
2009 17,224 5.5
2008 16,329 4.7
2007 15,589 5.7
2006 14,752 6.5
2005 13,852 8.4
2004 12,779 --
CAGR 2008-2012 = 5.4%
Total Growth, 2008-2012 = 23.6%
CAGR 2004-2008 = 6.3%
Total Growth, 2004-2008 = 27.8%
Source: Packaged Facts
Bags Account for a Third of Accessories Sales
In 2008, the bags category accounts for over 36% of the fashion accessories market, based on
Packaged Facts estimates of retail dollar sales. [Table 1-3] Bags have gained six share-
points since 2004. The belts/small leather goods category is second-ranked, with over 21%
of sales down over three points. Belts/small leather goods barely edge out the ties/other
neckwear category and its 20%.
Men Account for Surprisingly Notable Shares of Accessories

Retail Dollars
In Table 1-3, Packaged Facts breaks out retail dollars and share according to the genders that
are purchasing various fashion accessories. (It is not possible to accurately break out gender-
spends on hats and handkerchiefs/pocket squares.) Some readers may be surprised at the
ratios of male-spends to female: When it comes to belts/small leather goods, for example,
men account for about $2.3 billion worth in 2008, or almost two thirds of the categorys retail
value. And in the gloves/mittens category, men account for $402.0 million, or 47%.

...Though Women Still Lead Accessories Spending Overall
Because reliable data on spending by gender for hats and handkerchiefs/pocket squares is not
available, gender-spends in Table 1-3 are not totaled. However, sub-totals of the remaining
five fashion accessories categories reveals mens spending brushes the $5.6 billion mark in
2008. This level is more than 28% higher than the $4.3 billion that men spent in 2004.
Women remain the champion spenders in this market, paying out almost $10.8 billion in
2008, which coincidentally is 28% higher than the $8.4 billion female-spend of four years
earlier.
Table 1-3
Share of U.S. Retail Dollar Sales of Fashion Accessories, by Seven Product
Categories, and by Gender That Is Purchasing, 2004-2008 (In Millions)
% Share of % Share of
Category 2004 $ Market/Category 2008 $ Market/Category
Bags 3,862 30.2%/100.0% 5,911 36.2%/100.0%
Men 85 0.7/2.2 381 2.3/6.4
Women 3,777 29.6/97.8 5,530 33.9/93.6
Belts/Small Leather Goods 3,128 24.5/100.0 3,455 21.2/100.0
Men 1,993 15.6/63.7 2,274 13.9/65.8
Women 1,135 8.9/36.3 1,181 7.2/34.2
Gloves/Mittens 760 5.9/100.0 856 5.2/100.0
Men 380 3.0/50.0 402 2.5/47.0
Women 380 3.0/50.0 454 2.8/53.0
Handkerchiefs/Pocket
Squares 60 0.5/100.0 71 0.4/100.0
Men NA NA NA NA
Women NA NA NA NA
Hats 1,888 14.8/100.0 2,224 13.6/100.0
Men NA NA NA NA
Women NA NA NA NA
Scarves/Shawls 562 4.4/100.0 521 3.2/100.0
Men 170 1.3/30.3 126 0.8/24.1
Women 392 3.1/69.7 395 2.4/75.9
Ties/Other Neckwear 2,519 19.7/100.0 3,291 20.2/100.0
Men 1,713 13.4/68.0 2,391 14.6/72.7
Women 806 6.3/32.0 900 5.5/27.3
Total 12,779 100.0%/NA 16,329 100.0%/NA
N.B.: Due to rounding, numbers may not add precisely to column subtotals or totals.
NA = Not available or not applicable.

Americas Taste Has Been Upscaled
In 2008, it is evident millions more Americans than ever before show a preference for
elegant, often expensive fashion accessories. This is obviously a positive factor in this
markets sales growth; but a look at the broader historical/consumerist context indicates that
such taste for fine accessories is rooted solidly in the upscaling of many aspects of our
society.
Since the advent of Jordache designer jeans in the late 1970s, and especially since the
presidency of Ronald Reagan (1981-1989), Americans have become enamored of one luxury
product after another. In the mid-to-late 1980s, for example, gourmet and ethnic foods were
in the spotlight, whether driving expansion of the restaurant industry, or livening up the
frozen food aisle at the supermarket. In the early 1990s, anti-aging products with alpha-
hydroxy acids (AHAs) kicked off an intense curiosity about prestige-priced health and beauty
care (HBC) products. Sephora, a chain of high-end beauty product stores, appeared in 1998.
And in the early 2000s, the rise of the affluent Yoga Mom seeking a unique image for herself
and for baby, helped to popularize Bugaboo, Maclaren, and Stokke strollers that often carry
pricetags above $1,000.
...And Simultaneously Hip-Hopped
There is a second major societal influence that complements upscaled tastes. It sometimes
reaps higher price-points and sometimes attracts shoppers to the low end: This influence is
pop culture, specifically the impactful hip-hop aspect of it. HipHop is born of African-
American rap music, a genre that dates back roughly to the appearance of Jordache in the late
1970s.
A perfect example of the potential in a small niche, hip-hop is a super-trend: There are hip-
hop specialty retailers such as ThugLife.com, which sells baseball caps, buckles, and the
bling (ostentatious jewelry) favored by adherents of hip-hop lifestyles; Yellow Rat Bastard,
a brand-dedicated chain selling a comprehensive line of hip-hop apparel and accessories; and
New Era Cap Co., Inc., which specializes in baseball caps, some rolled out in limited editions
at $40 per unit.

Basic-Need Items, Splurge and Impulse Factors, and Lean

Economic Times
The common assumption is that during times of national recession, or as in 2008, global
recession, the fashion accessories business benefits from consumers trade-downs from
bigger-ticket items such as designer dresses or suits. This is absolutely true of the action in
both womens and mens accessories in any price-tier, from low to high.
Yet vanity is a balancing factor, often buoying sales of some luxury goods during the worst of
times. Even for some low-income consumers, a must-have handbag must be had.
Traditionally, persons secure in their wealth, too, keep making luxe-tier purchases during the
downturns although they sometimes trade down within luxe price-brackets, or down to
upper-middle-prices. As this report is published in late 2008, the big question is how long
such behaviors will persist if the recession lasts for years.
Clothing marketers are allowing for the trend to smaller-ticket purchases by establishing or
expanding accessories lines. One example is London-based Aquascutum, famous for its
namesake brand of trenchcoats and other clothing. In 2007, the company newly licensed the
manufacture of Aquascutum scarves and ties to Novaseta, and the manufacture of the brands
handbags and footwear to Antichi Pellitieri. Both manufacturers are headquartered in Italy.
The accessories lines are even expected to help Aquascutum relaunch its clothing in the
United States. Globally, the accessories are counted upon to yield 24%-30% of sales of the
Aquascutum brand, according to Daily News Record (March 5, 2007).
Ideally, the life-cycle of accessories purchase is calculable. That is, a glove-makers

marketing manager needs to anticipate when a pair of winter gloves is likely to be replaced.
Two years, even three years may seem logical. But there are many variable factors, from the
health of the national economy, which can encourage or discourage impulse and/or add-on
purchases, to weather conditions that can either wear out the gloves sooner, or later. Small
accessories are often lost, too; left behind in restaurants, dropped in the street, and so on.
Fashion Accessories versus Electronic Accessories
Personal electronics compete with fashion accessories sales. Cellphones, iPods, blackberries,
and game systems make as much of a statement about a person as a Coach bag or an
Acquascutum trench coat. Sales and upkeep of these items may impinge upon fashion
accessory sales.

Weather Events and Conditions a Key Factor in Growth
Weather is a mighty swing factor in fashion accessories sales growth; it can take the form of
hurricanes or blizzards that wreak catastrophic damage, or of temperatures that are just too
hot or too cold. Bad weather causes Americans who are already frustrated by heavy
vehicular traffic around malls, as well as by the price of gasoline, to postpone or even cancel
shopping excursions.
Conversely, what most of us call good weather warm, sunny days can be disastrous for
certain accessory product types, including gloves/mittens, scarves/shawls, and hats and other
items, if it occurs too often during autumn and winter. Daily News Record reported (on
February 12, 2007) that A balmy start to the winter on the East Coast put the freeze on cold-
weather accessory purchases. The trade paper when on to claim that sales of such products
in October and November were down 28% from the comparable period in the previous year.
As this report goes to press in late 2008, the U.S. Meteorological Service has announced that
the winter of 2008-2009 will bring unusually heavy snow to the same East Coast spared bad
weather in 2006-2007.
Hard to Identify True Marketers in Maze of Licensing,

Distribution Deals
The fashion accessories business is obscured by the fact that it is routinely considered by
many analysts, trade publications, retailers, and even marketers themselves, to be merely an
aspect of the apparel business. As noted earlier, data on accessories are often lumped
together with data on clothing or footwear. This situation is improving as many fashion firms
look to accessories to ensure growth during tougher economic times around the globe.
However, apart from clearly accessories-specialized marketers such as Coach, it continues to
be difficult to pinpoint just which apparel marketers offer exactly which accessories.
Further confusing the issue is the morass of entities involved in bringing accessories to the
end-user. There may be a manufacturer or contract-manufacturer, an importer, a wholesaler,
a distributor, and key retailers, all helping the marketer to make, merchandise, advertise, and
promote a particular brand. Or, the fashion accessories marketer often may be the maker,
distributor, and retailer, all in one.
Then again, a contract-manufacturer/private-labeler like Randa Corporation, the largest U.S.

manufacturer of neckties, has ghost-performed some of these same functions for retailers as

diverse as Kohls, Macys, and Sears/Kmart or, adding more twists and turns to the
accessories maze for marketers Levi-Strauss, Phillips-Van Heusen/Calvin Klein, and others.
When responsibilities are delegated, they are often licensed, via high-profile contracts that
allow a company to manufacture and/or market and/or retail specific brands in specific
territories for specific numbers of years.
...But Accessories Marketers Probably Number Thousands
While it is hard enough to identify which entities are actually marketing fashion accessories,
let alone to count them, Packaged Facts speculates that there may be 2,000 or more marketers
of fashion accessories in the United States as of 2008. This figure includes major
corporations as well as tiny mom-and-pop concerns.
Real power-players in the fashion accessories market, however, constitute a fraction of that
number. Memberships in U.S. trade associations reveal the American Apparel and Footwear
Association (AAFA) has 367 member-companies in its online directory as of November
2008; Fashion Accessories Shippers Association (FASA) has about 200; and the Leather
Apparel Association (LAA), 93. These numbers are small, and some members are not
accessories marketers, but are involved in clothing and footwear marketing, manufacture,
distribution, or merchandising.
Product Trend: Bags and More Bags
Once again, bags and ties/other neckwear are the two categories that have contributed the
most retail dollars to fashion accessories incremental sales growth 2004-2008. Tie
collections are often introduced as components of lines of clothing. But bags are likelier to
be marketed on their own. Bags can also be priced much higher. Ties are typically priced at
$5-$200 at retail, while certain brands of bags (Coach, Hermes, Judith Leiber, among others)
can cost up to $10,000 or more.
Expensive handbags have been all the rage in the few years leading up to 2008. Fashion
marketers have been scrambling to extend clothing marquees with accessories lines that
feature bags for both women and men. Because luxury items influence low-end designs,
introductions of lower-end bags have also been stepped up.
Bag intros during 2007-2008 have been diverse. Four are:

A Touch of Class Clothings namesake-branded bags, which are moderately priced
Charlie Lapsons namesaked bags, which wholesale at $90-$500 (though half of the
brands 2007 sales were transacted via television home shopping channels)
Iconix Brand Groups new Badgley Mischka extension, Platinum Day Bags,
wholesaling at $125-$295
Loudermilks namesake brand, which wholesales at up to $900.
Product Trend: Luxury Accessories Intros Continue...
Packaged Facts reiterates an observation made earlier in this report: there is no reversing
Americas heightened taste for luxury goods. Traditional patterns of consumer purchasing
show upscale products either continue to sell decently well during periods of economic
recession, or their audience trades down in price-points but only a notch to upper-middle
price-tiers.
2008 is too early to know whether the current deep recession will break those patterns,
resulting in a prolonged, severe sales drought for luxe accessories. But introductions of luxe
products do keep appearing.
Luxe bags, previously cited, are joined by Woolrichs upscale Woolrich Woolen Mills
collection of hunters plaid hats and scarves; Betsy Stephens namesake-branded belts and
scarves (and bags) decorated with sports team logos in crystal beads; and Royal Plushs
namesaked hats (and bags).
Product Trend: ...As Do Low-End and Mid-Priced Intros
Lower price-tiered fashion accessories receive less publicity and yet are still favored by a
huge chunk of the American adult population. Simmons Market Research Bureau, Inc., finds
that, in 2008, 16.4 million adults, or 8%, agree with the statement, I like to keep up with the
latest fashions. Yet over a quarter of adults 52.3 million say that they dress
conservatively; a circumstance that would seem to go hand in hand with shopping for value.
Even more pertinent to pricing is the Simmons finding that 48.9 million Americans, 22% say,
Clothes from discount stores are as good as clothes from department stores. (For more
Simmons data, see Chapter 6, The Consumer.)

But conservative, low-end fashions and accessories often go unnoticed because they are not
what attracts shoppers to mass merchandisers and other value-retailers. And low-end
versions are often styled to reflect trends in upper price-tiers, which allows bargain brands to
ride the coattails of upscale brands, without benefit of high-profile advertising and
promotional support.
Just three of the many examples of new lower-end accessories are Alternative Apparels wool
and twill hats that retail for about $30; Dynomighty Designs Might Wallet of recycled
materials, selling for $15; and Vera Wangs Simply Vera brand of bags, belts, hats, wallets,
and scarves (and clothing and housewares), sold exclusively through Kohls for as little as
$10, and ranging up to $149.
Product Trend: New Green-Minded/Eco-Friendly Products
Environmental concerns are increasingly shaping brand-positioning in many product markets,

including fashion accessories. Ecoist LLC is exemplary, having been established in 2004 to
market Mexican-made bags composed of reused candy wrappers, rice sacks, aluminum can
pull-tops, and other trash. Releasing new styles on an ongoing basis, the company ships at
least 3,000 units monthly. Bags retail at $22-$285, with a percentage of every sale enabling
non-profit Trees for the Future, to plant a seedling. One handbag sold equals one new tree on
planet Earth. Ecoist-enabled tree plantings numbered 30,000 the end of 2007.
Closely allied with its green concerns is Ecoists practice of Fair Trade policies, which ensure
that Third World sources of products and materials do not use child labor or toxic materials,
and that business transactions empower local populations to achieve better lives.
Loudermilks namesake-branded eco-friendly bags, which wholesale at up to $900, and

Dynomighty Designs Mighty Wallet made of old comic strips, retailing for $15, are two
more new green product intros, from the high and low ends of the price spectrum.
The Consumer: Ladies Handbags, Mens Belts Are Most Widely

Purchased Accessories
According to information from Simmons Market Research Bureau, there are 54.1 million
U.S. adult purchasers of womens handbags in 2008. [Table 1-4] This sector equals an
extraordinary one quarter of all of our countrys adults. Unsurprisingly, the overwhelming
majority of the purchasers are women, but nearly 4.1 million, or 8% of them, are men. Belts

are the most widely purchased of mens accessories, with a purchaser-base of 39.5 million,
who make up 18% of all U.S. adults. Men buying their own belts are more than two thirds of
this base; but women buying mens belts constitute 12.4 million, or 31%. This demonstrates
that, in 2008, many women still dress (or at least shop for) their boyfriends, brothers, fathers,
husbands, or sons.
Table 1-4
Numbers of U.S. Adult Purchasers of Fashion Accessories, by Product Type, 2008 (In
Thousands)
No. Adult
Product Type Purchasers % All U.S. Adults
WOMENS ACCESSORIES
Womens Belts 17,977 8.2%
Men 1,265 0.6
Women 16,712 7.6
Womens Gloves 17,890 8.2
Men 1,730 0.8
Women 16,160 7.4
Womens Handbags 54,050 24.7
Men 4,055 1.9
Women 49,995 22.8
Womens Scarves 11,324 5.2
Men 1,201 0.5
Women 10,123 4.6
Womens Wallets 15,557 7.1
Men 1,028 0.5
Women 14,529 6.6
MENS ACCESSORIES
Mens Belts 39,470 18.0
Men 27,092 12.4
Women 12,378 5.7
Mens Gloves 15,966 7.3
Men 9,863 4.5
Women 6,103 74
Mens Neckties 24,626 11.3
Men 15,446 7.1
Women 9,179 4.2
Mens Scarves 4,176 1.9
Men 1,980 0.9
Women 2,196 1.0

Table 1-4 [continued]

Numbers of U.S. Adult Purchasers of Fashion Accessories, by Product Type, 2008 (In
Thousands)
No. Adult
Product Type Purchasers % All U.S. Adults
Mens Wallets 24,392 11.1
Men 14,863 6.8
Women 9,529 4.4
UNISEX ACCESSORIES
Baseball Caps w/ Team Logos 21,555 9.8
13,408 6.1
8,146 3.7
Columns are not totaled, because of consumers choices of multiple accessories.
Percentages apply to Simmons estimate of the number of all U.S. adults in 2008;
this number is 218,841,000.
Source: Simmons Market Research Bureau, Inc., Spring 2008, Study of Media & Markets;
Packaged Facts
This material used with permission.

Mens and Womens Fashion Accessories in the U.S. Chapter 2: Trends and Opportunities
Chapter 2 Trends and Opportunities
Highlights
Most marketers consider accessories to be a vaguely defined area of the fashion

industry, and not a stand-alone component of it. Traditionally, accessories are meant
to benefit from marketing monies devoted to raising brand awareness via image
advertising; in such ads, accessories just happen to be there, and the consumer is
often left to wonder, Thats a Prada suit. Is the bag Prada, too? And the hat? In
2008, the situation is rapidly changing; accessories often play central roles in ad
layouts.
Americans have become steadily more sophisticated in their tastes since the 1970s.
Fashion-wise, that was when we started wearing designer names on the outside of our
clothing, beginning with the Jordache brand on the back of jeans. Gourmet foods in
the 1980s, prestige beauty products in the late 1990s, thousand-dollar Bugaboo baby
strollers in the early 2000s, and now costly handbags, have all thrived. If these
products runaway incidences of purchase began as fads, each has persisted. Once
America acquires a taste for an upscale product, there is no going back.
In 2008, the worlds bad financial condition it is compared to the Great Depression
that followed the stock market crash of 1929 is pressuring many consumers to trade
down, from whole new outfits, to perhaps just a bag, a tie, a scarf. As a consequence,
fashion marketers can now mine the potential in accessories, if they choose to
emphasize them in their marketing plans.
Just as the sleepiest, Whitest, most conservative little towns in the 1960s were home
to some folks who embraced hippie music and culture, similar towns in the 2000s
feature pockets of those who live like hip-hoppers. One can observe hundreds of
White high school kids in Concord, New Hampshire, or Corvallis, Oregon, wearing
the baseball caps, big belt buckles, falling-down trousers, and high-tech sneakers
favored by inner-city Black hip-hoppers.
In most womens accessories categories, women are the main purchasers, yet men are
brave gift-givers. In the bag category, for instance, there are slightly fewer than 50.0

Chapter 2: Trends and Opportunities Mens and Womens Fashion Accessories in the U.S.
million women who purchase the accessory. But there are also 4.1 million men who
purchase bags. The men account for a small slice of the purchaser-base in terms of
share, and yet they do number in the millions, spending significant dollars.

Trends and Opportunities
Choose to Emphasize Accessories
Most marketers, most of the time, treat accessories as the stepchildren of the fashion world.
When positioning a brand, clothing is usually featured in any advertising, promotional, public
relations, and even merchandising campaign despite the fact that some marketers report
accessories are accounting for more and more of their sales. Apart from specialists such as
Buxton Acquisitions Co., LLC, Coach, Inc., New Era Cap Co., Inc., and Totes (Isotoner
Corporation) the majority of fashion houses are still including accessories in an understated
way in their marketing materials and, if they have any control of them, in magazines themed
fashion spreads. This gibes with Packaged Facts assertion that most marketers consider
accessories a vaguely defined area of the fashion industry rather than a stand-alone market.
Traditionally, accessories are meant to benefit from marketing monies devoted to raising
brand awareness via image advertising. In such ads accessories just happen to be there, and
the consumer is often left to wonder, Thats a Prada suit. Is the bag Prada, too? And the
hat?
In 2008, the situation is rapidly changing. Packaged Facts observes that accessories are given
more prominent roles in ad layouts for Ralph Lauren, Giorgio Armani, and Dolce & Gabana
fashions, to name just three. Models hold up purses right in the centers of shots. In one
Dolce & Gabana two-page spread, a group of perhaps 20 models are dressed for winter, all
wearing hats, scarves, gloves, etc. Other adsDunhill, Isotoner, and brand-exclusives sold
through retailers such as Sears, Target, and Wal-Mart feature accessories by themselves.
Evidence of the trend to spotlight accessories is compelling observed research. The status-
bag craze and the failing global economy in the fourth quarter 2008 are two marketplace
conditions that logically encourage the trend. Increasing numbers of Americans are craving
that Coach or Dooney & Burke or Judith Lieber handbag, whether or not they can afford the
price tag of several hundred or even thousands of dollars. On the other hand, the worlds bad
financial condition it is compared to the Great Depression that followed the stock market
crash of 1929 is pressuring consumers to trade down, from whole new outfits, to perhaps
just a bag, a tie, a scarf. This creates an opportunity for fashion marketers to mine the
potential of accessoriesto great benefit if they choose to emphasize them in marketing plans.

One motivation for featuring accessories is that marketers can rejuvenate their overall brand
images with strategies in form of new collections, brand-extensions, and bridge or diffusion
brands, any of which may be positioned to hip youth, hip hoppers, nostalgic Baby Boomers,
elegant fashionistas, etc. This may or may not mean that entire brands become focused on
accessories; marketers stances in the marketplace differ. But it definitely opens up the
possibilities for striking, perhaps wild and provocative advertising that is experiential, and
causes consumers to re-think their opinions of long-established fashion labels.
Americas Tastes Have Upscaled Forever
A point made throughout this report is that American consumers have become more
sophisticated in their tastes. This is not a sudden development, but one that has built steadily
since the 1970s. Fashion-wise, it was in the 1970s that we started wearing designer names on
the outside of our clothing, beginning with the Jordache brand on the back of jeans. Gourmet
foods in the 1980s, prestige beauty products in the late 1990s, thousand-dollar Bugaboo baby
strollers in the early 2000s, and now costly handbags, have all thrived. If these products
runaway incidences of purchase began as fads, each has persisted, until luxe versions have
influenced the common standard.
The irony is that once America acquires a taste for an upscale product, there is no going back.
Presumably, some of the trading down in price-points during the planets late2008 economic
downturn is not too extreme. A decision to put off spending $1,100 on a Hickey-Freeman
blazer may be offset by the purchase of a less expensive accessory, instead. Then again, that
second choice might be a Coach bag retailing for nearly as much money as the denied blazer.
Admit It: Hip-Hoppers Are a Huge Audience
Inner-city African Americans and their culture proved fertile ground for rap music in the late
1970s, a genre that quickly progressed to the broader genre and lifestyle called hip hop.
Accepting that racial limit, there are 39.5 million Blacks in the United States, according to the
U.S. Census Bureau. A majority live in urban areas, and certainly not all are fans of hip-hop
music; however, the figure provides valuable perspective. Like jazz, the blues, and R & B,
hip-hop has crossed over to other ethnic cultures, as well as to the White mainstream. Just as
the sleepiest, Whitest, most conservative little towns in the 1960s were home to some folks
who embraced hippie music and culture, similar towns in the 2000s feature pockets of those
who live like hip-hoppers.

Therefore one can observe hundreds of White high school students in Concord, New
Hampshire, or Corvallis, Oregon, wearing the baseball caps, big belt buckles, falling-down
trousers, and high-tech sneakers favored by inner-city Black hip-hoppers.
Not every fashion accessories marketer can or should offer products suitable for hip-hop
culture, yet all in the industry must pay heed to a decades-old music genre/lifestyle that
remains ground-swelling.
Sean John clothing and accessories, sold through Macys and other department stores; New
Era baseball caps, available at department stores, sporting goods stores, other specialty stores,
and company-owned New Era-dedicated stores in U.S. and European cities; and P Miller
[sic], Wal-Marts first specifically hip-hop clothing collection, are three examples of fashion
brands that show markedly hip-hop influences.
Bag and Tie Categories Thriving
Whatever the positive factors in fashion accessories sales growth, some categories have fared
better than others during 2004-2008. Packaged Facts has determined that just two categories,
bags and ties, have performed bullishly: Bag retail dollars have jumped 53% during the four
years to more than $5.9 billion while ties/other neckwear have risen 31% to $3.3 billion.
The drive to own status-bags has been described above. Ties have been strong sellers as men
attempt to dress better as they search for work in these troubled economic times or as they
prepare to start searching, in anticipation of mass firings.
Evolve the Bag!
To make the most of American womens and mens escalating desire for upscale bags, some
marketers may want to transcend vanity, though flattering styles remain the basic drivers of
designers creations. Already, Buxton Shoulder Organizer, Jack Spade, A Touch of Class,
and Charlie Lapson bags are all positioned on superior functionality via ample inner
compartments.
Other ways to improve some bags include greatly lengthening shoulder straps of mens bags
or the sling-ends of womens hobo-style bags; building in alarm systems or global satellite
positioning (GPS) devices; designing to conceal theft-worthy objects such as cellphones and
portable digital assistants (PDAs) such as Blackberries; use of materials that change color;

installation of memory keys connectable to computers via USB cables; installation of self-
defense items such as pepper spray or Tasers (where legal), and more.
Some of these smart bags would be marketable only to small bases of gadgeteers who are
attracted to clever, but not quite practical products; other of these smart bags could change
how women and men carry necessaries from one location to another.
Consumers Need Accessories Education
Packaged Facts advises accessories marketers to tell product stories, especially about the
pricier products. This does not refer to recounting company history, but rather the stories of
procurement of rare materials, celebrities or royalty choice, and above all, the accessories
proper use. Tying a bow-tie in a Windsor knot is something to take pride in and be vain
about. Exotic symbols on a pair of suspenders can make the accessory a conversation piece.
The pattern on a fabric-covered bag can evoke any period in history.
The idea of spurring accessories purchases by making their stories known also helps to
explain the power of branding. A recognized brand tells its story automatically the instant it
is seen on someones bag or hat or backside.
Men Understand Accessories as Gifts
The demographic data on accessories purchasing show some surprising patterns according to
gender. For example, Simmons finds that millions of women are still picking out their mens
belts and ties, but Simmons also projects that men generally dominate purchase of most
mens accessories. The exception to this is mens scarves, bought by 2.2 million women and
2.0 million men.
In most womens accessories categories, women are the main purchasers, yet men are brave
gift-givers. In the bag category, for instance, there are slightly fewer than 50.0 million
women who purchase the accessory. But there are also 4.1 million men who purchase bags.
The men account for a small slice of the purchaser-base in terms of share, and yet they do
number in the millions, spending significant dollars.
For harder Simmons data on the purchase of fashion accessories by the two genders, consult
the end of Chapter 1, Executive Summary.

Tactic: Designer Accessories for Less
It is nearly 2009, and by now it is no secret that some marketers are accommodating every
income level of those sophisticated millions of Americans who have acquired tastes for
upscale designer fashion labels. The vertically integrated Jones Apparel Group (JAG) offers
a stunning example: The marketer of a diverse stable of brands in a full range of price-tiers,
JAG also operates retail stores 1,031 at the close of 2007. Of these, 638 were
manufacturers outlets, several of them selling Anne Klein, Easy Spirit, Jones New York,
Kasper, Nine West, and other brands of clothing, accessories, or footwear.
In the latter half of the 20th century, the basic concept of the manufacturers outlet one or a
few stores selling rejects, seconds, returns, or damaged products at deep discounts, often
located off the beaten path was transformed into an entire retail channel that attracted
shoppers who still flatter themselves on shopping well. But there is not enough flawed
merchandise to fill these stores. In fact, many of them are supplied with what could be called
diffusion merchandise, lower in quality than that sold in non-discount outlets, whether or
not it bears a diffusion brand.
Less expensive versions of a companys own brands are a strategy afforded by the success of
upscale labels such as Ralph Lauren, Donna Karan, or Anne Klein. Marketers may pedal
both upscale and cheap clothing and accessories according to layers of branding according to
the value/better/bridge/collections/couture scale, or contract for lesser-quality versions for
sale through manufacturers outlets, again, whether or not brand-names are modified.
It is all relative.
Some Potential in Green and Fair Trade Practices
The fashion industrys trade publications constantly report green-mindedness and Fair Trade
policies of small entrepreneurs. For a few of these marketers, such twin concerns constitute
key positioning. At least one, World of Good, is positioned entirely on Fair Trade. (See the
World of Good thumbnail profile within the Three Marketers to Watch section of Chapter 4,
The Marketers.)
Higher-profile marketers may green up their factories, warehouses, and raw materials
paths, or may attempt to avoid sourcing from employers of child labor, but such efforts are
usually relegated to the pages of annual financial reports, perhaps out of fear of limiting a

fashion brands audience; inasmuch as some consumers might associate green or Fair
Trade with Third-World handicraft, as opposed to high style.
Vanity rules. Yet if a major marketer ever decides to field a collection of functional and
stylish bags, ties, or other accessories positioned squarely on green/Fair Trade concepts, it is
certain that the fashion industrys shrewdest fashion executives will monitor the progress of
that collection very closely.

Mens and Womens Fashion Accessories in the U.S. Chapter 3: The Market
Chapter 3 The Market
Highlights
Packaged Facts projects that the U.S. fashion accessories market will break the $16.3 billion mark
at retail by the end of 2008. This level will reflect an increase for the year of almost 5%, and a
total increase 2004-2008 of nearly 28%. This progress during the four-year period translates into
a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of more than 6%.
Of the fashion accessories markets seven categories, six experienced retail dollar growth 2004-
2008. Scarves/shawls is the only category to lose ground. Yet just two categories, bags and
ties/other neckwear, can be described as bullish at this time. Their strong progress is largely
responsible for the bullishness of the overall market.
In 2008, the bags category accounts for over 36% of the fashion accessories market, based on
Packaged Facts estimates of retail dollar sales. Bags is up six share-points since 2004. The
belts/small leather goods category is second-ranked, with over 21% of sales down over three
points. The ties/other neckwear category claims 20%, and hats have the only other double-digit
share at nearly 14%.
When it comes to belts/small leather goods, men account for about $2.3 billion worth in 2008,
almost two thirds of the categorys retail value. And in the gloves/mittens category, men account
for $402.0 million, or 47%.
Packaged Facts estimates that department stores account for a commanding 35% share of U.S.
retail dollar sales of fashion accessories in 2008. Mass (comprising mass merchandisers, chain
drugstores, and supermarkets) has under 24% with mass merchandisers contributing about 15
points of that share.
Packaged Facts projects that U.S. retail sales of fashion accessories will nudge the $20.2 billion
level by the close of 2012. Individual annual increases are projected to be remarkably consistent,
but growth for the overall market will be driven largely by the bags, hats, and ties/other neckwear
categories. Progress in sales of belts/small leather goods, gloves/mittens, handkerchiefs/pocket
squares, and scarves/shawls will be lackluster in comparison.

Chapter 3: The Market Mens and Womens Fashion Accessories in the U.S.
The overall fashion accessories market will expand a total of almost 24% during 2008-2012, or
$3.9 billion. This scenario translates into a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of more than
5% during the same four years excellent for such a massive dollar base. These projections are
based on expectation of the world economy, so badly ailing as this report goes to press in late
2008, will begin to see recovery within a year or two. The fashion accessories market is likely
first to receive benefit of consumers reduced caution in spending at that time.

Market Size and Growth
Fashion Accessories Market Surpasses $16.3 Billion in 2008
Packaged Facts projects that the U.S. fashion accessories market will break the $16.3 billion mark at retail
by the end of 2008. [Table 3-1] This level will reflect an increase for the year of almost 5% and a total
increase 2004-2008 of nearly 28%. This progress during the four-year period translates into a compound
annual growth rate (CAGR) of more than 6% -- quite bullish for such a large sales base.
Of the fashion accessories markets seven categories, six experienced retail dollar growth 2004-2008.
Scarves/shawls is the only category that lost ground. Yet just two categories, bags and ties/other
neckwear, can be described as bullish at this time. Their strong progress is largely responsible for the
bullishness of the overall market.
Bags Category Rides Status Wave to $5.9 Billion
With ladies handbags becoming as much a status symbol as a Rolex watch, the bag category is ascending
over 10% at retail in 2008, to above $5.9 billion. [Table 3-1] This continues bags double-digit spree
during much of 2004-2008. The category leapt a total of 53% during those four years, resulting in an
excellent CAGR of more than 11% for the same period.
Belts/Small Leather Items Approach $3.5 Billion
Retail sales of belts and small leather goods experienced a slight reversal in 2008 after fair-to-good
increases 2004-2007. [Table 3-1] Being somewhat durable, and less attention-getting than a handbag or
tie, belts/small leather goods have become lower priorities for business persons and job seekers who need
to dress for success, particularly against a backdrop of national financial crisis and rising levels of
unemployment.
Finishing 2004-2008 at close to $3.5 billion at retail, the belt/small leather goods category has achieved
only a tepid 11% total advance over the whole four years. The CAGR for the same span is therefore
calculated at less than 3%.

Gloves/Mittens, in Warming Climate, Slog On to $856 Million
The glove/mitten category performed only slightly better than belts/small leather goods 2004-2008 thanks
to milder and milder winters in these United States. Retail sales are hitting $856 million in 2008,
climbing a total of less than 13% the entire four-year timeframe. [Table 3-1]
Gloves/mittens CAGR for the frame is consequently 3%, which Packaged Facts characterizes as merely
fair.
It should be noted here that as cold weather gloves/mittens are used only in winter months, they may last
for years, affecting a prolonged life-cycle of purchase, wear and tear, and replacement. In fact,
consumers loss of gloves/mittens is a more constant driver of sales.
Handkerchiefs/Pocket Squares Push to $71 Million
The smallest category, handkerchiefs/pocket squares (which includes neckerchiefs and kerchiefs less than
60 centimeters on a side), is expected to post retail sales of $71 million in 2008. [Table 3-1] This sum
reflects total growth of 18% for the four-year frame begun with 2004. Compounding this progress year-
over-year, Packaged Facts calculates a CAGR of 4% for 2004-2008.
Though relatively weak, the handkerchief/pocket square categorys momentum 2004-2008 must be
viewed as fair, bordering on good.
Hat Category Breaks $2.2 Billion Mark
In 2008, U.S. retail sales of hats pushed past $2.2 billion, a level almost 18% higher than the $1.9 billion
set in 2004. [Table 3-1] Sales of hats 2004-2008 simultaneously suffered from warming weather trends
and benefited from fashion trends.
The hat categorys total improvement 2004-2008 is calculated by Packaged Facts at about 18%, which
breaks out to a CAGR of 4%.
Baseball Cap Craze Pumps Segment to $410 Million.
Hip-hoppers, sports enthusiasts, and even collectors, are driving retail sales of baseball caps to new
heights. In 2008, Packaged Facts estimates that this segment of the hat category is worth $410 million, as
much as 10% more than in 2004 when sales were tabulated at about $368.0 million. [Table 3-1]

In 2008, male baseball cap purchasers are expected to account for between two thirds and three quarters
of retail dollars.
Scarves/Shawls Also Find Weather Warm, Slide to $521 Million
Again, the scarf/shawl category is the only fashion category to have outright declined 2004-2008. Valued
at $521 million at retail at periods close, scarves/shawls sales fell more than 7% in four years. The loss
amounts to $41 million. [Table 3-1] The compound decrease for the same period is roughly 2%.
Ties Thrive in Hard Economic Times, Build to $3.3 Billion
The tie/other neckwear category charged forward 2004-2008. It is thriving on two major impetuses: the
U.S. males ever more sophisticated fashion sense and the increasing difficulty to find or change jobs as
our economy implodes. Never underestimate the importance to a man of his tie. Millions of men
have often banked hope on a new tie, or even a first tie, to make a better impression.
Anticipated to brush the $3.3 billion mark by the end of 2008, ties/other neckwear will have gained nearly
31% -- or $772 million since 2004. [Table 3-1] That strong progress is the basis for a CAGR of almost
7% during the same four-year span.
Table 3-1
U.S. Retail Dollar Sales of Fashion Accessories, by Seven Product Categories, 2004-2008 (In
Millions)
Bags Belts/Small Leather Goods

Year $ % Change $ % Change
2008 $ 5,911 10.4% $ 3,455 -2.2%
2007 5,352 7.9 3,532 3.6
2006 4,960 11.2 3,409 4.0
2005 4,461 15.5 3,278 4.8
2004 3,862 -- 3,128 --
CAGR 2004-2008 = 11.2% 2.5%
Total Growth, 2004-2008 = 53.1% 10.5%
Gloves/Mittens Squares*****
2008 $ 856 -1.2% $ 71 7.6%
2007 866 2.5 66 1.5
2006 845 2.9 65 6.7
2005 821 8.0 61 2.2
2004 760 -- 60 --


U.S. Retail Dollar Sales of Fashion Accessories, by Seven Product Categories, 2004-2008
(In Millions)
Gloves/Mittens Squares*****
CAGR 2004-2008 = 3.0% 4.3%
Total Growth, 2004-2008 = 12.6% 18.3%
Hats***** Scarves/Shawls
2008 $ 2,224 0.4% $ 521 -1.7%
2007 2,216 3.5 530 -4.5
2006 2,141 7.0 555 -3.6
2005 2,001 6.0 577 2.5
2004 1,888 -- 562 --
CAGR 2004-2008 = 4.2% -1.9%
Total Growth, 2004-2008 = 17.8% -7.3%
Ties/Other Neckwear Total
2008 $ 3,291 8.7% $ 16,329 4.7%
2007 3,027 9.0 15,589 5.7
2006 2,777 4.7 14,752 6.5
2005 2,653 5.3 13,852 8.4
2004 2,519 -- 12,779 --
CAGR 2004-2008 = 6.9% 6.3%
Total Growth, 2004-2008 = 30.6% 27.8%
Bags Account for a Third of Accessories Sales
In 2008, the bags category accounts for over 36% of the fashion accessories market, based on Packaged
Facts estimates of retail dollar sales. Bags have gained six share-points since 2004. [Table 3-2]
Belts/small leather goods category is second-ranked, with over 21% of sales down over three points.
The ties/other neckwear category earns 20%. Hats have the only other double-digit share, at nearly 14%.
Men Account for Surprising Shares of Accessories Retail Dollars
In Table 3-2, Packaged Facts also breaks out retail dollars and share according to the genders that are
purchasing various fashion accessories. (It is not possible to accurately break out gender-spends on two
categories, hats, and handkerchiefs/pocket squares.) The ratios of male-spends to female may be

surprising: Men account for about $2.3 billion belts/small leather goods, or almost two thirds of the
categorys retail value in 2008. In the gloves/mittens category, men account for $402.0 million, or 47%.
In the bags category, men are responsible for only about 6% of retail dollars in 2008; this single-digit
share equals $381 million. Further, the 6% share is close to triple what men spent on bags in 2004, while
the male-spend in actual dollars increased by over 348%.
What stands out in the ties/other neckwear category is the fact that women are contributing $900 million
of the retail value in 2008, about 27%. Clearly, women are still picking out ties and coordinating outfits
for their husbands, boyfriends, and sons.
...Though Women Still Lead Accessories Spending Overall
Because reliable data on spending by gender for hats and handkerchiefs/pocket squares are not available,
gender-spends in Table 3-2 are not totaled. However, totals for the remaining five fashion accessories
categories, mens spending brushes $5.6 billion in 2008. This level is more than 28% higher than the
$4.3 billion that men spent in 2004. Women remain the champion spenders in this market, paying out
almost $10.8 billion in 2008, which coincidentally is 28% higher than the $8.4 billion female-spend of
four years earlier.

Table 3-2
Share of U.S. Retail Dollar Sales of Fashion Accessories, by Seven Product Categories, and by
Gender That Is Purchasing, 2004-2008 (In Millions)
2004 % Share of 2008 % Share of

Category $ Market/Category $ Market/Category
Bags $ 3,862 30.2%/100.0% $ 5,911 36.2%/100.0%
Men 85 0.7/2.2 381 2.3/6.4
Women 3,777 29.6/97.8 5,530 33.9/93.6
Belts/Small Leather Goods 3,128 24.5/100.0 3,455 21.2/100.0
Men 1,993 15.6/63.7 2,274 13.9/65.8
Women 1,135 8.9/36.3 1,181 7.2/34.2
Gloves/Mittens 760 5.9/100.0 856 5.2/100.0
Men 380 3.0/50.0 402 2.5/47.0
Women 380 3.0/50.0 454 2.8/53.0
Handkerchiefs/Pocket Squares 60 0.5/100.0 71 0.4/100.0
Men NA NA NA NA
Women NA NA NA NA
Hats 1,888 14.8/100.0 2,224 13.6/100.0
Men NA NA NA NA
Women NA NA NA NA
Scarves/Shawls 562 4.4/100.0 521 3.2/100.0
Men 170 1.3/30.3 126 0.8/24.1
Women 392 3.1/69.7 395 2.4/75.9
Ties/Other Neckwear 2,519 19.7/100.0 3,291 20.2/100.0
Men 1,713 13.4/68.0 2,391 14.6/72.7
Women 806 6.3/32.0 900 5.5/27.3
Total $ 12,779 100.0%/NA $ 16,329 100.0%/NA
N.B.: Due to rounding, numbers may not add precisely to column subtotals or
totals.
NA = Not available or not applicable.
Department Stores Dominate Accessories Sales by Retail Channel
Packaged Facts estimates that department stores account for a commanding 35% share of U.S. retail
dollar sales of fashion accessories in 2008. [Table 3-3] Mass (mass merchandisers, chain drugstores, and
supermarkets), accounts for less than 24% with mass merchandisers contributing about 15 points of that
share.
Specialty outlets, including accessories stores, clothing stores, sporting goods stores, even a music store
that sells a keyboard-print necktie this broad channel accounts for over 19%, or nearly one in five of the
markets retail dollars. E-tailers hold the last double-digit share, with more than 10%.

Table 3-3
Share of Retail Dollar Sales of Fashion Accessories, by Retail Channel, 2008 (In Millions)
Channel $ % Share
Department Stores $5,743 35.2%
Mass 3,886 23.8
Mass Merchandisers 2,417 14.8
Chain Drug 914 5.6
Supermarkets 555 3.4
Specialty 3,155 19.3
Internet Websites (e-Tail) 1,666 10.2
Mail-Order Catalog 1,193 7.3
Other 686 4.2
Total $16,329 100.0%

Imports and Exports
Accessories Imports Valued at Over $5.9 Billion in 2007
Imports of fashion accessories were valued by the Customs Service at well over $5.9 billion in 2007,
according to tallies by the U.S. Department of Commerce. [Table 3-3a] That sum was exactly 8% -- or
$440.8 million higher than 2006s $5.5 billion. Although 8% is a very solid increase for a dollar base of
this size, it is important to remember that import values can fluctuate wildly from year to year, as the
result of even just one companys fortunes or shifting strategies; such fluctuation is typical of many
product markets.
Of the seven accessories dollar-value breakouts in Table 3-3a, six show that import values were on the
increase in 2007. Hats was the exception, its value slipping by less than 2%. Import value of womens
handbags, the largest category at $2.7 billion, was up almost 13%.
Exports Valued at $429.1 Million
The United States exports far smaller quantities of fashion accessories than it imports. In 2007, for
example, the value of outgoing shipments was tabulated at $429.1 million, reflecting a 4% decrease from
2006. [Table 3-3a]
For perspective, the accessories export figure for 2007 equalled less than 8% of the value of incoming
shipments.
The value of exported bags was $205.9 million in 2007, or 9% under the value of same in 2006. Bags
was one of three categories that lost ground; the others being personal leather goods (this Department of
Commerce category gibes roughly with Packaged Facts small leather goods), and handkerchiefs.

Table 3-3a
Value of U.S. Imports and Exports of Fashion Accessories, by Seven Product Categories, 2006-
2007 (In Thousands)
Exports Imports Trade Balance

Product Category 2006 2007 2006 2007 2006 2007
Total 448,611 429,107 5,480,915 5,921,699 (5,032,554) (5,492,592)
Womens Handbags 226,714 205,897 2,399,677 2,705,735 (2,172,963) (2,499,838)
Personal Leather Goods 76,770 70,988 749,702 832,544 (672,932) (761,556)
Gloves/Mittens 56,974 59,137 $670,548 723,389 (613,574) (664,252)
Knitted/Crocheted 44,412 46,700 466,250 501,040 -421,838 -454,340
Not Knitted/Not Crocheted 12,562 12,437 204,298 222,349 -191,736 -209,912
Handkerchiefs 1,181 702 28,948 31,674 (27,767) (30,972)
Hats 69,671 70,704 1,168,954 1,149,311 ($1,099,534) ($1,078,606)
Felt 5,251 NA 14,614 NA -9,613 NA
Plaited/Assembled Strips 8,415 10,461 68,146 59,518 -59,731 -49,057
Knit, Lace, etc. 56,005 60,243 1,086,194 1,089,793 -1,030,190 -1,029,549
Scarves, Shawls, Mufflers, Mantillas, Wraps, etc 6,273 9,441 217,544 222,819 (211,270) (213,378)
Ties, Bow Ties, Cravats 11,028 12,238 245,542 256,227 (234,514) (243,990)
NA = Not available.
Source: U.S. Department of Commerce; Packaged Facts

Context
U.S. Apparel and Accessories Market = $83.2 Billion
The results of Retailing Todays retail industry census were published in the magazines Top 150 Annual
Industry Report in June 2008. It estimates the combined U.S. apparel and accessories market at nearly
$83.2 billion at retail in 2008, a 2.5% increase over 2007s $81.2 billion.
Packaged Facts estimate of the fashion accessories sector is $16.3 billion at retail in 2008, a 19.6%
share of the Retailing Today estimate. This is about $1 of every $5 spent in America for clothing and
accessories together.
Sources Disagree on Market Definition, Thus Accessories Sales Estimates

Vary
Other sources calculate higher retail sales of accessories or using different parameters to define the
accessories market. For example, Accessories Magazine, in its 2007 Census Report, found that womens
accessories alone were worth $31.2 billion at retail in 2006, or more than twice our market valuation of
$14.8 billion for the same year.
However, the 2007 Census Report included sales of costume jewelry, watches, hosiery, slippers/casual
footwear, hair accessories, and cold weather/rain gear other than gloves (sweater wraps, umbrellas,
rubbers, etc.), all of which Packaged Facts excludes from its market definition. The sales of products in
these extra categories alone amounted to $20.9 billion in 2006. The remainder, $10.3 billion, plus sales
of mens accessories, derives an estimate in the same numerical neighborhood as Packaged Facts $14.8
billion for 2006.
As for the excluded accessories, Packaged Facts feels that the retail marketplace for each type is best
described separately. We cover some of these products in the following reports:
Eyewear: The U.S. Market (includes non-prescription sunglasses)
The U.S. Market for Footwear
Watches and Clocks in the U.S., 7th Edition

Luxury Apparel and Accessories World Market $58.0 Billion, Worldwide
The global market for luxury apparel and accessories was worth $58.0 billion at retail in 2007, according
to Just-Style (October 2007). The trade publications research department further estimated that the
United States and Europe together accounted for 70.0% of that sum, about $40.6 billion.
Research firm Mintel has a different perspective, reported by Just-Style in the same article: Mintel
determines fashion apparel and leather goods accounted for 36.0%, or $37.4 billion, of the entire planets
sales of luxury goods which the firm measured at $104.0 billion in 2007, a 7.5% increase. But Mintel
has also estimated the luxe accessories component (including Packaged Facts span of products, plus
upscale watches and jewelry) at 16.0%, or $16.6 billion.
To repeat, Packaged Facts estimates of the U.S. fashion accessories market cover all retail price-tiers, not
just luxury. We exclude sales of clothing, footwear, jewelry, and watches, but do include sales of bags,
belts/small leather goods, gloves/mittens, handkerchiefs/pocket squares, hats, scarves/shawls, and
ties/other neckwear.

Factors in Future Growth
Americas Taste Has Been Upscaled
Sales indicate in 2008 that millions more Americans show a preference for elegant, often expensive,
fashion accessories than ever before. A positive factor in this markets sales growth to be sure; but, a
look at the broader context indicates that such taste for fine accessories is not an isolated fad, but rooted
solidly in the upscaling of many aspects of our society.
Since the advent of Jordache designer jeans in the late 1970s, and especially since the presidency of
Ronald Reagan (1981-1989), Americans have become enamored of one luxury product after another. In
the mid-to-late 1980s, for example, gourmet and ethnic foods were in the spotlight, whether driving
expansion of the restaurant industry, or livening up the frozen food aisle at the supermarket. In the early
1990s, anti-aging products with alpha-hydroxy acids (AHAs) kicked off an intense curiousity about
prestige-priced health and beauty care (HBC) products, which was heightened by the appearance of
Sephora beauty products stores, as of 1998 the chain brought high-end HBC to the masses. And in the
early 2000s, the rise of the affluent Yoga Mom seeking a unique image for herself and for Baby, helped to
popularize Bugaboo, Maclaren, and Stokke strollers that often carry pricetags above $1,000.
Throughout the entire 30 or so years since the Jordache phenomenon which first put a designer name on
Americans backsides we have become more and more sophisticated about appearance: We are
obsessed with physical fitness, with professional makeup techniques, and with designer fashion styles.
Thirty years have seen us progress from being in awe of fashion experts to judging for ourselves the
abilities of designer-contestants on the Bravo cable networks high-rated Project Runway series, now in
its fifth season.
This is the setting for the fashion accessories market in 2008, and it could not be more positive. Packaged
Facts observes that the same upscaling has occurred in countless aspects of U.S. life. We further
emphasize that upscale style quickly trickles down to brands in lower price-tiers, which means that
upscaling has not only fattened one class of marketers and retailers margins, but has also stimulated
business in the low-end sphere. In many luxe product markets, less affluent Americans are alternating
patronage of Bloomingdales or Dillards or Sephora with visits to Kmart or Wal-Mart to save their
pennies for occasional upscale purchases.

Of key importance is the reassurance that once Americans have acquired a taste for an elegant, costly
version of a product, there is no going back. In 2008Americans taste for luxury fashion accessories is in
our genes. Two generations have been raised since the Jordache brand brought awareness of designer
names to the masses.
...And Simultaneously Hip-Hopped
There is a second major societal influence that complements upscaled tastes, that sometimes reaps higher
price-points and sometimes attracts shoppers to the low end: This influence is pop culture and
specifically, the impact of hip-hop music. A derivative of African-American rap music, the hip-hop genre
dates back roughly to the appearance of Jordache in the late 1970s.
The super-trend potential of this small niche is evidenced in the retail sphere: There are hip-hop
specialty retailers such as ThugLife.com, which sells baseball caps, buckles, and the bling (ostentatious
jewelry) favored by adherents of hip-hop lifestyles; Yellow Rat Bastard, a brand-dedicated chain selling a
comprehensive line of hip-hop apparel and accessories; and New Era Cap Co., Inc., which specializes in
baseball caps, some rolled out in limited editions at $40 per unit.
These are tiny operations compared to Wal-Mart, which has exclusively introduced the P. Miller clothing
line, announced as the uber-chains first venture into hip-hop clothing. Targeting boys, rapper P. Millers
designs are priced as low as $9 for a tee-shirt, $20 for jeans, and $24 for a colorful hoodie. While the line
was unveiled in time for the 2008 back-to-school season, it does not yet emphasize any fashion
accessories. However, if successful, the rollout may legitimize hip-hop style for an even more diverse
cross-section of America. P. Miller brand goes head-to-head with Sears only slightly more expensive LL
Cool J clothing brand, named after the rapper-actor whose fame has lasted since 1985. At Macys and
other outlets, rapper and music mogul P. Diddys Sean John clothing and accessories line for men and
boys competes in much higher price-brackets.
Packaged Facts forecasts the hip-hop wave will continue to gain momentum and will become an even
stronger driver of fashion accessories sales in the next few years. In the shortest term, most hip-hop
accessories will continue to be baseball caps but shrewd executives will profit by applying the hip-hop
style to everything from bags and gloves to neckties and scarves.

Shifting Demos Have Potential to Pump Accessories Sales, Too
Because many fashion accessories address our nations simplest needs (handbags carry money and
makeup, belts keep pants from falling down, mufflers provide warmth, etc.), there should be some
correlation between rising sales of these products and mushrooming numbers of U.S. residents.
In 2008, the total U.S. population is projected by the Census Bureau at over 304.2 million. [Table 3-4]
By 2014, that figure will increased by 6.0%, to 322.4 million.
Boomers Still a Force
Baby Boomers, who are age 45-62 in 2008, are innately wired for adventure open emotions. As one of
the nations largest population components, Boomers have been key drivers of the trends. , It is logical to
assume that American Boomers will continue buying accessories. However, Simmons data indicate that
Boomers use of anti-aging and other cosmeceutical beauty products tapers off by about age 60. The data
sets on accessories buying presented in Chapter 6, The Consumer, reveal above-average activity in age
brackets under 54 years old.
According to the Census Bureau, the 45-64 [sic] bracket hosts just fewer than 78.0 million persons in
2008. [Table 3-4] From 2008-2014, that level will jump 6.8%, to 83.3 million. Those becoming 65 or
older during the same six-year period will swell the 65-79 bracket by 21.8%, to 33.5 million. In 2014,
Boomers will be age 51-68.
Wow! Gen-Xers Are Grandparents!
Generation X (born 1964-1979), once unfairly labeled as Slackers, should be recognized for having
survived the onset of the personal computer and the skyrocketing cost of living including obscenely
high rents, college tuition fees, and gasoline and grocery bills. Aged 29-44 in 2008, many Gen-Xers are
acting their age: they are starting families, buying first homes, and achieving some measure of affluence.
A growing number are surprise grandparents.
Gen-Xers will be 35-50 come 2014. The 20-44 bracket will expand 3.6% in the five years 2008-2014,
from 104.0 million to 107.8 million; while the eldest X-ers will be flooding into the 45-64 bracket,
helping to pump it up, again, by 6.8%, to 83.3 million. [Table 3-4]
Teens/Tweens, and Accessories versus Cellphone Bills
Younger Americans born 1980-2000 are Generation Y, also called Millennials. Hopefully, they will
carry on their parents and grandparents obsessions with appearance and style. But fashion accessories

executives of older generations must recognize that Gen Y-ers are best reachable by a whole new span of
media connecting them to the world. Analyst Evan Schuman, in the pages of his website
StorefrontBacktalk.com (September 25, 2008), mused that Y-ers have never not known of the
Internet; and that their multiple cyber-means of relating to other people leaves them little understanding
of the concept of privacy. Mr. Schuman quotes John Hiraoka, Chief Marketing Officer at Epicor, who
maintains that retailers need to hire Y-ers to interface with Y-ers: These are the so-called digital natives.
Theyve grown up with no newspapers, catalogs or phonebooks. To illustrate this point to retail
executives meeting with him at Epicor, Mr. Hiraoka presents them with a snapshot of his 14-year-old
daughters desk at home. Pictured are personal electronics that, as Mr. Schuman writes, rival what
NASA had just a few years ago, [including] her desktop computer, an iPod, Game Boy, cellphone, digital
camera, CD burner, DVD burner, six USB drives and two wireless devices.
Teens and tweens should be prime audiences for fashion accessories because they are not responsible for
buying their own clothes, and are often free to spend allowance money on purses and belts and baseball
caps that is, if parents do not buy these things for them, too. Before puberty (the average girl is now
pubescent at age 10), kids embrace colorful, childish products and brands intended just for them; post-
puberty, they lust after the products/brands used by their older siblings and twenty-something pop idols.
Soft-positioning Packaged Facts term for co-positioning adult products to post-pubescent kids is
therefore appropriate, sometimes requiring nothing more than the aspirational marketing strategy of
placing the same ad in both Vogue and Teen Vogue, or in both GQ and Vibe.
One drawback to Gen Y-ers connectivity is its monetary drain. A 12-year-olds cellphone bill alone,
reflecting basic charges, texting, and photo/video transmissions, can reach $100 or more per month.
Downloading music, ringtones, webisodes, television shows; and add-ons like peer-tracking services (that
alert one to the presence of friends within a radius of a few blocks), drive the cost higher. Of course,
marketers of fashion accessories must compete with electronica for the Gen Y dollar. Ironically, Gen Y-
ers can use their cellphones or Blackberry PDAs (portable digital assistants) to go online and order
merchandise, including more gadgetry, or the very handbags, hats, scarves, etc., that are popular with
youths and twentysomethings at any given moment.
Aged 8-28 in 2008, Gen Y-ers will reach 14-34 as of 2014. Their key age brackets are expected to grow
slowly: The 8-19 bracket, encompassing both teens and tweens, will grow by just 1.5% during 2008-
2014, from 50.4 million to 51.2 million. [Table 3-4] And as noted, those age 20-44 will become 3.6%
more numerous in the same six years, growing from 104.0 million to 107.8 million

Table 3-4
Projected U.S. Population, by Age Bracket, 2008-2014* (In Thousands)
2008-2014
2008-2014 Total
Age 2008 2014 CAGR** Growth
All Ages 304,228 322,423 1.0% 6.0%
Infancy-7 33,126 34,818 0.8 5.1
Eight-9 8,010 8,595 1.2 7.3
Ten-14 20,446 21,386 0.8 4.6
Fifteen-19 21,958 21,182 -0.6 -3.5
Subtotal, 8-19, 50,414 51,163 0.2 1.5
Tweens and Teens
20-44 104,043 107,779 0.6 3.6
45-64 77,954 83,292 1.1 6.8
65-79 27,523 33,532 3.3 21.8
80+ 11,168 11,839 1.0 6.0

st
Census years end on July 1 . Numbers in this table reflect population at each census midyear,
which coincides with the end of the calendar year.
** CAGR = Compound annual growth rate.
Source: U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census; Packaged Facts
Potential in Dressing Americans According to Season
Cultural niceties have a way of being lost as generations succeed one another. In the early nineteenth
century, not only were wardrobes changed every spring and autumn, but the rugs and draperies in a home,
as well.
In 2008, while fashion runways are still used by designers to herald spring and autumn apparel
collections, there is a sense that a growing number of Americans are gravitating to a low-key look that
alters little throughout the year; sometimes elegant, but always dressed-down.
This shift may also dovetail with hard economic times expected to continue past 2008. Financial thrift
may drive some consumers to purchase accessories instead of expensive whole new outfits. A new
handbag or tie or hat can help make over last years dress or business suit.
For both these reasons Packaged Facts cautions marketers that accessorizing America according to season
should not be a blind course. If seasonal accessories are pursued, it may be wise to give the collection a
bit more advertising and promotional support to refresh sales growth.
Emphasizing seasonal accessories collections may also help marketers to keep a few consumer dollars
from migrating to electronic accessories, which can often make fashion statements.

The Fad Factor: Following the Followers of Fashion
At the top of this section, Packaged Facts stressed that the upscaling of the fashion accessories market is
not an isolated fad. Yet this market fosters its own fads; it may even be argued that fashion houses are
skilled at inciting them. Apart from the combination of simple product appeal and wildly good luck that
spurs millions to purchase an accessory, marketers are gaining notice for their brands by grassroots means
beyond traditional advertising and promotion. Such tactics often focus on a fashion brands core apparel
products, for the sake of overall brand image because marketers know that raising awareness will
benefit a designers evening gowns, sportswear, shoes, fragrances, housewares and linens, and of course,
his or her fashion accessories.
Some of the tactics expected to drive accessories sales in future include:
Product placement: The fashion industry may have invented the practice of supplying film, television,
theatre, and local and national news producers with clothing and accessories used on camera or onstage.
One can find fashion brands Botany 500, for example cited in the closing credits of episodes of
Bewitched, which ran on ABC television from 1964 through 1972. Gucci is cited in the credits for nine
feature-length films, including Swept Away (2002), with Madonna; while Hickey-Freeman is cited in the
credits for The Baxter (2005), Woody Allens Hollywood Ending (2002), and others. Such placement
arrangements vary from merely supplying products to producers for use free of charge to contractual
agreements requiring that a marketer make payments of up to $3-$5 million for the incorporation of its
product into a single high-profile film or television show, according to consultancy 1st Approachs Jeff
Greenfield, Executive V.P., as quoted in The Hollywood Reporter (late 2006 article posted on
BuzzNation.com). But Mr. Greenfield also says that, As big as branded entertainment is, I will still
venture to say that 90% of the brands you see in shows are there for free. A lot of brands get in for free
not because theyre cool but because they happen to be there. Other placement execs interviewed by
The Hollywood Reporter agreed that most of their deals were barter only, although the exact percentage
fell into the broader 70%-95% range. PQ Media projects paid placements will total $10.0 billion by
2010. For the fashion accessories industry, having a handbag, belt, or hat, etc., featured in a themed
magazine spread (holiday fashion, goth fashion, dressing for adventure, etc.), is also an invaluable form of
placement.
Making the most of random celebrity sightings, marketers in many categories automobiles, high-end
strollers, sunglasses profit greatly from paparazzi photos that clearly show the celebs actually using a
certain product or brand. In the accessories sphere, The Beatles, Princess Diana, and actor Samuel L.
Jackson have all been photographed wearing British-made Kangol caps and berets; famed actresses
Jessica Simpson, Mena Suvari, and Penelope Cruz have all been shot carrying Be & Ds [sic] Garbo-

brand studded leather satchel-style purses; actress Renee Zellweger and pop star Madonna have both been
shot wearing glove designer Daniel Sortos creations, which can run up to $500; and so on.
In 2008, America is still fascinated too easily, some say by red-carpet events such as major awards
ceremonies. The annual telecast of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences awards (better
known as the Oscars), is preceded by coverage by hundreds of entertainment and news organizations
seeking to interview celebs for a few seconds as they pass by on the red carpet. The most frequent
questions and comments pertain to the celebs choice of outfits, accessories, and designer brands.
The practice of hiring celebs to fill seats at runway shows is the fashion industrys dirty little secret first
exposed by Sophia Loren in the late 1990s when she admitted to being paid $50,000 just to sit in the front
row at seasonal shows of high-profile designer collections. The presence of celebs at such events has
helped and will continue to help not only individual brands, but the entire fashion accessories market,
as America becomes more sophisticated about appearance. Often we are inspired by the fashion choices
made by the celebrated woman or man with whom we like to identify.
In these last years of the centurys first decade, new media activity has become a key plank in the ideal
marketing strategy. New media are being utilized by marketers of every stature from small mom-and-pop
operations that cannot afford traditional advertising to mega-corporations such as Apple, Procter &
Gamble, and others. Fashion accessories lend themselves well to exploitation in new media because of
womens receptiveness to sharing wardrobe and beauty tips on the Internet, via standard websites, blogs,
e-newsletters, e-zines, etc. Examples of forums abound. In the October 9, 2008 issue of Intelligence
Groups e-newsletter TrendCentral, three new fashion sites are described: 1.) Lookbook.nu is a blog for
those who make their own clothes; a users vote to hype another users outfit is to show approval for it.
Talented users thus rise to the top of the heap. 2.) Modepass is a social forum for pro designers,
photographers, and artists; as of October 2008, the site is still in Beta, that is, in its test phase. 3.)
What I Saw Today is a blog established by Designerman, who specializes in menswear. Via text and
hand-drawn sketches, he reports on interesting male fashions that he observes on New York City streets.
(Another street-oriented style-blog, already well-established, is the Sartorialist.) . These and other sites
offer ad and P.R. opportunities, as well as inspiration for thinking completely outside the box.
The fad engines of product placement, celebrity participation witting or unwitting and new media
have already been responsible for many success stories. Quoted on Business Wire (June 27, 2007),
Mintel consumer products analyst Kat Fay asserts that, With the huge number of fashion magazines,
websites and blogs, it is no surprise that unofficial celebrity endorsement is a key driver in the handbag
market. In our media-obsessed culture, celebrity influence is not likely to abate.


Times
The common assumption is that during times of national recession, or as in 2008, global recession, the
fashion accessories business benefits from consumers trade-downs from bigger-ticket items such as
designer dresses or suits. This is absolutely true of the action in both womens and mens accessories in
any price-tier, from low to high. A couple of examples:
Mary drives past a Prada store every morning on her way to work; she saves her pennies for a Prada
business suit displayed in the store window. But when the price of gasoline shoots up suddenly, she
satisfies herself with a Prada scarf that she will treasure.
John plans to buy an Armani blazer, but when his company downsizes him out of his existing job, he
saves as much as $1,000 by picking up a new Banana Republic tie and a Brooks Bros. pocket square to
wear with an old blazer.
In either instance the savings on the substitute purchase are so great John or Mary can afford expensive
designer labels. For Mary, sticking with high-end Prada for her scarf is the way to go, for $195; but John
decides he should trade down a bit, paying $70 for the Banana Republic tie, or half the price of an Armani
tie.
Clothing marketers are allowing for the trend to smaller-ticket purchases by establishing or expanding
accessories lines. Just one example is London-based Aquascutum, famous for its namesake brand of
trenchcoats and other clothing. In 2007, the company newly licensed the manufacture of Aquascutum
scarves and ties to Novaseta, and the manufacture of the brands handbags (and footwear) to Antichi
Pellitieri. Both manufacturers are headquartered in Italy. The accessories lines are even expected to help
Aquascutum relaunch its clothing in the United States. Globally, the accessories are counted upon to
yield 24%-30% of sales of the Aquascutum brand, according to Daily News Record (March 5, 2007).
Ideally the lifecycle of accessories purchase (wear, tear, and replacement) is transparent. A glove-
makers marketing manager needs to calculate how long, and under what conditions, a pair of winter
gloves is likely to last. Two years, even three years may seem logical to him or her, but there are many
variable factors, from the health of the national economy, which can encourage or discourage impulse
and/or add-on purchases, to weather events and conditions that can either wear out the gloves faster, or
prolong their usefulness. Small accessories such as gloves and wallets are often lost, too, left behind in
restaurants, dropped in the street, and so on.
Also complicating the purchase/wear and tear/replacement cycle is the fact that many accessories are
basic-need items designed for good value and durability, while others are designed for style and upscale

cachet. Vanity and fads conspire to further obscure any accurate mapping of a sales cycle: As this report
is being prepared in the fourth quarter of 2008, the bags category continues to be driven by a craze for
handbags costing hundreds, even thousands of dollars despite a backdrop of widespread financial ruin.
A consumer can reason that he or she must curtail spending in such an economic environment; or one can
get sucked up in a vortex of vanity and materialism and spend $625 on that Coach bag, or $1,375 on that
Chanel Coco Cabas carry-all, anyway.
Fashion Accessories versus Electronic Accessories
Sales of certain fashion accessories that make statements to the world about ones identity a hat that
whispers, I have elegant tastes, an ascot that shouts, I am eccentric, or a wallet that declares, I am
beautifully organized are increasingly dampened by this markets often reciprocal relationship with the
sales and upkeep of electronic devices, among them cellphones; Blackberries and other personal digital
assistants (PDAs); laptop computers; iPods and other mp3 music players; Xbox, Playstation, Nintendo,
and other videogame platforms; and soon, electronic book and newspaper readers. Some of these,
cellphones and PDAs, for two examples, require monthly payments to maintain connectivity, via voice, e-
mail service, texting, peer locators, etc.
There are also expenditures for dowloadable ringtones, songs, and visual content ranging from webisodes
and television shows, to feature films and videogames.
The march of technology is costly, and its devices have themselves become fashion accessories that signal
ones likes and dislikes to others; for example, cellphones and laptops can be dressed in interchangeable
shells in wide ranges of colors while the simple act of playing videogames on the subway also reveals
something about ones identity to other riders. It follows then, that some of us rely more on cellphones or
iPods make our fashion statements, because connectivity has drained our bank accounts. Again, sales of
fashion accessories suffer.
This negative effect upon sales is likely to persist in the coming years, as cyber-possibilities become
realities, and still more devices cost still more money to use. Already, electronic devices and software
have been widely blamed for huge drops in sales of compact music discs (CDs) and the equipment
required to play them. Such devices with time readouts have also hurt sales of watches and clocks.
Generally speaking, teens and twenty-somethings can be assumed to have best embraced technology, but
the sales-reciprocity between fashion and electronic accessories can be qualitatively observed to extend
well up into middle age.

Weather Events and Conditions
Weather is a mighty swing factor in fashion accessories sales growth; it can take the form of hurricanes or
blizzards that wreak catastrophic damage, or of temperatures that are just too hot or too cold. Bad
weather causes Americans who are already frustrated by heavy vehicular traffic around malls, as well as
by the price of gasoline, to postpone or even cancel shopping excursions. On the other hand, what most
of us call good weather warm, sunny days can be disastrous for certain accessory product types,
including gloves/mittens, scarves/shawls, and hats and other items, if it occurs too often during autumn
and winter. Already, global warming is identified as a drag on these categories sales, though hats has
been propelled in the years leading up to 2008 by fashion trends.
One instance is the warm autumn and winter of 2006-2007. Daily News Record reported (on February
12, 2007) that A balmy start to the winter on the East Coast put the freeze on cold-weather accessory
purchases. The trade paper when on to claim that sales of such products in October and November were
down 28% from the comparable period in the previous year.
Unfortunately, one seasons poor sales can affect marketers revenues during the corresponding season of
the following year. In gloves/mittens or hats or scarves/shawls, for example, retailers unsold winter
inventories can be returned to marketers, or they can be stored away in retailers basements or
warehouses, for sale the next winter a situation that spells fewer and smaller advance orders.
In glove/mitten marketers favor, however, is the fact that styles in the segment change little from year to
year, a circumstance that can minimize returns made on the basis of rapidly evolving style. Such products
are dubbed evergreen.
As this report goes to press late in 2008, the U.S. Meteorological Service has announced that the winter of
2008-2009 will bring unusually heavy snow to the same East Coast spared bad weather in 2006-2007.

Projected Sales
Fashion Accessories Foreseen in Steady Rise to $20.2 Billion in 2012
Packaged Facts projects that U.S. retail sales of fashion accessories will nudge the $20.2 billion level by
the close of 2012. [Table 3-5] Individual annual increases are projected to be remarkably consistent, but
one should be aware that the growth pattern for the overall market will be driven largely by the bags, hats,
and ties/other neckwear categories while the progress in sales of belts/small leather goods,
gloves/mittens, handkerchiefs/pocket squares, and scarves/shawls, will be lackluster in comparison.
The overall fashion accessories market will expand a total of almost 24% during 2008-2012, or by $3.9
billion. This scenario translates into a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of more than 5%, during
the same four years excellent for such a massive dollar base.
These projections are based on the expectation that the world economy, so badly ailing as this report goes
to press, will bounce back to health within a year or two.
Bullish Bags Category to Push to $8.2 Billion
Packaged Facts believes the explosion in the bags category is just beginning; retail value is projected to
climb over 38% during 2008-2012, to almost $8.2 billion. [Table 3-5] The categorys CAGR for that
timeframe will thus exceed 8%.
Belts/Small Leather Goods to Struggle to $3.8 Billion
Belts will be worn for extra seasons, as their wearers forego purchases of the small leather goods that can
be considered luxuries. As a result, growth in the belts/small leather goods category will flirt with
stagnation: The total increase for 2008-2012 will be 10%, to a value of almost $3.8 billion at retail.
[Table 3-5] The four-year CAGR will therefore amount to about 2%.
Gloves/Mittens Also Struggle, to $973 Million
Two words explain the forecast of sluggish growth in gloves/mittens retail sales: Global warming. The
category will reach $973 million in 2012, having climbed by a tepid 14% since 2008. [Table 3-5] The
CAGR for 2008-2012 will consequently be about 3%.

Handkerchiefs/Pocket Squares in Slow Rise to $80 Million
The handkerchiefs/pocket squares category has limited potential in the best of times. During 2008-2012,
retail sales will hit $80 million, having advanced just 13%. [Table 3-5] The CAGR for the four-year
frame will be a weak 3%.
Hats to Post Fair Growth to $2.6 Billion
Packaged Facts identifies hats as a growth category. Propelled by fashion trends, sales of hats will effect
a 17% upward arc during 2008-2012, to finish the period at nearly $2.6 billion. [Table 3-5] The CAGR
will be a decent not spectacular 4%.
Scarves/Shawls Expected to Stagnate Their Way to $554 Million
Sales of scarves/shawls will suffer, like sales of gloves/mittens, from climate change. Warming trends
will restrain the scarves/shawls category to a deadly 6% total increase for the entire four years 2008-2012;
the products will be retailed at $554 million in 2012. [Table 3-5] Thus the CAGR for the identical frame
will be less than 2%.
Ties/Other Neckwear to Shoot Past $4.0 Billion Mark
Again, ties/other neckwear is one of the three categories that powerfully drive the fashion accessories
market. The straightforward reason is the frightening state of the national and world economies, which is
motivating men to update their job interview outfits by adding new ties to the racks in their closets.
Ties/other neckwear retail sales are forecast to be $4.0 billion in 2012, or 22% higher than in 2008.
[Table 3-5] The resultant CAGR for 2008-2012 will be a healthy 5%.

Table 3-5
Projected U.S. Retail Dollar Sales of Fashion Accessories, by Seven Product Categories, 2008-
2012 (In Millions)
Bags Belts/Small Leather Goods

2012 8,176 7.5% 3,787 3.8%
2011 7,606 9.0 3,648 2.0
2010 6,978 8.5 3,577 2.5
2009 6,431 8.8 3,490 1.0
2008 5,911 10.4 3,455 -2.2
CAGR 2008-2012 = 8.4% 2.3%
Total Growth, 2008-2012 = 38.3% 9.6%
Gloves/Mittens Handkerchiefs/Pocket Squares*****
2012 973 3.0% 80 3.0%
2011 944 3.5 78 3.0
2010 912 2.0 76 2.5
2009 895 4.5 74 3.9
2008 856 -1.2 71 7.6
CAGR 2008-2012 = 3.3% 3.0%
Total Growth, 2008-2012 = 13.7% 12.7%
Hats***** Scarves/Shawls
2012 2,594 5.0% 554 2.5%
2011 2,470 4.5 540 2.5
2010 2,364 3.8 527 1.5
2009 2,277 2.4 519 -0.3
2008 2,224 0.4 521 -1.7
CAGR 2008-2012 = 3.9% 1.5%
Total Growth, 2008-2012 = 16.6% 6.3%
Ties/Other Neckwear Total
2012 $ 4,017 3.0% $ 20,181 5.2%
2011 3,900 4.0 19,186 5.5
2010 3,750 6.0 18,184 5.6
2009 3,538 7.5 17,224 5.5
2008 3,291 8.7 16,329 4.7
CAGR 2008-2012 = 5.1% 5.4%
Total Growth, 2008-2012 = 22.1% 23.6%

Mens and Womens Fashion Accessories in the U.S. Chapter 4: The Marketers
Chapter 4 The Marketers
Highlights
The U.S. fashion accessories scene is a morass of entities all involved in getting products to the
end-user. The fashion industry exhibits a high degree of vertical integration. As in other
industries, there may be a manufacturer or contract-manufacturer, an importer, a wholesaler, a
distributor, and key retailers, all helping the marketer to make, merchandise, advertise, and
promote a particular brand. In the fashions accessories market, however, the marketer is often the
maker, distributor, and retailer, all in one. Licensing further confuses the issue of just which
entity is actually marketing a product.
Therefore, it is hard to count marketers of fashion accessories, let alone identify them. However,
Packaged Facts speculates that in 2008 there are 2,000 or more such marketers in the United
States. This estimate includes major corporations as well as tiny mom-and-pop concerns. Players
with real power constitute a fraction of that number.
Jones Apparel Group (JAG) and Liz Claiborne are both headquartered in New York; both own or
license numerous fashion brands, and both are involved in the retail and wholesale spheres.
Mainly by virtue of marketing accessories extended from high-visibility clothing brands, JAG
and Liz Claiborne control the biggest, most diverse stables of accessories brands. In each case,
the stable covers a full range of outlets and price-tiers: JAG sells product through Wal-Mart
(specifically the l.e.i. brand), as well as through its own upscale stores (Anne Klein); Liz
Claiborne, which owns or licenses 44 brands, sells through JC Penney (Concepts by Claiborne),
as well as through department stores (Juicy Couture, Kate Spade).
The direct sales realm or simply direct is very poorly monitored. However, one source of
information on e-tail sales but not on mail-order catalogs, television home shopping networks,
or other direct channels is the Top 500 Guide published by Internet Retailer. In the 2008
edition, the Guide combines apparel and accessories sales for 2007: Limited Brands, Inc.s
Victorias Secret website is first, with e-sales of over $1.1 billion. Second is L.L. Bean, Inc., with
$948.8 million, followed closely by The Gap, Inc., with $903.0 million.
Vertical integration, so common in fashion, means that many accessories marketers must also
retail their own wares, via both brick-and-mortar stores and Internet websites. Price-competition

Chapter 4: The Marketers Mens and Womens Fashion Accessories in the U.S.
has already been rampant for decades, via diffusion brand-strategies, or combinations of both
upscale stores and factory outlet stores, even in the cases of many better or bridge brands, among
them Anne Klein, Ralph Lauren, and others.
In late 2008the fashion accessories competitive scene is greatly pressured by the national
economic crisis brought on by a matrix of factors that include the collapse of the mortgage
industry, the war in Iraq, the price of oil, global warming, and so on. Packaged Facts observes
that accessories sales may benefit as shoppers limit their spending, foregoing a new suit, for
example, but purchasing a new tie or silk scarf. Within the accessories market, too, there are
various ways to trade down....
In the following sections, Packaged Facts presents full Competitive Profiles of five fashion
accessories marketers: Coach, Inc., Herms SA, HSN, Inc., Jones Apparel Group, and Randa
Accessories. In addition, we present thumbnail profiles of players worth monitoring in the
coming years, in a section called Three Marketers to Watch. The trio are New Era Cap Co., Inc.,
Vera Wang Bridal House, Ltd., and World of Good.

The Marketers
Hard to Identify True Marketers in Maze of Licensing, Distribution Deals
The fashion accessories business is somewhat obscured by the fact that it is routinely considered by many
analysts, trade publications, retailers, and even marketers themselves, to be merely an aspect of the
apparel business. As noted earlier, data on accessories are often lumped together with data on clothing or
footwear. Admittedly, this situation is improving a bit as many fashion firms look to accessories to
ensure growth during tougher economic times around the globe. But, apart from clearly accessories-
specialized marketers such as Coach, it continues to be difficult to pinpoint just which apparel marketers
offer exactly which accessories.
Further confusing the issue is the morass of entities involved in bringing accessories to the end-user. The
fashion industry exhibits a high degree of vertical integration. As in other industries, there may be a
manufacturer or contract-manufacturer, an importer, a wholesaler, a distributor, and key retailers, all
helping the marketer to make, merchandise, advertise, and promote a particular brand. In the fashion
accessories market, however, the marketer is often the maker, distributor, and retailer, all in one. But a
contract-manufacturer/private-labeler like Randa Corporation, the largest U.S. manufacturer of neckties,
may ghost-perform some of these same functions for retailers as diverse as Kohls, Macys, and
Sears/Kmart. Or, adding more twists and turns to the accessories maze for marketers Levi-Strauss,
Phillips-Van Heusen/Calvin Klein, and others.
Finally, when responsibilities are delegated, they are often licensed, via high-profile contracts that allow a
company to manufacture or market or retail specific brands in specific territories for specific numbers of
years.
...But Accessories Marketers Probably Number Thousands
Therefore, it is hard enough to identify which entities are actually marketing fashion accessories, let alone
to count them. However, Packaged Facts speculates that as of 2008 there may be 2,000 or more
marketers of fashion accessories in the United States. This figure includes major corporations as well as
tiny mom-and-pop concerns.

Fashion accessories players with real power constitute a fraction of that number. Memberships in U.S.
trade associations reveal that The American Apparel and Footwear Association (AAFA) has 367 member-
companies in its online directory as of November 2008 while the Fashion Accessories Shippers
Association (FASA) has about 200, and the Leather Apparel Association (LAA), only 93. These numbers
are small, and one must remember that some of the members are not accessories marketers, but are
involved in clothing and footwear marketing, manufacture, distribution, or merchandising.
Marketer-Retailers and Retailer-Marketers
Clearly, the fashion industrys vertical integration into the retail sphere results in a blur of marketers and
retailers. But the point is worthy of special emphasis. The following is a list of some accessories
marketers that also maintain retail operations:
Coach, Inc.
Dooney & Burke, Inc.
Gucci S.p.A.
Jones Apparel Group
Liz Claiborne, Inc.
L.L. Bean, Inc.
LVMH
New Era Cap Co., Inc.
PPR/Gucci
Prada S.p.A.
Richemont SA/Dunhill
And here are some examples of retailers that function as marketers of apparel, inclusive of accessories,
via private or controlled labels, or exclusive brand distribution agreements:
Belk, Inc.
Casual Male Retail Group, Inc./Casual Male XL

Charming Shoppes, Inc./Lane Bryant
Dillards
The Gap, Inc./The Gap/Banana Republic
Macys, Inc.
Retail Brand Alliance/Brooks Brothers
Target Corporation
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.
Specialists versus Generalists/Types of Firms Involved
Fashion accessories marketers run the gamut from specialists in either accessories per se (for example,
Arena Brands/Stetson, Coach, New Era Cap), to those specialized in apparel, inclusive of accessories,
clothing, and/or footwear (Jones Apparel Group, Phillips-Van Heusen).
More diversified companies generalists are rare, unless one counts retailer-marketers with their own
labels or the exclusive rights to distribute certain brands. In that case, department stores (Bloomingdales,
Macys), mass merchandisers (JC Penny, Target, Wal-Mart), and other non-specialty-focused retailer-
marketers (Sears, Target, Wal-Mart) drastically up the count of the generalists.
As in other markets, the smaller the fashion accessories marketer, the likelier it is to be privately owned;
and the larger, the likelier it is public.
Foreign Participation and Fair Trade
As a sector of the U.S. fashion industry, the accessories market hosts a large share of foreign-based
players. Among them are European marketers that can position on luxury or on the Euro-cachet of
elegance and sophistication (LVMH, Richemont); and Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Malaysian, and other
Far-Eastern-based contract-manufacturers.
Small makers of handcrafted goods for instance, collectives of indigenous peoples in the Third World
are becoming more important as a group, thanks to a still small but highly visible trend to Fair Trade
practices. Pioneered by The Body Shop PLC founder Anita Roddick, Fair Trade practices form a
Western-World business model that source raw materials or finished products from farmers and the

impoverished citizens of developing countries. Special consideration is given to eliminating both child
labor and the use of toxic materials, and to improving these peoples general quality of life.
World of Good, based in Emeryville, California, is among the tiny vanguard of accessories marketers
even attempting Fair Trade practices. In fact, the company stands out as a marketer banking exclusively
on Fair Trade. (See the World of Good profile in the Three Marketers to Watch section, later in this
chapter.)
Table of Marketers and Brands
Table 4-1 presents a selection of fashion accessories marketers and their representative brands. Notable
involvements in womens, mens, and kids accessories are also indicated, by Xs in the appropriate
columns. The marketers have been chosen because they are key players in their accessories categories or
because they have created original brand-positionings.
Table 4-1
Selected Fashion Accessories Marketers and Their Brands, by Audience Served, 2008
Marketer/Brand Products Women Men Kids

BCBG Max Azria Group X X
Bags, belts, scarves positioned on high fashion at moderate-
BCBG Max Azria to-high prices; bags, for example, retail at $140-$500 X X
Buxton Acquisitions Co., LLC X X
Buxton Bags, belts/small leather goods X X
Carhartt, Inc. X X X
Working peoples bags, belts,
suspenders, gloves, hats;
Carhartt retailed at $15-$50 X X X
Coach, Inc. X X
Upscale-priced bags, small leather goods, scarves, ties;
sells through department stores, and through own Coach-branded
Coach stores X X
Dooney & Burke, Inc. X X
Bags, belts/small leather goods, hats, scarves; upscale-priced,
Dooney & Burke sold through department stores, companys own stores X X



The Gap, Inc. X X X
Banana Republic Bags, belts/small leather goods, gloves, hats, scarves, ties X X X
The Gap Bags, belts/small leather goods, gloves, hats, scarves, ties X X X
Hartmarx Corporation X
High-end belts, scarves; for younger men, extended from
Hickey core upscale apparel line X
High-end mens belts, scarves, pocket squares extended from
Hickey Freeman mens brand of suits, shirts, blazers, etc. X
Hermes International SA X X
Bags, small leather goods, gloves, scarves, ties,
handkerchiefs; upscale-priced, sold through
Hermes Hermes stores X X
HM Capital Partners/Fidelity, Arena Brands, Inc. (formerly
Hat Brands, Inc.), subsidiary X X
Charlie 1 Horse Western hats X X
Dobbs Dress hats X X
Imperial Headwear Golf and casual hats X X
Resistol Western hats X X
Stetson Western hats, belts X X
HSN, Inc. X
Bags, belts/small leather goods from supermodel Iman; priced
moderate-to-upscale; an HSN exclusive, with own hour-long
Iman Global Chic shows, as of November 2008 X
Selection of glamorous bags, moderately-priced to high-end;

brand has own hour-long showson HSN, as of November
Whiting & Davis 2008; pricetags are $99-$500 X
HSN, Inc., Cornerstone division X X

Primarily for women; bags, belts, scarves, others;
Garnet Hill via catalog and website X X
Bags, belts/small leather goods, hats, scarves/shawls;
The Territory Ahead via catalog and website X X
Bags, belts/small leather goods, hats, scarves/shawls;
TravelSmith via catalog and website X X
Jones Apparel Group X X X
Bags, belts, hats, scarves, small leather goods; priced
AK Anne Klein $18-$208 at retail X
Albert Nipon Bags, belts X
Bags, belts, gloves, hats, scarves; higher price-points
Anne Klein NY than AK Anne Klein extension X
Bandolino Bags X
easy spirit Bags, wallets X



Joan & David Bags, belts, scarves X
Jones New York Bags, gloves, hats, scarves, ties Belts, hats; for girls; brand is
l.e.i. acronym for life, energy, intelligence; sold through Wal-Mart X X X
Bags, belts, hats, scarves, small leather goods; retailing at
Nine West $18-$395 X
Nine & Co. Bags, small leather goods, gloves, priced at $13-$48 X
Judith Leiber LLC X
Limited-edition handbags, clutch purses, featuring exotic
designs (for example, a crouching leopard-shaped
purse) rendered in sequins, beads, bits of rare leathers,
etc.; sold through upscale department stores, and Judith
Leiber stores in Atlanta, Las Vegas, New York, and Costa
Mesa, California; also, wallets; handbags priced up to $5,000
Judith Leiber or more, wallets to $1,600 X
Liz Claiborne, Inc. X X X
Axcess Mens belts X
Claiborne For men, belts and ties X
Concepts by Claiborne Ties sold only at JC Penney, priced at $35-$38 X
Apparel and accessories brand no longer sold after spring
2008; will relaunch with broad assortment sold exclusively
Dana Buchman at Kohls, in spring 2009 X
DKNY Bags, hats, scarves, ties; scarves retail at up to $195 X X X
Juicy Couture Bags, gloves, hats, scarves; bags retail at up to $525 X X X

Functional bags, wallets, toiletry cases, leather matchbook
Jack Spade covers, all for men X
Bags, small leather goods; extensive bag offering
Kate Spade includes a diaper bag collection; bag prices top out at $900 X
Kensi Belts for women and girls X X
Liz & Co. Bags sold exclusively through JC Penney; priced $22-$52 X
Liz Claiborne Bags, belts, wallets, scarves X
Bags, belts, hats, scarves; sold at Lucky Brand stores,
Lucky Brand Jeans online X X X
Mexx Bags, belts, ties X X X



L.L. Bean, Inc. X X X
Bags, belts, gloves/mittens, hats, caps, baseball
caps, handkerchiefs, scarves; for the
outdoors-oriented person,extended from
collections of moderately-priced casualwear,
L.L. Bean some dress items X X X
New Era Cap X X X
Baseball caps, many styles
New Era popular with hip-hoppers X X X
Phillips-Van Heusen Corporation X X X
Arrow Belts, ties, handkerchiefs X X
Ties, belts positioned to the
BCBG Attitude hip and youthful-minded X
BCBG Max Azria Ties X
Bags, belts, keychains, gloves, knit hats,
scarves/shawls, mufflers, shrugs (sweaters
for neck and shoulders only), wallets, ties,
cosmetics cases, shaving kits, baseball caps,
military-style hats for men, fedoras for men,
Calvin Klein newsboy hats for men X X X
Chaps Belts, ties X
DKNY Bags, belts, hats, scarves, ties X
Donald J. Trump Ties X
Geoffrey Beene Ties X
Ties contract-manufactured, some for private

Insignia labels X
X X X
Izod bags, belts, scarves, baseball caps
Joe/Joseph Abboud Ties X
Kenneth Cole Ties X
Michael by Michael Kors Ties X
Sean John Bags, belts, wallets for men and boys X X
Superba Tie-maker/brand acquired in 2007 X

Bags, belts, colorful knit hats, baseball caps,
Timberland wallets, scarves, gloves/mittens X X X
Van Heusen Ties X



Randa Corporation X X X
American Greetings Ties X
Arrow Ties X
Axist Ties X
Ben Sherman Ties X
Chaps Ties, belts X X X
Columbia Sportswear
Company Ties, belts, scarves X X X
Countess Mara Ties, belts X
Diane von Furstenberg Ties X
Dickies Ties X
Dockers Ties, belts/small leather goods X X
Donald J. Trump Ties, handkerchiefs X
Echo Design Ties X
Geoffrey Beene Ties, belts X
Hathaway Ties X
Ike Behar Ties X
Jeff Banks Ties X
Jones New York Ties, belts X
Levis Ties X
Little Black Tie Ties X
Liz Claiborne Ties, belts X X
Nautica Ties, belts X
Original Penguin Ties X
Save the Children Ties X
Perry Ellis Ties, belts X
Pierre Balmain Ties X
Pierre Cardin Ties X
Tommy Bahama Ties, belts X
Trafalgar Ties X
Travel Gear Ties X
Tricots St. Raphael Ties X
Van Heusen Ties X
Ventura Ties X



PPR (formerly Pinault-Printemps-Redoute) X X
Bags, belts/small leather goods, gloves,
handkerchiefs/pocket squares, scarves, ties;
owned by French luxury specialist PPR, but Gucci
brand is worlds best-selling Italian
Gucci brand of any kind X X
Bags, belts/small leather goods, handkerchiefs,
Yves St. Laurent hats, scarves, ties X X
Prada S.p.A. X X
Prada Bags, belts, wallets, scarves, ties X X

Ralph Lauren Corporation X X X
Bags, belts/small leather goods,handkerchiefs,
Ralph Lauren hats, scarves,ties X X X
Retail Brand Alliance X X X
Bags, belts/small leather goods, suspenders,
handkerchiefs, gloves, hats, scarves, ties;
upscale-priced, sold through Brooks Brothers retail
Brooks Brothers stores; kids items are for boys X X X
Richemont SA (Compagnie Financiere Richemont SA) X
For men: Bags, belts, wallets; luxury-priced; brand

Dunhill also appears on British cigarettes X
Sports Direct International, Kangol Headwear subsidiary X X
Caps, berets, trilbies identified in U.S. with Black
culture; but Kangol is a British brand dating to 1938;
worn by Gen. Bernard Montgomery, The Beatles,
hip-hop performers LL Cool J, Grand Master
Flash, Slick Rick; in 2000s, guest designers/design
houses have included Antoni & Alison, Hiroshi
Fujiwara, Catherine Malandrino, Married to the MOB,
Kangol Pure Evil, others X X
totes>>ISOTONER Corporation [sic] X X
Isotoner Gloves X X
Knit gloves, scarves, hats, all in pink, to promote

breast
Isotoner Comfort for a Cure cancer awareness X


The Walking Company Holdings, Inc., Big Dog

Sportswear subsidiary X X X
Straw cowboy hats, baseball caps, visors,
wallets, nylon
Big Dog totes X X X
Woolrich, Inc. X X X
Hats, scarves, gloves/mittens; some
SKUs feature companys famous red and
black buffalo-plaid associated with hunters;
sold in moderate-tier department
Woolrich stores, catalogs, online X X X
Upscale capsule collection based on core

line; features hats, scarves; sold through
Woolrich Woolen Mills Bergdorf Goodman X X
Diffusion line based on Woolrich

Woolrich John Rich & Bros. Woolen Mills X X
World of Good, Inc. X X
Handcrafted bags, scarves, and other
accessories sourced via Fair Trade with
peoples of 34 countries; most products
made by women; sells through Whole
World of Good Foods, other outlets X X
Yellow Rat Bastard X X
Bags, belts; private label of NYC
hip-hop apparel retailer, value-
Yellow Rat Bastard priced at $10-$20 X X

Marketer Rankings
For Fashion Accessories Biz, Few Reliable Share Data Are Available
Reliable marketer or brand share information were not available for this report for the following reasons:
The fashion marketplace as a whole is highly fragmented according to retail channel;
Sell-through occurs largely in the poorly monitored department store, specialty store, e-tail, and
other channels;
Some marketers break out accessories sales separately, while others bury such numbers in sales of apparel
In lieu of hard sales data, Packaged Facts offers a few observations that may help put fashion accessories
marketers relative statures into perspective.
Jones and Liz Claiborne Have Biggest Stables of Recognized Brands
Jones Apparel Group (JAG) and Liz Claiborne are both headquartered in New York; both own or license
numerous fashion brands; and, both are involved in the retail and wholesale spheres. Mainly by virtue of
marketing accessories extended from high-visibility clothing brands, JAG and Liz Claiborne control the
biggest, most diverse stables of accessories brands.
In each case, the stable covers a full range of outlets and price-tiers: JAG sells product through Wal-Mart
(specifically the l.e.i. brand), as well as through its own upscale stores (Anne Klein); Liz Claiborne,
which owns or licenses 44 brands, sells through JC Penney (Concepts by Claiborne), as well as through
department stores (Juicy Couture, Kate Spade); and in spring 2009, Liz Claiborne will supply the Dana
Buchman brand exclusively to Kohls.
Both JAGs and Liz Claibornes varied brand stables make them powerful players in the fashion industry,
although their exact rankings within the accessories market are obscured by their respective sales
reporting methods.
For listings of the companies representative accessories brands, see Table 4-1.

Limited Brands, Inc., Liberty Interactive Group, L.L. Bean Among Rulers
of Direct
The direct sales realm or simply direct is very poorly monitored. However, it is possible to note a
few direct purveyors that turn over huge quantities of fashion accessories. Each can be classed as a
retailer-marketer, fielding own brands, other marketers brands, or brands under exclusive licenses.
One source of information on e-tail sales (but not on mail-order catalogs, television home shopping
networks, or other direct channels) is the Top 500 Guide published by Internet Retailer. In the 2008
edition, the Guide combines apparel and accessories sales for 2007: Limited Brands, Inc.s Victorias
Secret website is first, with e-sales of over $1.1 billion. Second is L.L. Bean, Inc., with $948.8 million,
followed closely by The Gap, Inc., with $903.0 million.
Two accessories e-tailers classed by the Guide with other industries should not be overlooked: Television
home shopping networks Liberty Media Corp.s QVC and HSN, had 2007 e-tail sales of $1.8 billion and
$871.2 million, inclusive of all product categories. Both have programming devoted to selling clothing
and accessories in addition to programming that sells wide ranges of other products. French-based PPRs
Redcats USA operates websites for Avenue plus-size womens clothing and accessories, Chadwicks
womens fashions, and a variety of other sites (and mail-order catalogs); Redcats had e-sales of $801.0
million in 2007, for its total assortment of products.
In Luxe Bags, Coach and LVMH Are U.S. and Euro Giants
Packaged Facts estimates that Coach is the U.S. leader in the luxury segment of the handbag category. To
extrapolate from the public companys own Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filings, New
York-based Coachs domestic sales of bags alone were approximately $1.5 billion during the fiscal year
ended with June 2008. That sum likely transposes into a robust 25% of all U.S. bag sales in calendar
2008, as estimated by Packaged Facts. Clearly, this full quarter-portion of sales of both high and low-end
bags spells dominance of the U.S. luxe bag segment.
It is more difficult to gauge the impact of Euro-based luxe bag marketers upon the U.S. scene. The
worlds premiere luxury goods specialist, LVMH, owns the Louis Vuitton luggage and accessories brand,
as well as fashion houses Loewe (leather clothing and accessories), Fendi (clothing, accessories,
footwear), Givenchy (clothing, accessories), Marc Jacobs (clothing, accessories), Thomas Pink (mens
and womens shirts, and ties and other accessories), Donna Karan New York (clothing and accessories for
women, men, and kids), and still others. LVMH is certainly a giant on the continental European
accessories scene, and a key player in the United States.

Coach and LVMH, as well as Herms, and PPR (the owner of Gucci and Yves St. Laurent), should all be
viewed as head-to-head competitors on the U.S. luxe bag scene, as well as in luxe accessories, in general.
Also prominent are the higher-end bags and other accessories in Jones Apparels various brand-
collections (see below).
Interesting note: Compagnie Financiere Richemont SA is the worlds second-largest luxury goods
specialist, after LVMH; Richemont owns Dunhill mens clothing and accessories, but its roster of brands
is otherwise focused mostly on fine watches and jewelry. Therefore, Richemont does not present much of
a threat to Coach.
New Era Cap the World Leader in Baseball Caps

Buffalo, New York-based New Era Cap Co., Inc., is claimed to be the worlds largest maker and marketer
of baseball caps. The company is licensed to use the logos of Major League Baseball (MLB), National
Basketball Association (NBA), National Football League (NFL), and other pro sports teams, as well as
NASCAR and IndyCar logos. New Era also actively courts consumers who live or covet hip-hop culture.
New Era says it is cranking out 35.0 million baseball caps in 2008. Based on this output, Packaged Facts
conservatively estimates that the company has sales of about $150.0-$180.0 million. Allowing for retail
markups, New Era thus accounts for as much as 14% of Packaged Facts total retail dollar figure for the
hats category in 2008.
Buxton the Leader in Value-Tier Wallets
Probably most Baby Boomers have purchased or been given a Buxton-brand wallet at some time in their
lives. The value-oriented wallet, in womens and mens SKUs, is generally reputed to be the leader in the
low-end wallet segment.
Chicopee, Massachusetts-based Buxton Acquisitions Co., LLC, the brands maker, also sells value-to-
moderately-priced bags, again, for both women and men. Buxton has long sold its wallets and other
small leather goods through a variety of outlets, including in mass and specialty channels. In 2008,
however, Buxton bags, positioned on their functionality interiors of the bags are divided into various
useful compartments are also being sold direct, via the companys own television infomercials.
Randa Necktie King
Randa Accessories, based in New Orleans, is generally acknowledged to be the largest U.S. maker-
marketer of neckties. Packaged Facts estimates the companys revenues at more than $400.0 million.

Allowing for retail markups, we calculate that Randa may account for 20% of our estimate of all necktie
sales in 2008.
Yet Randas stance in the accessories market is not so clear-cut. Depending on the brand of tie, the
company is variously manufacturer, contract-manufacturer, private-labeler, licensee, and/or distributor
and marketer. The company is also expanding its involvement in other accessories categories, e.g., bags
(for women and men), laptop cases, belts/small leather goods, handkerchiefs, suspenders, etc.
Key Marketers Are Profiled
Of the marketers mentioned in this section, Coach, Herms, Jones Apparel Group, HSN, and Randa are
examined in Competitive Profiles found later in this chapter. New Era Cap is profiled in the section
called Three Marketers to Watch.

The Competitive Situation
Overview: Economy Pressures Competition, Yet Opportunities Exist
For generations, fashion has been known as a fiercely competitive industry, perhaps as the result of its
uneasy balance of creativity with the bottom-line realities of sell-through in channels as disparate as haute
couture and mass (supermarkets, chain drugstores, and mass merchandisers). As part of the same overall
industry, marketers of accessories on the national or regional level must fight just as hard to maintain
sales and distribution networks, to secure shelf space in stores, and to merchandise effectively. Vertical
integration, so common in fashion, means that many accessories marketers must also retail their own
wares, via both brick-and-mortar stores and Internet websites. Price-competition has already been
rampant for decades, via diffusion brand-strategies, or combinations of both upscale stores and factory
outlet stores, even in the cases of many better or bridge brands, among them Anne Klein, Ralph Lauren,
and others.
On the intellectual side, there is also the management of brand equity as well as of brand licensing, and
the need to keep brands true to their positioning. The keystone of it all is to keep positioning relevant to
societal trends.
In late 2008 the fashion accessories competitive scene is greatly pressured by the national economic crisis
brought on by a matrix of factors that include the collapse of the mortgage industry, the war in Iraq, the
price of oil, global warming, and so on. Packaged Facts believes that accessories sales may benefit as
shoppers limit their spending, foregoing a new suit, for example, but purchasing instead a new tie or silk
scarf. Within the accessories market, too, there are various ways to trade down. The wealthiest
Americans may not have to economize at all, though many will within luxury price-tiers. Members of the
middle class, ever the most vulnerable to the national economy, are expected to similarly trade down.
Someone might choose a $395 Coach purse, for instance, instead of one costing $620. Those on the
lowest economic rungs will continue to keep the low-end accessories business alive.
In any of these cases, price-points are sacrificed, but specialists in one category may have it easier than
specialists in another, due to product trends or fads. Bags, for example, are undergoing a trend to status
labels that will change the category forever. There is precedent in the baby stroller business, in which
Bugaboo, Phil & Ted, Stokke, and other brands costing $1,000-plus, have become huge sellers in the
early 2000s; much of the rest of the infant equipment market upscaled accordingly. For the many who

cannot afford a Bugaboo, friends and family often chip in to present them with such a stroller at baby
showers. Packaged Facts believes that such practices are already helping women from all economic
classes to sport expensive handbags (substitute birthdays, office parties, and other celebrations for baby
showers.) Ties are also identified as a growth category in the coming years, as millions of unemployed
men dress up for job interviews.
The usual stiff competition in the accessories market has been made stiffer by a mad rush of hundreds of
established clothing marketers to introduce accessories collections or to expand existing ones even as
price-points must be shaved in order to wage battle. Yet there are still opportunities on the fringes of the
fashion industry, in independent designers little storefronts in New York or Los Angeles, in grassroots
New Media campaigns, in outside-the-box creations. Much entrepreneurial positioning involves new
emphases on functionality (witness laptop bags, fingerless gloves), green-mindedness (use of recycled or
renewable materials), Fair Trade sourcing, and elegant style. In the end, vanity always wins out over
practicality.
Examples of Key Deals
As noted earlier, the true marketers of fashion brands are often difficult to ascertain, because of this
industrys thicket of designers, manufacturers, importers, distributors, marketers, merchandisers, retailers,
e-tailers, and mail-order houses, any of which may be vertically integrated to an extreme degree.
Licenses, whether for design, manufacture, marketing, or retailing, further complicate the issue.
Therefore, the corresponding matrix of key deals in 2008 (and the years leading up to it) goes far beyond
simple acquisitions. The following ten deals are a representative sampling:
Liz Claiborne shut down the Dana Buchman clothing and accessories brand in spring 2008 to
retool it as an extensive clothing, accessories, linens, and housewares brand. Dana Buchman will
reappear in spring 2009, licensed for sale exclusively through Kohls.
Herms SA increased its stake in fashion house Jean-Paul Gaultier SA to 45% in September
2008. Herms bought the original 35% stake in 2004. The more recent contract provides an
option for Herms to buy the remaining chunk of Jean-Paul Gaultier, in future.
In August 2008 HSN (cable televisions Home Shopping Network) was spun off as an
independent, public company by IAC (Interactive Corporation). The new HSN, Inc. also
encompasses Cornerstone, a division specialized in mail-order brands, for which it sends out
400.0 million catalogs annually.

In March 2008, totes>>ISOTONER Corporation [sic] announced its purchase of Minneapolis-

based Northern Cap Holdings, Inc., owner of Northern Cap & Glove, a maker of hats, gloves, and
scarves. The latter firm sells through a full spectrum of retail outlets, from low to high-end.
Some Northern products made under license are branded Dockers, GoreTex, and Karen
Neuburger. Details of the deal were not disclosed. Totes (Isotoner) is majority-owned by private
equity firm MidOcean Partners.
G-III Apparel Group, Ltd. acquired Andrew Marc, the maker of bags and outerwear, in January
2008. The seller was Gordon Brothers Group, and the price, $42.0 million. Andrew Marc
achieved net sales of $80.0 million in 2007; the past sum included sales of Dockers and Levis
products, under license.
Jones Apparel Group (JAG) had briefly owned Barneys, the upscale mens apparel retailer
headquartered in New York. But in September 2007, JAG sold the retailer for $937.4 million to
Istithmar PJSC, a Dubai-based private-equity investment house. JAG immediately reinvested
$400.0 million of the proceeds in its own ongoing stock repurchase program.
In spring 2007, Liz Claiborne announced that Aimiee Lynn, Inc., had been licensed to make bags,
belts, hats, and other accessories under the Enyce (pronounced Eh-NEE-chay) brand. Aimiee
Lynn, established in 1993, makes and markets its own Sweetcakes, Rock Candy, and Lake Shore
Drive accessories brands.
In early 2007, Randa Accessories acquired Badanco Luggage. Trade press noted that, through
Badanco, Randa could learn about the world of e-tail.
In 2006, Liz Claiborne acquired the Kate Spade brand of hip, functional handbags, and with it,
Jack Spade mens bags.
Samsonite purchased the fashionable Lambertson Truex handbag brand, also in 2006.

Eight Marketers Profiled
In the following sections, Packaged Facts presents Competitive Profiles of five fashion accessories
marketers: Coach, Inc., Herms SA, HSN, Inc., Jones Apparel Group, and Randa Accessories.
In addition, we present thumbnail profiles of players worth monitoring in the coming years, in a section
called Three Marketers to Watch. The trio are New Era Cap Co., Inc., Vera Wang Bridal House, Ltd.,
and World of Good.

Competitive Profile: Coach, Inc.
Ownership Public
Coach, Inc.
516 West 34th Street
New York, NY 10001-1394
Headquarters
Phone: 212-594-1850
Fax: 212-594-1682
www.coach.com
Net Sales, Fiscal 2008 (ended with Saturday

closest to June 30, 2008) $3.2 billion
Bags, belts/small leather goods, gloves,
Fashion Accessories Category Involvements handkerchiefs/pocket squares, scarves/shawls,
ties
Fashion Accessories Brands Coach
Companys own Coach brand-dedicated stores,
Sell-Through Channels Coach manufacturer outlet stores, catalogs,
and website; plus upscale department and
specialty stores,
10,100 (as of the end of FY2007); of this
Number Employees number, 8,000 work in Coachs retail operations
in North America and Japan
Phenomenal Growth to $3.2 Billion in FY2008
New York-based Coach reported net sales of nearly $3.2 billion in the fiscal year (FY) that ended June
28, 2008. This level reflected a 21.8% leap from FY2007s $2.6 billion which in turn reflected a 28.4%
jump from FY2006s $2.0 billion. The total gain for the period FY2006-FY2008 was therefore 60.0%,
or $1.2 billion.
Over the same two-year period, net income rose 68.8%, from $463.8 million to $783.1 million. Reaping
the benefit of the luxe-handbag craze in the United States, Coach clearly did not suffer growing pains as
the result of its rocketing net sales.
Coach divides its business activities into two segments: Direct to Consumer, encompassing mostly
transactions through its Coach stores and other retail operations in North America and Japan, accounted
for 80.8% of net sales in FY2007 [sic]. Indirect, Coachs term for its wholesaling of goods primarily to
department stores, accounted for 19.2%.
Interestingly, Coachs Japanese operation alone yielded 18.0% of FY2007 net sales.

Breaking out FY2007 net sales by product, Handbags had a 64.0% share, Other Accessories, 28.0%, and
All Other Products (including clothing, footwear, a fragrance in conjunction with Estee Lauder, jewelry,
sunglasses, etc.), 8.0%.
On August 25, 2008, Coach announced its intent to repurchase common stock valued at $1.0 billion. The
companys own deadline for the repurchase is the end of FY2010. Just prior to the announcement, Coach
had successfully completed an earlier repurchase program, also with a $1.0 billion goal, that was
announced in November 2007. The stock repurchases help to ensure that Coachs performance in future,
even if less stellar during worsening economic times, will be backed by the ability to leverage funds.
Coach as American as the Baseball Glove
Coach began as a family-run leather workshop in the New York City of 1941. The company was owned
by Sara Lee Corporation from 1985 until April 2001, when the latter spun it off by bartering common
shares in the new Coach entity for Sara Lee common shares, as a means of stock repurchase. However,
Sara Lee deserves credit for helping to raise Coach to its present stature.
Though the namesake Coach brand has long ascended to a level of elegance and sophistication that may
lead consumers to believe it is of European origin, the first Coach handbag had a remarkably deep, flat-
bottomed, sling design reminiscent of a messengers or carpenters bag. Its use of tanned cowhide was
inspired by the lumpy, neutral-colored baseball gloves that were then used by players of Americas
favorite pastime. Coach still sells versions of the original bag, but most of its offering is of elegant
designs that may incorporate shinier, dyed leathers, brassy fittings, and printed leathers and fabrics.
For FY2009, Coach has declared its intent to strengthen its positioning as a great American design
house.
As of November 2008, the Coach Op Art Collection, featuring the letter C arranged in print patterns
inspired by the Op (for optical) Art movement of the 1960s, is among the latest Coach introductions.
Op Art bags come in colorful, swirling hobo, foldover-flap, clutch, tote, and other styles, retailing at
$298-$1,200. The most expensive SKU features the C pattern in inlaid leather. Extensions of the line
include wallets and small bags priced $48-$228, scarves at $38-$68, and various boots and shoes.
Coach also shrewdly extends various of its collections with wallets, daily planners, card cases, key cases,
gloves, handkerchiefs, and scarves as well as with mens messenger-style and laptop computer bags,
clothing, footwear, jewelry, pet accessories, sunglasses, watches (licensed for manufacture and
distribution to Movado), and since 2007, fragrance (licensed to Estee Lauder). In 2008, Coach introduced
body lotions extended from the fragrance, sold exclusively in Coach stores.

Coach Consults Consumers
Coach is a paragon of good brand management. True, the company just happens to be in the right place at
the right time, selling bag designs that range from rugged to Park Avenue-style, just as the U.S. status-bag
craze has caught fire. But Coach may have stoked that fire by consistently going to prospective
consumers for advice. This practice seems to be a major element of Chairman and CEO Lew Frankforts
ongoing strategy. Business Week (March 26, 2007) describes how Coach annually surveys 60,000 of its
customers via the Internet, telephone, and even face-to-face interviews in its stores. This contrasts with
other fashion houses that rely on designers and/or independent researchers focus groups.
Coach responds to consumers in concrete terms: When many customers expressed their wish that the
company would produce bags appropriate for hefting into the overhead bins on airliners, the response was
the Signature Stripe Collection of travel bags, introduced in July 2006. The bags leapt to a 15% share of
company sales during the first months of their availability.
Business Week (March 26, 2007) was so impressed with Coachs performance and no-nonsense consults
with consumers that the magazine rated it as the number one company on its 2007 list, The Business Week
50 The Best Performers.
On the downside, Coachs highly visible success is drawing more and more competition to the bags
category, mostly in the form of fashion apparel houses establishing or extending accessories lines.
Coach the Retailer
Coach is opening new retail outlets on a continuing basis, thus any count is quickly outdated. At the close
of FY2008 there were 297 retail stores and 102 factory outlet stores in North America. Plus, there were
154 stores in Japan. The grand total: 553.
These numbers represent a significant 13.1% increase from FY2007, when North American retail stores
numbered 259, factory outlets 93, and Japanese stores, 137, for a grand total of 489.
In addition, Coach sells to consumers via cyberspace, on www.coach.com, and via a mail-order catalog.
Fully 7.0 million copies of the latter were distributed at Coach stores during FY2007; another 3.0 million
were mailed to strategically selected North American households, as the companys own literature
describes them. But Coach says it is paring down the number of catalogs it mails and replacing them with
e-mail that directs consumers to www.coach.com.
Coach goods are also sold at wholesale prices to other retailers, primarily upscale department stores,
which may merchandise the goods with Coachs guidance.

In March 2007 Coach ceased its corporate accounts business, which effectively wholesaled goods
intended as corporate gifts or trade incentives. The companys action was motivated by a desire to more
efficiently control Coachs sales and image of exclusivity in both cyberspace, and in the specific cities
where the brick-and-mortar stores are located.

Competitive Profile: Herms International SA
Public, but 75% owned by the descendants of

Ownership
founder Thierry Herms
Herms International SA
24 rue du Faubourg Saint-Honor
75008 Paris
Headquarters France
Phone: +33-1-40-17-49-20
Fax: +33-1-40-17-49-21
www.Herms.com
Total Revenues, 2007

1.6 billion
Bags, belts/small leather goods, gloves, hats,
Fashion Accessories Category Involvements handkerchiefs/pocket squares, scarves/shawls,
ties
Fashion Accessories Brands Herms
About 225 Herms brand-dedicated stores, half
of which are company-owned; 40 other outlets
Sell-Through Channels
include high-end department and specialty
stores; also via online, and on board aircraft
Number Employees About 7,000
Total Revenues of Sales Estimated at 1.6 Billion
Paris-based Herms is publicly owned, but 75% of its stock is still held by descendants of Thierry Herms
(pronounced her-MEZ), who established the company in 1838. In 2007, Herms transacted total revenues
of more than 1.6 billion, or 7.3% more than in 2006. Similar progress was reported during all of 2004-
2007.
Net income was 288.0 million in 2007, also up 7.3%. Similar increases were reported during 2004-
2007.
Herms Limited-Distribution, High-Profile Strategy
Herms namesake-branded product mix includes womens and mens upscale-priced clothing and
accessories, plus footwear, perfume, watches, jewelry, luggage, stationery, tablewear, and to the
enhancement of in-store displays saddles. The company designs, makes, and markets its products,
which sport a variety of visual patterns, and which still include famous equestrian-themed ones.

Accessories for both women and men are among Herms most recognized items; the offering includes
bags, belts/small leather goods, gloves, handkerchiefs, hats, scarves/shawls, and ties, covering all seven
categories in Packaged Facts market definition for this report.
In 2008, Herms clothing outsells Herms accessories. Womens Wear Daily (WWD; October 4, 2007)
reports CEO Patrick Thomas goal of pumping accessories sales to 30% of total company revenues by
2012.
Herms is vertically integrated down to the retail level, selling through about 225 Herms-branded stores,
of which half are company-owned. Hoovers.com says that sales are also made through about 40 other
outlets that are upscale department stores or specialty stores plus through e-tail and on board aircraft. As
with many other luxury goods marketers, the company is not eager to carpet the world with its retail
marquee. Instead, Herms carefully limits distribution to perpetually maintain its legendary aura of high-
end quality, exclusivity, and of course, price. Herms-branded silk scarves start at $325; gloves, hats, and
ties also bear pricetags in the hundreds of dollars, while bags run into the thousands.
One product, a handbag named after British actress Jane Birkin, was designed in the early 1980s, but is
still produced, and much sought after. Macleans (March 3, 2008) notes that Herms Birkin bags cost
between $6,500 and $200,000, depending on exact style, and provenance.Some Birkins have been pre-
owned by celebrities. Birkins were even the focus of an episode of HBOs hit television series Sex and
the City. But the magazine reports that visitors to Herms stores are often told no Birkins are available,
unless the same visitors make substantial purchases of other goods, which suddenly motivates staff to find
a Birkin or two in the back room. Thus Herms further practices a limited distribution strategy on the
product inventory level.
The WWD article says that accessories are gaining shelf-space in the typical Herms store; and that sales
of mens clothing have been up 10%-15% annually, to the point that they rival sales of womens clothing.
While this means that new Herms stores may be built larger to accommodate the expanded clothing
lines, mens accessories should in turn receive greater emphasis. WWD said that Herms was considering
opening stores specialized in mens clothing and accessories in the United States and China.
Despite the boost from paparazzi photos of famous women carrying Herms handbags Martha Stewart,
Oprah, and Lindsay Lohan carry Birkins the companys marketing is product-centric, not dependent on
celeb endorsement. WWD quotes CEO Patrick Thomas, who points out that, in Herms advertising, you
find the handbag. There is no Sharon Stone. The hero is the object.
Herms brick-and-mortar stores do business in extremely high-rent locations. In New York, for instance,
there is a Herms store across the street from the New York Stock Exchange, near the corner of Wall

Street, and another on Madison Avenue; and in Los Angeles, there is one on high-end shoppers mecca
Rodeo Drive.
Herms Ups Stake in Gaultier to 45%
Although building the Herms brand slowly, thus protecting its luxe cachet, Herms saw fit to replace
longtime womens clothing designer Martin Margiela with the better known, and perhaps more fashion-
forward Jean-Paul Gaultier, in 2004. The new arrangement involved the purchase of a 35% stake in
Jean-Paul Gaultier SA. In September 2008, Herms increased its interest to 45%. According to
BusinessWeek.com (August 28, 2008), the latest deal provides Herms with the exclusive option to buy
Mr. Gaultiers company.

Competitive Profile: HSN, Inc. (Home Shopping Network)
Ownership Public
HSN, Inc.
th
2501 118 Avenue North
Headquarters St. Petersburg, FL 33716
Phone: 727-872-7069
www.hsni.com
Net Sales, 2007 Roughly $3.0 billion, pre-spin off from IAC
Bags, belts/small leather goods,
Fashion Accessories Category Involvements gloves,handkerchiefs/pocket squares, hats,
scarves/shawls, ties
Garnet Hill, Growing Up Garnet Hill (for kids),
The Territory Ahead, TravelSmith; plus licenses
Fashion Accessories Brands
and exclusives on other marketers brands sold
by company
Direct sales, via HSN television home shopping
network, mail-order catalogs, and websites; and
brick-and-mortar retail, via 25 stores
Number Employees Not available
Net Sales of About $3.0 Billion
St. Petersburg, Florida-based HSN (for Home Shopping Network) is a publicly-traded company on the
NASDAQ exchange. However, as of November 2008, full-year financials are not available, because
HSN was spun off from IAC (InterActive Corporation) in August. HSN itself claims that it is a $3.0
billion operation, which appears to be the case, looking at the information for the first nine months of
2008, and allowing for the end-of-year shopping season to come.
For January through September of 2008, HSN reported net sales of over $2.0 billion, or just 0.8% -- $16.1
million above the figure for the comparable period in 2007. In those first nine months of 2008, there
was net loss of $238.3 million, as opposed to the earlier periods net income of $108.3 million.
In the third quarter of 2008, units shipped were 12.3 million, down 1.6% compared to the third quarter of
2007. But the average customer purchase was up from $61.08 to $61.48, or by 0.7%.
E-tail accounted for 35.2% of HSNs net sales in the third quarter of 2008, or 2.7 points more than the
32.5% posted in the same quarter of 2007.

HSN divides its activities into two main segments: HSN, which yielded 70.1% of net sales for July-
August-September 2008, and Cornerstone, a mail-order catalog business, which yielded 39.9%.
A Long History, a New Beginning
HSN, the first television home shopping network, was founded in 1977 to bring discounted merchandise
to the masses. Shopaholics watching from their living rooms now felt part of a community as friendly on-
camera hosts hawked the goods and friendly staff took orders over the phone. In 2008, with HSN wired
into over 90.0 million U.S. households, the basic concept remains the same, with one crucial difference:
By the early 2000s, executives at HSN, QVC, and other shopping networks realized that an increasing
slice of their audience had acquired a taste for upscale things. The networks rehabilitated their collective
image as purveyors of the gaudy and glitzy and cheap. They became media suitable for selling prestige
skincare products, well-recognized electronics, upscale clothing brands, and most pertinently here, fine
accessories. The markdowns are still there, but the stigma of poor taste is gone.
HSN may have received its biggest boost in 1995, when the flamboyant Barry Diller, formerly Chairman
of Paramount Pictures, became CEO of Silver King Communications, Inc., the entity that later became
IAC. From there, the evolution of IAC is too fraught with byzantine acquisitions and divestitures to detail
fully, but also in 1995, Mr. Diller brought HSN onboard, along with Savoy Pictures Entertainment. His
contribution was two-fold for he recognized that selling was a form of entertainment and that the Internet
had great potential. IAC came to own Match.com, LendingTree.com, Pronto.com, and others.
By the time IAC broke itself into five parts in 2008, the spun-off HSN had expanded beyond television to
encompass the HSN.com e-tail operation and the Cornerstone division, which mails 400 million
clothing/accessories and home goods catalogs annually. Cornerstone sells its mail-order brands via
corresponding websites, too.
Cornerstones fashion brands include:
Moderate-to-upscale-priced Garnet Hill clothing and accessories, primarily for women; and also,
bedding. Accessories include scarves and hats.
Growing Up Garnet Hill, a kids extension of Garnet Hill. Among accessories are knit bags,
backpacks, belts, mittens, hats, scarves, and wallets.
The Territory Ahead, billed as Exceptional clothing for lifes adventures, comprises casual
clothing and accessories. The latter include, for men, bags, belts/small leather goods, hats, and
scarves; and for women, bags, belts, and scarves/shawls.

TravelSmith clothing and travel gear; accessories for women are bags, belts/small leather goods,
gloves, hats, and scarves. Accessories for men are belts and hats.
HSN also pedals exclusives, such as Somali supermodel Imans clothing, jewelry, makeup, and
accessories collection, under the umbrella Iman Global Chic brand. Her accessories include glamorous
handbags, belts, and simulated leather-covered day-planners studded with faux gemstones.
Thus HSN the company is ideally positioned in the fashion accessories marketplace. Direct sales media
are flourishing, driven by the increasingly unpleasant trip to the mall which consumes high-priced
gasoline and bogs us down in traffic jams. For the record numbers of Americans who are obese, large
malls are exhausting to navigate. Finally, our taste for more upscale, even luxury bags, wallets, scarves,
ties, and so on, affords HSN and its competitors greater price-points, and richer margins.
Other HSN Brands
Other HSN-owned brands are all under the aegis of the Cornerstone division. Prominent examples are
Ballard Design home decorating products; Frontgate housewares; Improvements housewares, patio goods,
lighting, and pet equipment; and Smith+Noble window treatments.

Competitive Profile: Jones Apparel Group
Ownership Public
Jones Apparel Group, Corporate Offices
1411 Broadway
New York, NY 10018
Phone: (212)642-3860
Headquarters Jones Apparel Group, Financial Offices
180 Rittenhouse Circle
Bristol, PA 19007
Phone: (215)785-4000
www.jonesapparel.com
Net Sales, 2007 $3.8 billion

The full spectrum: Bags, belts/small leather
Fashion Accessories Category Involvements goods, gloves, handkerchiefs/pocket squares,
hats, scarves/shawls, ties
AK Anne Klein, Anne Klein NY, Albert Nipon,
Fashion Accessories Brands Bandolino, Easy Spirit, GLO, Joan & David,
Jones New York, l.e.i., Nine West, Nine & Co.
Upscale and middle-tier department stores
Sell-Through Channels (Bloomingdales, Macys, Nordstrom, etc.), own
brand-dedicated stores; specialty stores; e-tail,
including through own site, www.jny.com
8,450 full-time (as of the close of 2007), plus
Number Employees 5,260 part-time; most of the latter work in
JAGs retail stores
Net Sales of $3.8 Billion in 2007
New York-headquartered Jones Apparel Group (JAG) reported net sales of just under $3.8 billion for
2007, reflecting a 5.5% drop from 2006s $4.0 billion but reflecting a 17.1% drop from 2004s record
sum of nearly $4.6 billion. Licensing income added $50.0-$60.0 million to net sales figures during the
period 2004-2007.
The declines during the same three years were attributed by management to a difficult retail environment
and challenging economic conditions that affected the entire industry, to quote their letter to
shareholders published in JAGs 2007 annual report.
JAGs net income stood at $311.1 million in 2007 quite an improvement compared to a loss of $144.1
million in 2006.
For 2007, JAG broke out its total revenues (net sales plus income from licensing, or just over $3.8 billion)
as deriving from Wholesale Better Apparel, 28.6%, Wholesale Moderate Apparel (now renamed

Wholesale Jeanswear), 25.6%, Wholesale Footwear and Accessories, 24.8%, Retail, 19.6%, and
Licensing and Other Revenues, 1.4%.
JAGs distribution footprint does not yet leave a deep impression on the rest of the world (ROW) outside
the United States. In 2007, ROW accounted for only 8.5% of the companys total revenues.
Outlook for 2008 Is Mixed, Dependent on Holiday Season
As this report goes to press in late 2008, JAG has announced its results for the first six months of the year.
Net sales were nearly $1.8 billion, or 9.0% less than in the similar period in 2007. Income from licensing
added about $20.0 million to net sales in either half-year. Net income was $65.5 million during the first
half of 2008, or about six times the $11.0 million posted for the first half of 2007.
Whether JAG can equal or exceed the sales figures for 2007 is questionable. The apparel and accessories
market is seasonal, with fourth-quarter weather trends and holiday gift-giving spurring some of the sales
peaks in the calendar year. As of November 2008, heavy snows are predicted and the United States is
also dealing with the aftermath of Septembers and Octobers first stock market crash since 1987.
One of Worlds Largest Apparel Firms Positions Itself Broadly
JAG is one of the worlds largest womens apparel marketers, and because of careful extensions of its
clothing brands into the realm of womens accessories, the company is therefore a major U.S. marketer of
handbags, small leather goods, gloves, handkerchiefs/pocket squares, and scarves/shawls. JAGs
involvement in mens accessories is more limited, via the Jones New York clothing label. The company
also extends certain of its lines with costume jewelry, eyewear, footwear, and/or fragrances.
The company label-stable ranges from the high-end to the low, from the luxurious to the value-oriented.
Yet even the most expensive of JAGs brand-collections Anne Klein NY, Jones New York, others
tend to be positioned to undercut many rival brands in the luxe sphere. This subtle tactic reflects founder
and ongoing Chairman Sidney Kimmels strategy of covering a full range of price-tiers, even while taking
many of his brands to the masses, via sales through mass-retailers (l.e.i. is sold through Wal-Mart),
insofar as that is possible. Mr. Kimmel also sells JAGs brands through upscale department stores such as
Macys and Nordstrom, and through the companys own retail stores (see below).
JAG spotlights different brands at different times. In 2007-2008, the following brands are among those
that are representative of the companys stance in the fashion accessories marketplace:

Anne Klein NY, which appears on clothing priced up to $1,400, and which is extended with bags,
belts/small leather goods, gloves, handkerchiefs, hats, and scarves/shawls. The accessories price
tags can exceed the $200 mark, according to JAG.
AK Anne Klein, appearing on lower-priced clothing than the core Anne Klein NY brand.
Accessories include bags, belts/small leather goods, gloves, handkerchiefs, hats, and
scarves/shawls. The price tags on accessories range from $18-$208.
Albert Nipon, a womens suit line extended with moderate-to-premium-priced handbags and
belts.
The diverse styles of Bandolino handbags are priced from a low of $5 to a moderate high of $79.
These products are extended from the core Bandolino shoes and boots lines. The brand also
appears on clothing.
easy spirit [sic], the famous comfortable ladies shoe brand, is extended with handbags and
wallets, offered at low-to-moderate prices; in general, most bags top out at $59, and wallets at
$35.
Joan & David, originally a brand of affordable, stylish, and comfortable shoes, also appears on
bags, belts, and scarves.
Jones New York, along with Anne Klein and Nine West, is one of JAGs flagship brands. It is
also the oldest, dating back to JAGs founding in 1975. In 2007, Jones New York accounted for
21% of the entire companys revenues. Accessory extensions of Jones New Yorks middle to
upper-middle-tier-priced clothing include handbags, gloves, scarves, and shawls. For men, there
are ties retailing at a moderate $40.
l.e.i., an acronym for life, energy, intelligence that brands casual clothing for girls. Accessories
include belts and hats. Value-priced l.e.i. is sold through Wal-Mart.
Nine West womens shoes have long been identified by their consumer-base as inexpensive but
stylish alternatives to their upscale counterparts. Acquired by JAG in 1997, the brand accounted
for 22% of revenues in 2007, thus edging out Jones New York in terms of intra-company brand
share. Nine West has long been extended with accessories such as bags, belts, small leather
goods, and scarves. In 2008, JAG literature reveals that the company views Nine West wholesale
accessories that is, accessories ultimately sold through retailers other than JAG as an
important growth vehicle.

Nine & Co. handbags, small leather goods, gloves, and costume jewelry retail at $13-$48,
according to JAG.
Perhaps because he is also involved in show business as founder also of film company Sidney Kimmel
Entertainment (SKE), Mr. Kimmel believes in aggressively advertising certain of his brands. In 2007-
2008, JAG mounted national campaigns for Anne Klein, AK Anne Klein, Bandolino, Grane, various
Jones New York collections, l.e.i., and Nine West. For all of these brands, JAG bought space in fashion
magazines. Additionally, the company bought space in lifestyle magazines, in support of Jones New
York; and space in junior-focused magazines, plus time on radio, to assist l.e.i.
JAG a Key U.S. Apparel and Accessories Retailer
On the wholesale side, JAG feels that its brands are strong enough to compete with the private labels to
which department stores are giving more and more shelf space. As of 2007, the companys ten biggest
wholesale accounts, mainly department store chains or groups of chains, yielded 55% of total revenues.
Macys, Inc., was the largest account, providing 20% of revenues.
No matter how solid or shaky JAGs wholesale business may be, the company is also vertically integrated
down to the retail level, operating 1,031 of its own specialty stores and manufacturer outlet centers. At
the close of 2007, the specialty stores numbered 393, of which 390 were located in the United States, and
three in Canada. Nine West stores accounted for the majority, with 221 locations, followed by Easy
Spirit, with 98, Bandolino, with 65, and Anne Klein stores focused on accessories, with eight. Stores
selling a miscellany of brands accounted for most of the remaining venues.
Of JAGs 638 manufacturer outlets, Nine West was again favored with the largest number 203;
followed by Jones New York, with 174; Easy Spirit, with 188; Kasper, with 82; and Anne Klein, with 61.
JAG had also briefly owned Barneys, the upscale mens apparel retailer headquartered in New York.
But in September 2007, JAG sold the retailer for $937.4 million to Istithmar PJSC, a Dubai-based private-
equity investment house. JAG immediately reinvested $400.0 million of the proceeds in a stock
repurchase program, as a hedge against further economic difficulties in the U.S. marketplace.
Other JAG Apparel Brands
JAG rounds out its label-stable with such apparel brands as A Line, Boutique 9, Evan-Picone, Erika,
Energie, Enzo Angiolini, Gloria Vanderbilt, Jeanstar, Kasper, Le Suit, Mootsies Tootsies, Napier,
Pappagallo, Sam & Libby, and Westies.

Competitive Profile: Randa Accessories
Ownership Private
Randa Accessories New Orleans
Worldwide Corporate Headquarters
200 James Drive East
St. Rose, LA 70087
Phone: 504-712-7100
Randa Accessories New York
120 West 45th Street, 38th floor
New York, NY 10036
Phone: 212-768-8800
www.randa.net
Randa International S.R.L
Lungo Lario Trento, N. 13
Headquarters
Como, Italy 22100
Phone: +39 (031) 261-850
The Trafalgar Company subsidiary
24 West 40th Street, 6th floor
New York, NY 10018
Phone: 212-354-5100
www.trafalgarcompany.com
MCG: Market Connect Group subsidiary
Highpoint Business Campus
1500 Horizon Drive, suite 111
Chalfont, PA 18914
Phone: 215-822-5034
www.mcgconnect.com
Net Sales, 2007 (fiscal year ends with July) $400.0 million-plus
Ties and belts/small leather goods (including wallets, as well as
Fashion Accessories Category Involvements
suspenders); casual bags business cases; handkerchiefs
Company owns, or licenses for manufacture, distribution, and/or
marketing: American Greetings, Arrow, Axist, Ben Sherman, Chaps,
Columbia Sportswear Company, Countess Mara, Diane von
Furstenberg, Dickies, Dockers, Donald J. Trump, Echo Design,
Fashion Accessories Brands Geoffrey Beene, Hathaway, Ike Behar, Jeff Banks, Jones New York,
Levis, Little Black Tie, Liz Claiborne, Nautica, Original Penguin, Save
the Children, Perry Ellis, Pierre Balmain, Pierre Cardin, Tommy
Bahama, Trafalgar, Travel Gear, Tricots St. Raphael, Van Heusen,
Ventura
Sell-Through Channels Department stores, specialty stores, mass retail (supermarkets, chain
drugstores, mass merchandisers), e-tailers and other direct-sellers
Number Employees 850 (as of 2007)
Private Randa Discloses Sales of More Than $400 Million
Located in New Orleans, privately-held Randa has disclosed worldwide sales of over $400.0 million for
the fiscal year (FY) 2007, which ended with July. As recently as 2005, the figure was less than $250.0

million, and in 2000, about $100.0 million. Randas sales increased by 60.0% FY2005-FY2007, and by
300.0% during the seven years FY2000-FY2007.
At Once a Marketer and All-Services Contract Manufacturer
Randa claims to be the largest U.S. tie maker, with an extensive roster of both its own proprietary brands,
and brands licensed for manufacture and/or distribution and/or marketing of which Packaged Facts
counts a total of 32. In addition, the company contracts to make the ties and other accessories for dozens
of retailers private labels and controlled labels. Ties have been Randas mainstay since the company was
founded in 1985 in Italy.Other accessories belts, wallets, suspenders, bags for both women and men,
handkerchiefs, laptop and other business cases, and gifts for women, men, and kids, have all received
greater emphasis in the 2000s. Traditionally, Randas core operations have ultimately served the men and
boys who wear neckties. But as the company has continued to extend brands to other accessories types, it
increasingly serves women and girls.
Randa also sells belts/small leather goods and ties in the U.S. school and business uniforms market, which
the company values at about $1.0 billion. Dockers and Izod are two of the brands for which it contracts to
supply certain uniform-suitable SKUs. Outside the bounds of fashion accessories, Randa also sells
luggage and gifts.
Randas exalted stature in the fashion accessories industry is evident upon a visit to www.randa.net.
There one marvels at not only the The breadth, depth, and power of the 32 proprietary or licensed brands
(Dockers, Geoffrey Beene, Levis, Nautica, Perry Ellis, Ralph Lauren Chaps, etc. see complete list
above), and the diversity of 23 major retailers for which the company makes private-label goods is
marvelous:
Bealls Jos. A. Banks Next
Bloomingdales Kohls Nordstroms
Bon-Ton Lands End River Island
Boscovs Liverpool Sears
Brooks Brothers Macys The Bay
Debenhams Marks & Spencer Urban Outfitters
Edgars Mervyns Wal-Mart

JC Penney Myer
John Lewis Next
Yet Randa is not well-recognized as a marketer, perhaps because the company positions itself as able to
accommodate retailers and other marketers in every possible way, as manufacturer, marketer, distributor,
even merchandiser. When it functions as distributor, Randa has a roving sales force already in place to
serve clients; the company also has cutting-edge ECR (efficient consumer response) systems that
electronically connect retailers with other points in the product path, thereby enabling superior category
management, including fewer out-of-stocks. Randa also advises its clients on consumer advertising and
promotion based on long experience managing its own and licensed national brands.
Randa maintains 20 plants or sales offices in the United States. In addition, the company has maintained
a European office known as Randa International S.r.L. [sic], in Como, Italy, since 1985. Randa calls the
Como office its Design Center; it is where the companys and clients ties and other accessories are
designed. Upon completion and management approval, the designs are transmitted digitally to Randas
manufactories. A neckties journey from approval to retailers shelves takes just six weeks.
Randa an Avid Acquirer and Globalist
Much of Randas growth since 1985 has been attributable to a series of careful acquisitions, together with
steadily increased control of foreign sales territories. Beginning in 1993, the company embarked on a
purchasing spree that has continued through 2008: During 1993-1998, Randa acquired Woodstock
Neckwear, Ltd., London; Forsythe Neckwear, Mississauga, Ontario; WEMCO, New Orleans; and
Countess Mara, New York. In 2001, the company picked up Humphreys Accessories, Chicago; and in
2003, Trafalgar Company, Norwalk, Connecticut.
In 2007, Badanco Luggage was added to the fold. Daily News Record (January 27, 2007) commented
that Randa would be wise to learn about e-tail from this maker of fashion accessories and luggage.
Since 1999, concurrent with its program of acquisition, Randa has opened foreign offices in Shanghai,
Melbourne, London, Johannesburg, and Xiamen, China.
In 2002, Randa founded Market Connect Group (MCG), in Chalfont, Pennsylvania. MCG provides
clients with sophisticated category management systems, planogramming, oversight of promotions and
use of point-of-purchase materials, handling of product returns, sales associate training, and so on.

Three Marketers to Watch
A Hat-Maker, a Bridal Outfitter, and a Fair-Trader
In this section Packaged Facts thumbnails three marketers worth watching in 2008 and coming years. All
three are uniquely positioned within the fashion industry and each has the potential to use that uniqueness
to expand its accessories sales. The three are a baseball cap maker, a famed designer of wedding gowns,
and a for-profit/not-for-profit hybrid that banks entirely on Fair Trade practices.

Ownership Private
160 Delaware Avenue
Headquarters Buffalo, NY 14202
Phone: 716-549-0445
Fax: 716-549-7247
www.neweracap.com
Estimated Sales $150.0-$180.0 million

Fashion Accessories Category Involvements Hats, primarily baseball caps
59Fifty, New Era, plus many pro sports licenses;
Fashion Accessories Brands plus licensed Marvel Comics and DC Comics
characters
New Era baseball cap stores, sporting goods and
other specialty stores, online via
www.neweracap.com
Number Employees 1,700, as of summer 2008
Buffalo, New York-based New Era Cap (NEC) remains closely held by the descendants of German
immigrant Erhardt Koch, who established the first incarnation of the company in 1920. NEC does not
disclose sales figures, but does boast of manufacturing and marketing 35.0 million baseball caps in 2008,
up from 2007s claim of 30.0 million. Applying even a minimal average wholesale unit price to these
sums, Packaged Facts arrives at a sales estimate conservative of $150.0-$180.0 million. Limited
edition cap designs by counter-culture stars like Jay-Z, retailing at $40 or more, may pump the estimate
significantly higher.
NEC is uniquely blessed as the traditional supplier of baseball caps to most Major League Baseball
(MLB) teams, for in the decades since the birth of rap in the late 1970s, sports-loving hip hoppers have
embraced the baseball cap as a rap accoutrement. NEC initially did nothing to curry such favor, but far
from passively attributing it to good luck, the company responded by expanding hip-hop-suitable baseball
cap lines, going to the length of commissioning famous hip-hoppers to design those limited editions a

brilliant tactic, because then the counter-cultural platform is expressed through the form of the all-
American baseball cap itself. Those commissioned range from the relatively obscure Lil Flip to major
celebrity rapper LL Cool J, as well as a few performers outside of hip hops purview; R & B singer Usher,
for example, heavy metal band Limp Bizkit, filmmaker Spike Lee, and a host of others.
Hip hoppers truly love their New Era caps. Lil Flip has written a three-minute rap that includes these
lines:
Man, I keep my fitted cocked just to show my head line
But keep it down low when Im out on the grind
Its gotta be New Era man no matter what they charge
But its all good cuz I got my Lids card
Keep my tag on my brim just for stuntin purpose only
Never rock no other brand cuz that s__ts phony.
In case any fashion executive assumes that the love affair between hip hoppers and their baseball caps is
an ethnic fad that will soon fade, he or she must heed the ways in which hip-hop culture, from gentle early
rap to latter-day gangsta style, has progressively permeated mainstream White youths society across the
United States. Hip hoppers baseball caps, Kangol hats, bling (ostentatious jewelry), and low-belted
pants are worn by White kids in New Hampshire and Oregon, as well as by African-American kids in
New York and L.A.
President Barack Obama himself is a fan of hip hop, and quoted rapper Jay-Z on the 2008 campaign trail.
NECs licenses include MLB and National Football League (NFL) teams, NASCAR, Marvel Comics and
DC Comics, and many others. The company first ventured into branding in 1996, when Spike Lee
requested a red New York Yankees baseball cap, as opposed to the teams original blue. The attendant
publicity inspired NEC to start fielding its own brands, in addition to private-labeling and contract
manufacturing. In 2008, NECs featured brand is 59Fifty, a name derived from the model number of the
classic baseball cap that the company made for corporate clients for several decades before the decision to
also market to consumers.
NEC specializes in fitted baseball caps hence the slogans, New Era Fits, and The Originators of the
True Fitted. But the company introduced the adjustable baseball cap in the late 1970s.

In 2007 and 2008, NEC has extended its baseball caps with clothing, mainly tee-shirts and jackets
introduced through NEC flagship retail stores opened in New York, Los Angeles, Berlin, and elsewhere.
The company is assisted in this effort by Project 2050, a lifestyle marketing outfit. Dao-Yi Chow, a
Project 2050 Creative Director, summarized the approach to Advertising Age (June 4, 2007): We knew
we wanted to create something that was as authentic as the caps. We knew right away which silhouettes
we wanted to design classic and sportswear driven. Not too much fashion, but detail-oriented. We
wanted to inject the sensibilities of sport but not overdo it. It had to be fresh, something you wanted to
wear new sneakers with. Mr. Chow was previously Creative Director on behalf of rap mogul P.
Diddys Sean John clothing and accessories lines.
NEC particularly warrants watching, because of its plans for global expansion. The same Ad Age article
quotes CEO Christopher Kochs assertion that We plan to double the size of the company worldwide by
2010, and then plan to double it again. Our long-range plans are to try to double our size every four to
five years.

Vera Wang Bridal House, Ltd.
Ownership Private
New York, NY 10018
Headquarters Phone: 212-575-6400
Fax: 212-354-2548
www.verawang.com
Estimated Sales $350.0-$400.0 million

Bags, belts, knit hats, scarves, bridal shawls
Fashion Accessories Category Involvements
and wraps
Vera Wang, Vera Wang Lavender, Simply Vera
Fashion Accessories Brands by Vera Wang
Wholesale through upscale department stores,

specialty stores; retail through two company-
Sell-Through Channels owned boutiques in New York, a Vera Wang
Lavender store in Los Angeles, and other
locations opening in 2008-2009
Number Employees Not available
Designer Vera Wang was a skater on the national competitive scene in 1968. The following year, she
entered the fashion world via a job at Vogue, where she became a senior editor. In 1985, she left the
magazine to design her own clothing and accessories; it was in 1990 that she opened her famous salon at
the Carlyle Hotel in New York. Ms. Wangs innovative wedding gowns were featured, which
differentiated her from the herd of other designers interested in other types of apparel. From there, Ms.
Wang built her business into a major U.S. fashion house.
Vera Wang Bridal House, Ltd. remains privately held. Womens Wear Daily (WWD; May 10, 2007)
reports that wholesale revenues from the bridal collections, and from the elegant Vera Wang Lavender
womens clothing line sold through upscale department stores such as Nordstroms and Neiman-Marcus,
were about $225.0 million in 2007. Vera Wang fragrance, licensed to Coty, brought in another $120.0
million, for a total $345.0 million. In November 2008, Packaged Facts conservatively estimates that sales
have reached $400.0 million, at least.
We designate Vera Wang as a Marketer to Watch, based on her expansion of the Vera Wang Lavender
accessories collection in time for spring 2009 sale; and her introduction in 2007 of the Simply Vera by
Vera Wang brand sold exclusively through Kohls.

The anticipated new Lavender accessories are handbags and belts/small leather goods. WWD (March 3,
2008) quotes Susan Sokol, President of Vera Wang Apparel, who says that the accessories could achieve
sales of $30.0 million by 2012, and a possible 50% of total Lavender sales by 2014. The Accessory
Network Group is the party licensed to manufacture and distribute the new items; the initial contract is for
three years. The showpieces will be the handbags, retailing at $300-$1,000. One outlet will be the first
ever Vera Wang Lavender store, which opened in Los Angeles in autumn 2008.
Ms. Sokol noted to WWD that Lavender, introduced in 2005, is already sold in 60 countries:
Accessories are key in enhancing and facilitating that growth and I expect the Accessory Network Group
will be fabulous and perfect partners for us. They have the means and the know-how for building a
successful accessories business.
ANG has experience in high-end bags, as licensee of the Calvin Klein, Karl Lagerfeld, and Tahari brands.
Instead of working her way down the price-ladder with another bridge brand, or a better-tier brand, Ms.
Wang has cut through the layers of diffusion branding straight to the value-to-moderate price-tiers, with
Simply Vera by Vera Wang. The brand covers clothing, accessories, and home furnishings. It has the
potential to become what the Martha Stewart brand is to Kmart. Accessories include $24 belts, $79 bags
(a clutch purse is $39), $25 knit hats, and so forth.
Other Simply Vera products include footwear, sunglasses, jewelry, and lingerie.
The Lavender and Simply Vera extensions do not yet bring the core bridal designs to the masses. A Vera
Wang wedding gown can cost $20,000. Ms. Wang told WWD that there could be a bridge bridal
collection in her future, though not soon.

World of Good, Inc.
Ownership Private
World of Good, Inc.,
5900 Hollis Street, suite X
Emeryville, CA 94608
Headquarters Phone: 510-528-8400
Fax: 510-528-8440
www.worldofgood.com
www.worldofgoodinc.com
Estimated Net Sales $3.0 million

Fashion Accessories Category Involvements Handbags, scarves/shawls
Fashion Accessories Brands World of Good
A diversity of natural food/HBC stores (including
Whole Foods Markets), alternative gift shops;
others
Number Employees 40, as of spring 2007
In autumn of 2008, Emeryville, California-based World of Good is only four years old, but the company
has proven that a business model based totally upon Fair Trade practices can be successful. Privately
owned by at least seven young entrepreneurs described by In Business (May-June 2007) as a drummer, a
fashion designer, a filmmaker, a hip-hop instructor, a Peruvian ballet dancer, a rock climber, and a
snowboarder, World of Good does not disclose sales figures. However, Packaged Facts speculates the
ambitious group has built annual sales to at least $3.0 million. In Business reports that sales increased
300% in 2005 and by 300% again in 2006. Employees number more than 40.
In Business further describes World of Good as a hybrid of both for-profit and non-profit entities. The
CEO is co-founder Priya Haji, who conceived the idea for the company while studying business at the
University of California at Berkeley. Ms. Haji then traveled the world for a year to research the
possibilities. In 2004, Ms. Haji and co-founder Siddharth Sangvi offered products and their display units
to retailers. In 2005, she and her partners won a series of business competitions that awarded them the
cash to expand their efforts.
Sourced on Fair Trade terms from impoverished classes of people in 34 countries, World of Good-
branded products are quite diverse, ranging from the handbags, change purses, wallets, laptop sleeves,
and scarves pertinent to our discussion here, to hand-carved bowls, paper-covered address books, shoes,
jewelry, coffee and tea, childrens clothing, and so on and on. Most of the handbags are woven in designs
that reflect the traditions of indigenous cultures. Some, like Mexican clutch purses woven from candy
wrappers, reflect a timeless resourcefulness needed for survival.

World of Good operates more than 1,000 retail doors in the United States, including Whole Foods
Markets. In cyberspace, World of Good offers its extensive catalog of products through an e-Bay
storefront, at www.worldofgood.ebay.com. In October 2008, the bags/wallets pages alone showed off
916 different products. Prices tended to be low-to-moderate; the Mexican clutch purse just mentioned
was tagged in the moderate tier, at $44.95.
Packaged Facts designates World of Good a marketer to watch largely because of the power of its
products selling-points: Many of the exotic products are handmade in small quantities that ensure
uniqueness when worn or carried in public, flattering the vanity of Yoga Moms everywhere; most of the
products are positioned on manufacture by women struggling to better their existence, which appeals to
the politically-conscious; materials are often recycled found items, striking a chord with the green-
minded; and, products shelved on World of Good displays are said to afford retailers more frequent
turnover the higher number of turns per year is claimed to result in sales of 5-7 times the averages for
similar products which helps to leverage inclusion on store shelves.
The World of Good/e-Bay website illustrates the miraculous sources of such finely-wrought fashion
accessories: A community living around a dump outside Cairo is shown making purses from bits of
fabric harvested right from the mounds of other folks trash; and in non-technological rural India, farmer-
weavers learn to design and to price their beautiful scarves for the world market.

Marketing and Product Trends
Bags and More Bags
Bags and ties/other neckwear are the two categories that have contributed the most retail dollars to
fashion accessories incremental sales growth during 2004-2008. There has always been an infinite
choice of ties available it seems. Tie collections are often introduced as components of lines of clothing.
Bags are likelier to be rolled out and marketed on their own. Bags can also be priced much higher; ties
are typically priced at $5-$200 at retail, while certain brands of bags (Coach, Herms, Judith Leiber,
among others) can cost up to $10,000 or more.
In any case, expensive handbags have been all the rage in the few years leading up to 2008. Fashion
marketers have been scrambling to extend clothing marquees with accessories lines that feature bags for
both women and men. Because luxury items influence low-end designs, introductions of lower-end bags
have also been stepped up.
Bag intros during 2007-2008 have been diverse. Four are:
A Touch of Class Clothings namesake-branded bags, which are moderately priced
Charlie Lapsons namesake bags, which wholesale at $90-$500, though half of the brands 2007
sales were transacted via television home shopping channels
Iconix Brand Groups new Badgley Mischka extension, Platinum Day Bags, wholesaling at $125-
$295
Loudermilks namesake brand, which wholesales at up to $900. [Table 4-2]
Luxury Accessories Intros Continue...
Packaged Facts reiterates: there is no reversing Americas heightened taste for luxury goods. Traditional
patterns of consumer purchasing, according to which upscale products either continue to sell decently
well during periods of economic recession or their audience trades down in price-points but only down
a notch to upper middle-price-tiers.

In late 2008, it is too early to be sure whether the current deep recession will break those patterns,
resulting in a prolonged, severe sales drought for luxe accessories. But introductions of such products
keep appearing. Examples additional to those just cited include Woolrichs upscale Woolrich Woolen
Mills collection of hunters plaid hats and scarves, sold initially through Bergdorf Goodman; Betsy
Stephens namesake-branded belts and scarves (and bags) decorated with sports team logos in crystal
beads; and Royal Plushs namesake hats (and bags). [Table 4-2]
...As Do Low-End and Mid-Priced Intros
Fashion accessories classed in the lower price-tiers receive less publicity, but are still favored by a huge
chunk of the American adult population. Simmons Market Research Bureau, Inc., finds in 2008 that 16.4
million adults, or 8%, agree with the statement, I like to keep up with the latest fashions. Yet over a
quarter of adults 52.3 million say that they dress conservatively; a circumstance that suggests value
shopping.
Even more pertinent to pricing is the Simmons finding that 48.9 million, or 22% say, Clothes from
discount stores are as good as clothes from department stores. (For more Simmons data, see Chapter 6,
The Consumer.)
But conservative, low-end fashions and accessories often go unnoticed because they are not what attract
shoppers to mass merchandisers and other value-retailers. And low-end versions are often styled to
reflect trends in upper price-tiers, which allow bargain brands to ride the coattails of upscale brands
without benefit of high-profile advertising and promotional support.
Just three of the many examples of new lower-end accessories are Alternative Apparels wool and twill
hats that retail for about $30; Dynomighty Designs Might Wallet of recycled materials, selling for $15;
and Vera Wangs Simply Vera brand of bags, belts, hats, wallets, and scarves (and clothing and
housewares), sold exclusively through Kohls for as little as $10, and ranging up to $149. [Table 4-2]
New Green-Minded/Eco-Friendly Products
Environmental concerns are increasingly shaping brand-positioning in many product markets, inclusive of
fashion accessories. Ecoist LLC is exemplary, having been established in 2004 to market Mexican-made
bags composed of reused candy wrappers, rice sacks, aluminum cans pull-tops, and other trash.
Releasing new styles on an ongoing basis, the company ships at least 3,000 units monthly. Bags retail at
$22-$285, with a percentage of every sale enabling Trees for the Future, a non-profit planter of trees, to

plant a seedling. One handbag sold equals one new tree on planet Earth. Ecoist-enabled tree plantings
numbered 30,000 as of the end of 2007. [Table 4-2]
Closely allied with its green concerns is Ecoists practice of Fair Trade policies, which ensure that Third
World sources of products and materials do not use child labor or toxic materials, and that business
transactions empower local populations to achieve better lives.
Loudermilks namesake-branded eco-friendly bags, which wholesale at up to $900, and Dynomighty

Designs Mighty Wallet made of old comic strips, retailing for $15, are two more new green product
intros, from the high and low ends of the price spectrum.
Table 4-2
Selected New Introductions of Fashion Accessories, 2007-2008
Marketer/Brand Description
Alternative Apparel
Tee-shirt and athletic hat maker has introduced a classier collection of wool and
twill hats inspired by fedoras, newsboy caps, and old-time baseball caps; company headquartered
in Norcross, Georgia, but design staff works in LA.;
Alternative Apparel retails at about $30.
A Touch of Class Clothing
Handbags extended from moderately-priced
clothing line; faux crocodile, alligator, snakefinishes, in at least 20 colors; both large hobo
bags, and small detailed bags all with
A Touch of Class compartments; wholesales at $30-$34.
Betsy Stephens
Line of accessories with crystal sports team logos affixed; includes bags, belts, scarves, made of
leather, suede, velvet, cashmere, etc.; logos include those for NFL, MLB, NBA, IndyCar teams,
plus for college teams; Ms. Stephens modeled her Super Bowl XLII belt on Rachel Rays T.V.
Betsy Stephens show, in December 2007; priced from $20-$180.
Brokedown
Hats described by Womens Wear Daily as diamonds-and-guns style, studded with

Swarovski crystal, wholesaling at $24-$26; also, scarves printed with tattoo designs, and
Brokedown newsboy caps; created in L.A. by Jodi Benavidez.
Charlie Lapson
Extensive handbag line designed to be both stylish and multifunctional, with compartments
for portable digital assistants, pens, etc.; said to be ideal for travel; wholesales at $90-$500;
created in L.A. by Charlie Lapson; at least half of brands sales were made via television home
Charlie Lapson shopping channels, as of 2007.


Coach, Inc.
Coach New collection of purple patent leather bags introduced for spring 2008.
Dynomighty Design
Brooklyn-based companys new Mighty Wallet is colorfully printed with vintage comic strips,
on Tyvek, a very strong, lightweight material composed partly of recycled milk cartons and
Dynomighty Design water bottles; wallet has six compartments; retails at $15.
Ecoist LLC
Handbags made from recycled candy wrappers, aluminum cans pull-tops, rice bags, movie
billboards, etc. Miami-based Ecoist imports the bags from Mexico, sells over 3,000 units
per month. Has a partnership with Coca Cola, for accessories collection made from Cokes bottle
caps, pull-tabs, and misprinted labels. Ecoist claims to follow a Fair Trade policy. For each
bag sold, a donation to Trees for the Future enables the planting of a tree; as of the end of
Ecoist 2007, Ecoist had paid for 30,000 such plantings. Retails at $22-$285.
Endymion Leather
Large leather handbags with nautical hardware and styles with names like Neptune; created in
Endymion Leather Los Angeles by Kerry Johnston and Arianne Tunney; wholesales at $170-$450.
Iconix Brand Group
Platinum Day Bags, essentially a diffusion line to bring couture name to masses.
Companys two other bag lines branded Badgley Mischka brand are designated Couture and
Evening. Wholesale prices run $125-$295. Platinum Day Bags have ben expected to
account for half of all sales of this brand in 2008. Licensed to Franchi, which markets the 47 styles
Badgley Mischka in the combined three lines.
Liz Claiborne, Inc.
Urban sportswear brand has been licensed to Amiee Lynn, Inc., for production of bags, belts,
hats (plus jewelry); positioned to young women; introduced in spring 2008, in select department
Enyce stores and specialty stores.


Loudermilk, Inc.
Eco-friendly handbags extended from luxury apparel brand; bags are of vegetable-tanned, naturally-
dyed leather, and other sustainable materials; sold through Atelier (New York-based), Harrods,
others, including new $2.0 million Loudermilk store on Hollywoods hip Melrose Avenue;
Loudermilk wholesales at $300-$900.
Mango
Apparel retailer based in Spain rolling out new menswear collection called
simply He, in 2008. Accessories include bags, belts, wallets, others.
Sold through 1,080 Mango stores in 90 countries; the launch of He reflects
He decision to convert to a multiple-brand strategy.
Royal Plush
Distressed leather handbags with fleur-de-lis pattern, wholesaling at about $80-$200; other
bags feature bubble-leather and crackled leather; also hats; company founded in 2005
Royal Plush by designer Michelle Waller, in Los Angeles.
Sports Direct International, Kangol Headwear subsidiary
In 2008, reissue of original 504 black beret, to mark the companys 70th anniversary though
the 504 was not introduced until 1954; in a numbered limited edition of 700; made of wool;
Kangol in black commemorative box.
Simply Vera collection introed in autumn 2007 exclusively at Kohls. Extensive mix includes
bags, gloves, hats, belts, scarves, plus clothing, lingerie, housewares; accessories priced
Vera Wang low-to-moderate, $10-$149 at retail.
Woolrich, Inc.
Upscale apparel line extended by Italian designers from famous U.S. brand of woolen clothing;
accessories include hats and scarves featuring companys familiar red and black buffalo-plaid
that dates back to 1830, and which is associated with hunters; core Woolrich brand still sold
through moderately-priced department stores, catalogs, online, but this new extension is
Woolrich Woolen Mills sold through upscale Bergdorf Goodman.
Diffusion line, also created by Italian designers; will be sold through better department stores
Woolrich John Rich & Bros. and specialty stores, as of autumn 2009.

Consumer Advertising Positioning
The Simple Beauty Shot Dominates
Vanity-driven industries fashion, footwear, jewelry, watches, cosmetics all depend heavily on print
advertising that is composed mainly of simple, elegant layouts that feature beauty shots of gorgeous
models, and brand logos. Text is minimal; most fashion ads do without. In fact, most fashion ads do not
have headlines. A few even do without the models in favor of beauty shots of the products alone. A full-
page ad for the Max Azria brand, for example, shows only the hand of a model as she grasps a hybrid
clutch purse with twin wooden and chain handles; the brand logo; and the cities where Max Azria
boutiques are located New York, Los Angeles, and Palm Beach.
Thus there is a sameness of form to most modern fashion advertising. What differentiates one ad from
another is style, be it the style of photography (close up, from afar, color or black and white, high-
contrast, etc.), or style of the featured product (clean-lined, frilly, traditional, hip-hop, evening versus
casual versus business, alternative, etc.); and any experience conveyed.
As the fashion industry continues to shift emphasis to accessories, Packaged Facts expects the
experiential will afford marketers infinite ways to position their brands to their consumer targets. For
decades, such brands as Ralph Lauren and Ralph Lauren Chaps, Tommy Hilfiger, Abercrombie & Fitch,
and Dunhill have been supported via ads set in challenging or fun outdoor environments, or engaged in
sports. In 2008, Diesel and Dolce & Gabana are among the fashion brands advertised in this manner, in
two-pagers, at least on occasion.
Other experiential themes include romance or sex, wild haute couture, rustic settings, exotic settings, and
even flying: A Lacoste ad shows a male, old-time tennis player floating in the sky; only the tennis racket
and his Lacoste belt are in color orange. There is no headline, just one line of text that reads, Seventy-
five years ago, Rene Lacoste created the Lacoste style. Yet the ad preserves the simple beauty-shot
format.
But Lower-End Approaches Survive
Formerly, the beauty shot approach was used mostly to tout only upscale fashion brands. By 2008,
however, as Americas tastes have upscaled, the beauty shot has come to characterize most fashion

advertising, even for brands in the lower price-tiers. For instance, Targets two-page spread of designer
Anya Hindmarchs handbags: Against a golden limbo background a beautiful model carries a large,
fancy black patent leather-style bag over one shoulder. There is also the Target logo, and a small note in
one corner that prices the bag at $49.99. The headline quotes Ms. Hindmarch herself, A great bag can
alter your mood, whatever the price.
JC Penney uses similar strategies to sell Nicole Miller clothing and handbags ($50), and Bisou Bisou
plus-size clothing and accessories.
Another example is an H & M full-page portraying a young man leaning against a wall, dressed for
winter. From the French edition of GQ (October 2008), the headline declares Manteau 99, referring to
the mans overcoat; but he also sports a long, red wool scarf, presumably also sold at H & M, and at a low
price.
But the hard sell still exists. Buxton aggressively sells its Buxton Organizer shoulder bag via television
infomercials that show a harried woman spilling out the contents of her bag in order to find what she
needs; her situation is then remedied by use of the Buxton product, which has compartments inside that
help her to organize. Here, too, the price -- $19.95 is emphasized, in a practice avoided by upscale
fashion advertisers. Buxton even throws in a digital message recorder, A $20 value! as a bonus. The
Buxton Shoulder Organizer has also been a popular product sold through HSN (cables Home Shopping
Network).
Accessories Touted Within Ads for Clothing
While accessories are increasingly featured in their own ads, the prevailing strategy is to merely include
them in ads for clothing or footwear of the same brands. In a two-page advertisement for Polo Ralph
Lauren, a young man in a sweater and a middle-aged man in a pinstripe suit are both also wearing the
brands ties (necktie and bow tie, respectively), and scarves (a muffler and a silk dress scarf). The older
model also wears a tweed cap, and a silk pocket square.
Burberry, Gucci, Hugo Boss, Prada, and Tods ads from just one issue of Vanity Fair (April 2008) are
just five of the thousands of other examples of clothing or brand-image ads that have included accessories
somewhere in their layouts. The five ads respectively included a bag (and shoes and sunglasses), a bag
and a belt, a bag and scarf, a bag, and a bag. Obviously, bags are a focal point, appropriate of the status-
bag craze.

Celebrities, Hired or Spotted
Celebrity endorsements often benefit high-profile brands in print ads. Fashions rule of understatement
often means they are not even identified by name, as is the case with a full-page advertisement featuring
actor Jude Law amidst various Dunhill sportswear and accessories; and a two-page advertisement starring
Rolling Stone guitarist Keith Richards in a hotel room filled with Louis Vuitton luggage, and that brands
silk scarves cast over the lampshades.
Dooney & Burke bags are touted with actress Hayden Panettieres help, but to ensure that she is
recognized, her name is the only text appearing in layouts that each show her holding a different bag.
At least one marketer, Hermes, excludes celebs from its ads. CEO Patrick Thomas asserts that, in Hermes
handbag ads, the product is the hero.
Many accessories marketers, including Hermes, have profited enormously from paparazzi photos taken of
celebrities who are wearing or using their products in daily life. For example, Martha Stewart, Oprah,
and Lindsay Lohan have all been photographed carrying classic Hermes Birkin bags.
Use of Product Placement in Entertainment and Print Media
Just as consumers are surprisingly adept at spotting brands of fashion accessories in paparazzi photos,
they also spot them used in films or television shows. Noted in the Factors in Future Growth section
within Chapter 3, The Market, such placements may or may not be coincidental, and may or may not
involve fees paid by marketers.
Perhaps the most common placements of fashion accessories are in magazines themed photo spreads of
several pages each in which models, sometimes celebs, are dressed by wardrobe stylists in clothing and
accessories of various brands. Brands are always credited, often with prices, on each page. A stunning
example is a 1960s-themed spread that appeared in Fashion Rocks (Fall 2008). The spread shows Dhani
Harrison, who bears an unsettling resemblance to his father, Beatle George Harrison, and a blonde model
who looks equally like 1960s model Anita Pallenberg. The two wear modern clothing that harks back to
the Psychedelic Eras flamboyant styles. Their accessories include Louise Greene and Loro Plana wide-
brimmed hats, a Maison Martin Margiela rabbit-fur scarf, and other high-end items.
In the same issue of Fashion Rocks, which happens to be a separately sold supplement to The New
Yorker, famed photographer Annie Leibovitz shoots the fashion spread that accompanies an article about
rock duo The Kills. A Yohji Yamamoto scarf, draped round the neck of the male half of the band, is
credited at the upper right corner of the page.

Sources of Ads
The fashion accessories print ads discussed above have been culled from the pages of Fashion Rocks
(supplement to The New Yorker), Elle Accessories, Glamour, GQ (French edition), Harpers Bazaar,
InStyle, Interview, Lucky Magazine, Marie Claire, Paper, and Vanity Fair. Publication dates spanned
March through November 2008.
The television infomercial for the Buxton Shoulder Organizer bag was observed on various cable
channels.
Consumer Promotions
Discounts and Free Shipping
Marketers of fashion accessories may price-promote, either offering discounts at the wholesale level,
thereby enabling retailers in-store (brick-and-mortar or virtual) discounts; or by offering discounts via
direct sales media such as Internet websites or catalogs. At least as common, and characteristic of the
ongoing trend to direct, are free shipping deals. L.L. Bean, for instance, offers a future discount by
awarding a $10 gift card to customers placing direct orders for merchandise costing $50 or more..The
limited-time promo ends December 24, 2008 and gift cards must be redeemed by February 17, 2009. The
company also offers $10 discount coupons and free shipping on an ongoing basis with use of a co-
branded L.L. Bean Visa credit card.
But most discounting and free shipping offers are more straightforward: As of November 2008, the sale
section of Liz Claibornes website offers two leather hobo-style handbags discounted from $188.00 to
$140.99 and from $168.00 to $125.99; while wristlet bags are re-priced from $24.00 to $17.99. Orders of
$125.00 or more are shipped free.
From Batman to Some High-Profile Tie-Ins
Merchandise discounts and free shipping programs speak right to peoples wallets, making them the
dominant forms of accessories promos. Occasional high-profile tie-ins with celebrity endorsements,
musical artists, and at least one major motion picture, will be encountered. While such tie-ins are
relatively few, they have great impact, probably out of all proportion to their actual incidence.
The following examples represent various types of accessories tie-ins:
A full-page ad in Vanity Fair (July 2008) depicts actor Christian Bale in a suit, above the
headline, Handmade to measure, Giorgio Armani for Bruce Wayne. Below the head is the

Batman logo licensed from DC Comics, and the lines, The Dark Knight, only in theatres, July
18. Mr. Bale plays both millionaire Bruce Wayne and his alter-ego Batman, in the major
Hollywood release Batman: The Dark Knight.
Jones Apparel Group tied in the l.e.i. brand of clothing and accessories for girls with 18-year-old
country music singer Taylor Swift, the new face of l.e.i. During the back-to-school selling
season, visitors to www.leijeans.com could download the song Love Story from her latest CD-
release, or read a few tips on how to dress like her. They could also enter a sweepstakes to win
backstage passes to one of Ms. Swifts concerts. The value-priced l.e.i. brand is sold through
Wal-Mart.
Rocker Gene Simmons, most famous as the lead singer of 1970s heavy metal band Kiss, is also
an aggressive entrepreneur, peddling the Kiss name on everything from baseball caps to
condoms. At the August 2007 MAGIC Marketplace trade show held in Las Vegas, Mr. Simmons
unveiled his new MoneyBag brand of premium clothing and accessories, for which he has
owned the trademark since 1982. Produced and marketed in conjunction with Dussault Apparel,
the initial products bearing the MoneyBag logo were tees, hoodies, bags, belts, wallets, and hats.
Previously, Mr. Simmons had used the logo on his various magazines, books, records and CDs.
In these early 2000s, New Era Cap Co., Inc. has enlisted numerous hip-hop and other artists to
design limited edition baseball caps. Rapper-designers have included Lil Flip and LL Cool J;
while R & B is represented here by Usher, heavy metal by Limp Bizkit, and the independent film
world, by director Spike Lee.
Outright celebrity endorsements have been discussed in the previous section, Consumer
Advertising Positioning. As mentioned there, actress Hayden Panettiere has appeared in ads for
Dooney & Burke; Rolling Stone Keith Richards has touted Louis Vuitton; , and Jude Law has
plugged Dunhill. To these we add the more strictly promotional personal appearance: Tim
Gunn, a host of Bravos hit reality series Project Runway, has appeared at public relations
functions in support of Liz Claiborne; and R & B uber-star Beyonce has attended 2008 MAGIC
Marketplace shows on behalf of Dereon, while rapper Jay-Z attended the same shows in support
of Rocawear. As discussed in the Factors in Future Growth section within Chapter 3, The
Market, at fashion runway shows, when celebrities seated in the front row seem to be there for
nothing but their own enjoyment, they are often being paid just for their presence.

Free Merchandise
Free merchandise with purchase of fashion accessories is a rare promotional tactic. One marketer that
does offer such a bonus, however, is Buxton, in its infomercials for the Buxton Shoulder Organizer, a bag
positioned on the efficiency of its several inner compartments. With purchase of the bag for just $19.99,
Buxton throws in a free digital message recorder.
The infomercial, much parodied in YouTube videos, shows a woman speaking into the recorder to leave a
reminder for herself to pick up eggs, butter, and milk, on the way home.

Key Accessories Trade Shows
MAGIC Marketplace
Twice a year in Las Vegas, MAGIC International produces a four-day mega-trade show called MAGIC
Marketplace. At the August 16, 2008, show there were more than 4,000 exhibitors showing womens,
mens, and kids clothing and accessories under more than 5,000 brands. Contract manufacturers and
private labelers also participated. The attendees, claimed at over 120,000 from over 80 countries, were
mostly retailers, whether operating single tiny boutiques, or international mass-merchandise chains.
MAGIC is divided into several sections, among them MAGIC proper, MAGIC Kids, Sourcing at
MAGIC, Streetwear at MAGIC, and WWDMAGIC. Two simultaneously mounted sister shows are
Project, specialized in cutting-edge clothing and accessories products for women; and POOL, geared to
hip, youthful fashions.
Entertainment provided by the producers continues around the clock. Celebrities appear on behalf of
individual brands, whether or not they also perform. High-profile celebs attending the 2008 Streetwear
sections alone have included Beyonce (for Dereon), Jay-Z (Rocawear), LL Cool J (Todd Smith), Alyssa
Milano (Touch by Alyssa Milano), Mos Def (Green Label Art), Travis Barker (Famous Stars and
Stripes), and others.
MAGIC Marketplace is scheduled next for February 2009. MAGIC International, claimed to be the
worlds largest producer of fashion-oriented trade shows, is a subsidiary of Advanstar Communications.
Further details are available at www.magiconline.com.
Accessories the Show
Scheduled to run six times in 2009, Accessories the Show (ATS) will take place four times at New Yorks
Javit Center, during three-day slots in January, February, May, and August; and twice at Las Vegas
Venetian Hotel. Claimed to be the worlds largest juried show for 30 categories of fashion accessories,
ATS more than 900 collections are displayed before thousands of department store, specialty,
casino, museum store, cruise ship, duty-free, and other retailers from around the world.

Whenever and wherever ATS is staged, sister shows Moda Manhattan and FAME are there, too. Moda
Manhattan is a juried event featuring womens ready-to-wear (RTW) clothing. FAME showcases junior
and contemporary fashions.
ATS is owned and produced by Business Journals, Inc., which acquired it in 2001. The companys
Accessories Magazine trade publication acts as sponsor for ATS.
Material World and Technology Solutions
The American Apparel and Footwear Association (AAFA) runs two shows of Material World, in
conjunction with sister show Technology Solutions. Both shows pertain to the production side of the
sewn products industry, which makes clothing, as well as many types of fashion accessories, such as cloth
bags, knit hats, handkerchiefs/pocket squares, scarves/shawls, and ties. In 2009, the shows will be held in
Miami Beach in April and in Los Angeles in September.
Material Worlds exhibitors represent the worlds sources for fabric and trims. Technology Solutions
showcases manufacturing technologies and equipment for use by sewn products makers


Mens and Womens Fashion Accessories in the U..S Chapter 5: Distribution and Retail
Chapter 5 Distribution and Retail
Highlights
Retail orders for clothing and accessories are typically taken by marketers four to six
months ahead of the season in which the goods are to be sold. In New Yorks
garment district, racks of winter coats on loading docks mark the start of summer;
racks of sleeveless tops mark the start of winter.
Independent distributors may have traveling salespeople that cover cities or entire
regions of the country; programs to administer marketers special promotions at store
level; and, sophisticated inventory control systems that connect store checkouts with
warehouses, thereby reducing out-of-stock items. Also important is intimate
acquaintance with their territories, valuable relationships with independent retailers,
and the experience and honesty to advise marketers on a long-range basis.
Direct sales operations are accounting for larger and larger components of marketers
and retailers revenues from accessories and other products. The channel, known
simply as direct, encompasses business through Internet websites, mail-order
houses, magazine ads (with order blanks, 800-numbers, or web addresses), television
infomercials, and television home shopping networks such as HSN and QVC. Over
the years, these networks have transformed television home shopping from a medium
regarded as low-class to one suitable for selling products in all price-tiers, including
upscale.
The Charlotte Observer (October 12, 2008) reports that Belk and some other retailers
are considering their e-tail outlets to be as big, or bigger than any of their brick-and-
mortar stores. A Belk spokesperson, Steve Pernotto, is quoted: It will be our
biggest store. We didnt see it as bricks and mortar we saw it as an adjunct.
Accordingly, the company has mounted advertising and promotions tailored
specifically to support www.belk.com. For example, online-only contests are
planned. In October 2008, heavy discounts of up to 40% on Kristin Davis and other
brands of handbags are touted prominently on the site.

Chapter 5: Distribution and Retail Mens and Womens Fashion Accessories in the U.S.
Department stores account for over a third of fashion accessories retail dollars in
2008, according to Packaged Facts. Mass accounts for nearly 24%, with mass
merchandisers contributing about 15 points of that. Specialty accounts for more than
19%, e-tail for 10%, and mail-order catalogs for 7%.
One sure sign that upscale bags have become a huge trend: a $1,200 Coach Op Art
Inlaid Large Leather Julianne bag or a $365 Dooney & Burke Florentine Zebra East-
West Medium Satchel or a similar item, may be rented at any of several handbag
rental sites that have sprung up on the Internet. According to The Boston Globe
(October 5, 2008), online renters charge as little as $19 per week, plus or
sometimes including shipping, insurance, and any applicable tax. The most
expensive bags rent for up to$400 per week.

Distribution
Orders Taken Months Ahead
Retail orders for apparel are typically taken by marketers four to six months ahead of the
season in which the goods are to be sold. In New Yorks garment district, racks of winter
coats on loading docks mark the start of summer; racks of sleeveless tops mark the start of
winter. Marketers push for orders during approximately six- week periods scheduled to
coincide with designers runway shows, apparel trade shows, showroom open houses, etc.
Orders for accessories and footwear may also be taken during these pre-season windows.
However, accessories such as handbags and small leather goods are exhibited up to five or six
times annually at accessories shows held in New York, Las Vegas, London, Paris, and other
metropolises. The shows cover product for each of the four seasons, plus mid-season
introductions.
In addition, clothing and accessories marketers around the globe take orders throughout the
year. Some have in-house sales forces while others contract with sales representatives.
For many department stores and specialty stores, large and mid-size accessories marketers
provide merchandising advice as well as practical assistance in supplying and setting display
fixtures or boutique counters on-site. On some selling floors organized according to the
boutique system, such marketers may also hire, train, and pay the clerks manning the
counters.
Product Paths Mostly DSD and Direct Sales
Although it appears that most fashion accessories marketers get involved in distribution, there
are independent firms that contract to distribute these products, often along with clothing, and
sometimes with footwear. Independent distributors may also have traveling salespeople that
cover cities or entire regions of the country; programs to administer marketers special
promotions at store level; and sophisticated inventory control systems that connect store
checkouts with warehouses, thereby reducing out-of-stock items. Also important is intimate
acquaintance with their territories, valuable relationships with independent retailers, and the
experience and honesty to advise marketers on a long-range basis.

DSD (direct store delivery) is also common. This path begins with marketers shipping
straight to retailers. At major chains product is increasingly received at retailers central
warehouses or distribution centers, divided up, then transported via the retailers own truck
fleet to individual stores. If the retailer prefers, product can be sorted out by marketers and
packed for shipping to the individual stores in the retailers chain(s). Either mode of DSD
cuts out the third-party distributor, enabling higher margins for both marketers and retailers.
DSD can also enable everyday-low-price (EDLP) retailers to pass savings on to consumers.
EDLP means thin margins, but the high unit-volume turnover can pay off for both marketers
and retailers.
Direct sales operations are accounting for larger and larger components of marketer and
retailer revenues from accessories and other products. The channel, known simply as
direct, encompasses business through Internet websites, mail-order houses, magazine ads
(with order blanks, 800-numbers, or web addresses), television infomercials, and television
home shopping networks such as HSN and QVC. Over the years, these networks have
transformed television home shopping from a medium regarded as low-class to one suitable
for selling products in all price-tiers, including upscale.
Large apparel/accessories marketers wisely use a combination of traditional, DSD, and direct-
to-consumer product paths to ensure expansion of geographic coverage into new territories
and to deepen penetration of existing territories.
Vertical Integration Characterizes Apparel/Accessories Majors
Throughout this report, Packaged Facts has stressed that the fashion industry is vertically
integrated: Marketers may also be manufacturers, and vice versa; though most U.S.-based
marketers outsource manufacture of significant quantities of accessories to China, India,
Korea, Latin America, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, and other countries. Marketers are frequently
also retailers, as is true of Coach, Jones Apparel Group, Liz Claiborne, New Era Cap, Ralph
Lauren, and many others. In fact, each of the five marketers named sell at least some of their
accessories through brand-dedicated stores and via wholesale to other retailers. Ralph
Lauren, for example, sells name-branded accessories through both upscale department stores
and equally upscale Ralph Lauren apparel stores.

E-Tail Inventories Can Be Bigger Than Brick and Mortars
The Charlotte Observer (October 12, 2008) reports that the 16-store Belk department store
chain has beefed up its e-tail website, established in 1996, which Belk had outgrown. The
newspaper describes the outmoded site as basic and limited to products for the home,
though it carried a gift registry. The new state-of-the-art www.belk.com, operational as of
September 2008, offers beauty products, clothing, housewares, shoes, and more. Handbags
and accessories are given their own hot button on the home page.
Most notable about The Charlotte Observer article is the finding that Belk and some other
retailers are considering their e-tail outlets to be as big as or bigger than any of their brick-
and-mortar stores. A Belk spokesperson, Steve Pernotto, is quoted: It will be our biggest
store. We didnt see it as bricks and mortar we saw it as an adjunct. Accordingly, the
company has mounted advertising and promotions tailored specifically to support
www.belk.com. For example, online-only contests are planned. In October 2008 heavy
discounts of up to 40% on Kristin Davis and other brands of handbags were touted
prominently on the site.
Unfortunately, the news article does not report how many SKUs www.belk.com offers, but
does report that Belks Macys and JC Penney counterparts each offer about 50,000. In
addition, the JC Penney site is said to have accounted for 7.5% of the chains sales or $1.5
billion in 2007.
In August 2008JC Penneys www.jcp.com had 11.7 million visitors, while Dillards, Macys,
and Nordstrom sites had about 1.0 million each. But Belk, before unveiling the made-over
www.belk.com, had just 312,000 visitors.
The easy use of e-tail by retailers to expand their distribution footprints to cover the whole
world liquidate leftover inventory at a discount, intercept consumers Googled inquiries for
specific products and build databanks of information on those consumers; and raise
Americas awareness of their overall retail marquee suggests e-tail as a full-fledged retail
channel rather than just an offshoot of brick-and-mortar.

Cutting-edge e-tail sites also provide the answers to Americans complaints of high gasoline
prices; mind-boggling traffic jams; out-of-stocks; inadequate selections of products on the
shelves; and even the much-publicized trend to obesity, which can make shopping in a major
mall or urban center an unappealing and exhausting experience.
To sum up, because of the fashion industrys tendency to vertical integration, many
accessories marketers and retailers are already profiting from the operation of their own slick,
user-friendly websites. E-tail has become a channel as viable, if not yet as big, as department
store, specialty store, and mass channels.

At the Retail Level
A Wide Range of Markups and Margins

A market that possesses the breadth of product types that fashion accessories does, and has
such a fragmented span of retail outlet types, must yield an equally wide range of markups
and average gross profit margins. Industry sources vouch that some status accessories are
marked up by as much as 1,000%, or ten times above the wholesale price, resulting in a 90%
margin. The reality is that typical accessories markups/margins are much lower than that, but
are still high in relation to those in other product markets. The 2007 Census Report,
published by Business Journals, Inc.s Accessories Magazine, notes margins on five
accessory types as sold through department stores and mass retailers (i.e., supermarkets,
chain drugstores, and mass merchandisers). The data pertain specifically to the year 2006,
but Packaged Facts believes that they have changed little in the two years since then.
Bags yielded average gross profit margins between 40% and 47% for mass retailers
and department stores, respectively. Price tags averaged, again respective of the two
channels, $20 and $40 for non-leather bags, and $24 and $80 for leather versions.
Gloves/Mittens were included under the designation cold weather accessories,

which also included sweater coats, mufflers, and the like, overlapping the
scarves/shawls category. Taken together, all these items averaged 48% margins and
in department stores, $26 price tags, and in mass, $12.
Hats yielded gross margins of 46%-48%, on average. Retail hat prices in department stores
averaged $30 in department stores, but only $15 in mass channels.
Scarves/Shawls enjoyed margins of 45%-48%. Average retail prices for these items
are not available.
Small leather goods had average margins of 42%-47%, but average retail prices
ranged between $202 in department stores and $12 in mass.
Department Stores, Mass, Chain Specialty Stores Dominate
As mentioned in the Market Size and Growth section of Chapter 3, The Market, Packaged
Facts asserts that department stores account for over a third of fashion accessories retail

dollars in 2008. Mass accounts for nearly 24%, with mass merchandisers contributing about
15 points of that. Specialty accounts for more than 19%, e-tail for 10% and mail-order
catalogs for 7%.
Sales through alternative outlets, from newsstands and gift shops to flea markets and
skateboard shops, contribute to the shares held by specialty, e-tail, and other.
Table 5-1
Share of Retail Dollar Sales of Fashion Accessories, by Retail Channel, 2008
(In Millions)
Channel $ % Share
Department Stores $5,743 35.2%
Mass 3,886 23.8
Mass Merchandisers 2,417 14.8
Chain Drug 914 5.6
Supermarkets 555 3.4
Specialty 3,155 19.3
Internet Websites (e-Tail) 1,666 10.2
Mail-Order Catalog 1,193 7.3
Other 686 4.2
Total $16,329 100.0%
Handbag Rentals
One sure sign that upscale bags have become a huge trend: a $1,200 Coach Op Art Inlaid
Large Leather Julianne bag or a $365 Dooney & Burke Florentine Zebra East-West Medium
Satchel or a similar item, may be rented at any of several handbag rental sites that have
sprung up on the Internet. According to The Boston Globe (October 5, 2008), online renters
charge as little as $19 per week, plus or sometimes including shipping, insurance, and any
applicable tax. The most expensive bags rent for up to$400 per week. Incidentals are where
renters differ most. Insurance, for example, may cost $2-$15 or more. Also, some renters
charge by the month, rather than the week.
According to the Globe, the handbag rental niche did not exist before 2004. Packaged Facts
believes it will thrive in the coming years as a side show of the bag categorys ongoing trend
to status brands carrying higher price tags. Packaged Facts projects that consumers will
continue to seek out these brands because they are visible signs of good taste and
sophistication. Moreover, the assortment of upscale bags allows consumers to assert either
their unique identity or their conformity with the upper class of society (via, for example, the

basic Chanel, Coach Op Art, or Gucci designs, which incorporate brand logos into bags
designs). Kara Richter, who founded From Bags to Riches in 2004, told Retailing Today
(April 9, 2007), We keep a large depth of inventory and [selection of] 350 to 400 different
handbag styles. Ms. Richters rental rates are calculated at 12%-25% of the bags retail
price to own.
E-addresses of the four handbag rental sites mentioned above are www.allthatbags.com,
www.bagborroworsteal.com (or www.avelle.com), www.frombagstoriches.com, and
www.rentmeahandbag.com.

Retail Focus: Hip-Hop Accessories Retailers
Neighborhood Storefronts, e-Tail and Wal-Mart
Emblematic of the hip-hop lifestyle are baseball caps, belts with giant buckles, furry fedoras,
bling (gaudy jewelry), extremely low-slung denim jeans and shorts, Kangol caps, high-tech
sneakers, cartoon character-printed hoodies, certain brand/designer names (LL Cool J,
Nautica, New Era Cap, Sean John, Timberland, Tommy Hilfiger), and more. These items are
sold through tiny, African-American-owned storefronts in Americas inner cities. What
fashion accessories executives should recognize in 2008 is that hip-hop music and the
modes of dress it has inspired is still building momentum in department stores, mass,
specialty, e-tail, and just about everywhere, despite that its been around 30 years.
A large part of hip hops impetus is the result of its crossover to mainstream White culture, as
well to Hispanic, Asian, and other ethnic cultures. As pointed out in the Factors in Future
Growth section of Chapter 3, The Market, high school kids in some of the Whitest, most
rural, positively remote U.S. locales replicate the gangsta raps, the lingo, the dress, and the
posturing of inner-city Blacks. As they might say in Hollywood, Hip hop has finally opened
wide...
In the 1990s, the hip-hop audience in cities morphed to include a racial and ethnic diversity
that for a time warranted the replacement of the term hip hop with urban. But since the
early 2000s the music and the lifestyle have stayed hardcore inner-city, causing hip hop to
stick.
The following are some retail sources for hip-hop fashion accessories:
Department stores remain a prime source, especially for designer brands such as
those named above, plus Phat Farm, Baby Phat, and others. At the Macys store in
downtown Brooklyn, rapper-mogul P. Diddys clothing and accessories label Sean
John enjoys extensive floor space in the mens department. Also boutiqued there are
Tommy Hilfiger and Nautica, longtime favorite brands of both White prep-school
students and emcees (rap writer-performers) and their fans. Department stores also
sometimes boutique hip-hop-suitable sports gear. For example, the flagship Macys
in Manhattan often sets up a New York Yankees section during baseball season.

Less-expensive rapper-actor LL Cool Js namesake-branded clothing and accessories

line is sold exclusively through Sears; and still less expensive taking us down into
the mass-merchandiser sphere P. Millers namesake line of tees sold only through
Wal-Mart. The creation of Rapper Master P, P. Miller is Wal-Marts first
specifically hip-hop fashion brand; pending its success, accessories are likely to be
extended from it.
Specialty outlets for hip-hop accessories range from big-box sporting goods stores
like Sports Authority, to a host of independent shops with very small inventories. In
between are a very few small chains. New Era Cap (NEC) baseball cap stores, for
example, have opened in New Yorks East Village area near New York University, in
Los Angeles, and in Berlin. NECs brilliance is evident in the products, the website,
and blog that all reflect the style of a much smaller, more alternative operation. In-
store, some individual limited-edition baseball caps are kept under glass domes.
But just as interesting are the independent shops run by young hip-hop fans
themselves: On Brooklyns hip Smith Street, a little skateboard shop called Homage
sells cool baseball caps. A few doors down is the fashion-forward Rimes, a clothing
and footwear store that also sells hats and scarves; urban streetware is stressed
here. Over the river in Manhattan, the much larger Yellow Rat Bastard store sells
many brands of clothing, footwear, and yes, accessories, including bags and belts
private-labeled Yellow Rat Bastard. The vulgar name was briefly famous in the late
1990s, when young Swedish and Japanese tourists sought out the merchandise-
packed store on lower Broadway.
As of 2008, the Internet gives even hip-hoppers above the Arctic Circle the ability to
purchase the latest New Era Cap baseball caps, Sean John wallet, or P. Miller tee-
shirt. A few e-tail sites worth visiting are Lids.com, a seller of baseball caps; the
evocatively named HipHopCloset.com; the gangsta rap-influenced
ThugFashion.com, which features baseball caps, those big buckles, and faux bling;
and the U.Ks BounceClothing.com, etc.

Retail Focus: Macys, Inc./Bloomingdales
Ownership Public
Macys, Inc. (formerly Federated
Department Stores, Inc.)
7 West Seventh Street
Cincinnati, OH 45202
Phone: (513)579-7000
or
Headquarters (second corporate office address filed with
Securities Exchange Commission
Macys, Inc.
New York, NY 10001
Phone: (212)494-1602
www.macysinc.com
Net Sales, Fiscal Year 2007 (ended February 2,

2008) $26.3 billion
The full spectrum: Bags, belts/small leather
Fashion Accessories Category Involvements goods, gloves, handkerchiefs/pocket squares,
hats, scarves/shawls, ties
Numerous private labels, including Alfani,
Bloomingdales, Charter Club, Club Room,
Fashion Accessories Brands
Greendog, Material London, Style & Co., Tasso
& Elba, others; also sells a full range of popular
brands, such as Coach, Perry Ellis, Ralph
Lauren, Sean John, many others
Companys own 810 Macys department stores,

Sell-Through Channels 40 Bloomingdales department stores, plus
www.macys.com and www.bloomingdales.com
e-tail websites; and Bloomingdales by Mail
catalog
Number Employees 182,000 (as of the end of 2007)
Sales of $26.3 Billion in 2007
New York and Cincinnati-based Macys posted net sales of over $26.3 billion for the fiscal
year (FY) 2007, which ended February 2, 2008. This level was down 2.4% from FY2006,
but was 70.7% higher than in FY2003. The companys sales rose $10.9 billion in the period
FY2003-FY2007, pumped by the acquisition of the May Co. department store chain in 2005.
Net income was $893.0 million in FY2007. Similarly positive sums were achieved
throughout FY2003-FY2007, but 2005 saw the four-year peak net income of more than $1.4
billion.

Geographically, all of Macys sales are transacted in the United States, or its territories Guam
and Puerto Rico, as of FY2008. In February 2010, the companys first overseas store, a
Bloomingdales, is scheduled to open in Dubai.
According to Internet Retailers 2008 edition of its Top 500 Guide, e-tail accounted for
$812.2 million of Macys FY2007 net sales or a resounding 30.9%. Macys collective
websites ranked 28th among the Guides top e-tailers.
Womens Accessories a Prime Component of Sales
For FY2007, Macys broke out shares of net sales by four product groupings: Womens
Accessories, Lingerie, Footwear, and Cosmetics yielded 36% of net sales; Womens Apparel
yielded 27%; Mens and Childrens, 22%; and Home/Miscellaneous, 15%.
While the exact fashion accessories share is obscured by the organization of the breakouts, it
is clear that at least womens accessories are responsible for a significant portion of sales at
Macys and Bloomingdales stores and websites.
Outlook for 2008
As this report goes to press, Macys has just released its third quarter results for FY2008, its
150th anniversary year. The company reports net sales of $17.0 billion for the first nine
months of the year, representing a 4.3% decrease versus the $17.7 billion posted during the
comparable period in FY2007. Same-store sales were down 3.5%. But the same-store
decrease for the third quarter alone is far more severe, at 6.0%, reflecting Septembers stock
market crash and the dismal economic news since then.
Normally, the end-of-year holidays boost a retailers sales picture for the entire calendar year.
However, in 2008, our U.S. economy struggles to a degree that could spoil retail prospects.
Moreover, the gift-buying period is one week shorter, because Thanksgiving falls on
November 27, just three days before December 1. The combined factors are causing Macys
to forecast a 1.0%-6.0% drop in same-store sales for the fourth quarter. Therefore, in
anticipating results for the whole of FY2008, the question is not whether Macys will thrive,
but how much its revenues will decline. For perspective, a 4.0% decrease would translate
into net sales of $25.2 billion, or $1.1 billion less than the 2007 figure.
There was no net income for the first three quarters of FY2008, only a net loss of $30.0
million.

Preparing for hard times ahead, Macys has slashed its capital expenditures budget for 2009
from $1.0 billion to $550.0-$600.0 million.
Top U.S. Department Store Operator Owns Macys,

Bloomingdales
In August 2005, Macys acquired The May Department Stores Co., which then comprised
over 500 department stores under the May Co. and Lord & Taylor marquees, plus 800 bridal
and formalwear stores called After Hours Formal Wear, Davids Bridal, and Priscillas of
Boston. Macys subsequently divested Lord & Taylor and the bridal/formalwear chains. In
September 2006, the company re-branded the May Co. stores as Macys, raising the total
store count to 853, including 813 Macys and 40 Bloomingdales sites.
The beefed-up retailer describes its Macys chain essentially as a purveyor of quality goods at
value prices. Other sources describe Macys as upscale, though in some of its departments,
products are discounted in sales run for as much of each month that the law allows in other
words, one or two days without discount promos enables Macys to advertise discounted
prices during the rest of the month. Bloomingdales prices run higher, and its atmosphere is
more elegant, all clearly warranting the appellation, upscale.
Both Macys and Bloomingdales are also increasingly positioned on music tie-ins that
appeal to youth and to hip Baby Boomers. In 2007, for example, the Macys flagship store in
Manhattan built in-store promotions on the publication of a book of photographs of rockers
such as Bob Dylan. And as of September 2008, Bloomingdales is supported by a long-range
marketing campaign involving 840 catalog pages, 800 magazine and newspaper ads, special
signage, e-mail blasts, and 650 in-store events all of which tie in with musical artists whose
work is recorded and sold by The Sony Music Label Group. Celine Dion, iCarlys Miranda
Cosgrove, Gwen Stefani, Justin Timberlake, Lang Lang, John Mayer, Tony Bennett, and Yo-
Yo Ma are among the stars slated for in-store appearances and promos during the all-
important November-December holiday season in 2008.
Macys Private-Label Stable
At Macys and Bloomingdales stores, dozens upon dozens of elegant or hip clothing and
accessories brands are offered. What many shoppers do not realize is that Macys, Inc., fields
as many as 20 private fashion labels. These are displayed throughout the store. Much of the
accessories inventory, private-label or branded, is displayed on the ground floors of store sites

to encourage impulse buys and to accommodate those who need to choose a gift or those
who hate shopping. At either Macys or Bloomingdales, one is welcomed by counters
stocked with colorful womens scarves, leather handbags and gloves, thousands of mens
neckties, and every other sort of fashion accessory.
In 2007, private label accounted for 19.0% of sales at Macys-branded stores. Private label
also outperformed branded merchandise sold through the chain, as it did in 2006, too. As of
2008, the Macys private-label stable includes dozens of brands, storewide. The following are
10 examples pertinent to the fashion accessories business:
Alfani clothing and accessories for both women and men are positioned to a broad
demographic. Styles might be called sensible, but they are polished and up-to-date.
Accessories run the gamut from bags and scarves to wallets and ties. Label also
appears on bedding and home furnishings.
American Rag Cie. Clothing, focused on denim and separates, is for the young and
adventurous. Accessories extended from the line are baseball caps, belts, Castro
hats (after the Cuban dictator), and scarves. American Rag is also a retailer and
marketer unaffiliated with Macys. The merchandise sold through Macys is
exclusive to the department store chain American Rag is a quasi-private label,
perhaps closer to a controlled label.
Bloomingdales namesake private label appears on elegant dress and casual clothing
and accessories. Label also appears on bedding and home furnishings.
Charter Club is dressier clothing and accessories, whether designed for business or
casual. The label appears in many other departments of Macys-branded stores,
notably underwear and lingerie; bedding, bath linens, and other home furnishings;
and jewelry.
Club Room clothing, accessories, and shoes for men is a label that spans custom-
tailored business suits at one extreme, and casual separates suitable for business, at
the other.
First Impressions is a line of infant clothing that includes knit hats.
Greendog, a casual clothing line for infants through tweens, is extended with colorful
knit hats and gloves. Value-priced.

The Material London label for men comprises sportswear, suiting, and accessories
with a British influence.
Style & Co. casual clothing and accessories for women are designed to transition
from home to work to weekend. The Style & Co. logo is also seen on shoes, and on
bedding and bath products.
Tasso Elba is a Euro-styled, yet traditional line of mens inexpensive casualwear,

suiting, shoes, and accessories. The targeted consumer is men of conservative taste
who expects products to afford good values and to last. Tasso Elba accessories range
from belts, wallets, and pocket squares, to neckties and bowties.
Macys Merchandise Group, Inc. (MMG), is the Macys division that develops Macys
private labels and oversees product procurement or manufacture for such labels. MMG
handles some of the private-label activity for Bloomingdales, but most of this retail
marquees private-label products are sourced from Associated Merchandising Corporation.
Bloomingdales Goes International
For the first time, according to the Apparel and Accessories eNewsletter (October 1, 2008),
Macys, Inc., is planning to establish a Bloomingdales store outside the United States. The
company is partnering with Al Tayer Group, which is based in the United Arab Emirates, to
open a Bloomingdales in Dubai in February 2010. Dubai has become one of the hottest
travel destinations in the world, and a magnet for shoppers seeking luxury goods.
The Dubai Mall, open for business as of October 2008, will house a 146,000 square-foot
Bloomingdales apparel and accessories store on three levels. Located nearby, is a 54,000
square-foot Bloomingdales housewares and home furnishings store, on one level. The
Malls 1,200 stores occupy a total 12.1 million square feet.
Bloomingdales closest head-to-head competitor at the mall is Paris-based Galleries

Lafayette, a luxe-class department store.

Mens and Womens Fashion Accessories in the U.S Chapter 6: The Consumer
Chapter 6 The Consumer
Highlights
Simmons data show 53.2 million adults (24%) agree strongly with the statement, I
dress conservatively. 48.9 million adults (22%) say, Clothes from discount stores
are as good as clothes from department stores. These numbers confirm that
mainstream tastes and concerns dominate. Other data from Simmons put fashionistas
in perspective. Though fashion-forward, and highly influential upon how America
dresses, fashionistas are definitely in the minority: Only 8% of adults (16.4 million)
agree that they like to keep up with the latest fashions.
Simmons projects that a quarter of the U.S. adult population purchases handbags
nearly 54.1 million. Of the 54.1 million bag buyers, almost 8% (4.1 million) are
male.
According to Research Alert (September 21, 2008), the average 30-year-old

woman has 21 handbags in her closet, and adds another one every three months.
About 5% of women one in 20 have a staggering 100 or more handbags in their
closets.
Simmons estimates that 24.6 million adults, 11% of all U.S. adults, purchase
neckties. The ratio of male to female necktie purchasers is 63%:37%. This means
9.2 million women are choosing necktie styles.
Marketers take note! Women are purchasing more mens scarves than men are:
About 47% of purchasers are male, but 53% -- 2.2 million are female, according to
Simmons.

Chapter 6: The Consumer Mens and Womens Fashion Accessories in the U.S
About Simmons Data
What They Are
In this chapter, most of the consumer data analyzed by Packaged Facts has been gathered by
Simmons Market Research Bureau, Inc., located in New York City. Each spring and autumn,
the firm surveys thousands of U.S. adults concerning their own or their households
purchasing habits. The respondents represent a statistically accurate cross-section of the
population. The spring 2008 survey data cited here are projected from the answers given by
24,581 persons age 18 and older, representative of the nations roughly 219 million adults
living in about 112 million households.
Unless otherwise specified, Simmons data on the purchase or use of fashion accessories are
presented in terms that characterize the habits or lifestyles of individual adult survey
respondents, rather than those of the households in which respondents live.
And How to Use Them
Packaged Facts presents Simmons data pertinent to adults use and/or purchase of fashion
accessories. Sets of data are presented in master tables that detail numerous factors: To
portray the demographic characteristics favoring purchase or use, Simmons determines
relative importance of factors such as gender, age, education, and so on, by use of an index
system: If 20% of the overall sample of adults reports use of Product X, the baseline index of
100 is set to that 20% rate. If, for example, 30% of those age 18-24 say they use that same
product, then this demographic segment is assigned an index of 150 meaning that adults 18-
24 are 50% more incident among such users than at the national average rate.
The index describes proportionate tendencies, likelihoods, skews, biases, but not the absolute
numbers. That is to say, Asian-American adults may have a higher index of use of Product X
than Whites have, though in absolute terms, there is probably a far larger pool of White adults
using Product X.
Packaged Facts recognizes the general rule that an index of 110 or higher denotes
significantly above-average incidence of use. (Conversely, an index of 90 or below denotes
significantly below-average incidence or resistance.) However, common-sense analysis of

the data allows flexibility and intuition for the sake of greater accuracy and completeness.
Thus in tables, indices of 106-109 are regarded as significant, too. For marketers seeking to
enter new regions or product categories, these three or four index points are not a trivial
matter as profitability could depend on them.
A word of caution: It would seem logical to assemble groups of factors with high indices into
what appear to be profiles of the consumers or consumer-households most receptive to the
specified products. But each factor each tendency should be considered independent of
any other, at least initially. The classic example is found in a profile of purchase of a
widely known powder used to treat male itch. If you blindly assemble the standout factors
female, elderly, African-American, southern residency you conclude that elderly
Black women who live in the South use male-itch powder. Obviously, Black women are
buying it for their husbands and race may be an issue only because of the concentration of
Blacks in the southern states where heat and humidity reign.
If you instead routinely regard factors as independent you will come understand demographic
oddities breaks in age or income ranges, for instance. Sometimes arriving at a consistent,
coherent profile of product purchase or purchaser is easy. Sometimes the picture is more
fragmented. The truest pictures of purchase or use are painted of a mix of common sense,
intuition, and thoughtful reasoning.
Another caution: Marketers should judge for themselves which standout demographic factors
are most important to them. Comparisons between factors, or the rankings of factors, must
depend on individual marketing goals and almost never on an inflexible ranking of leading
factors by index. For example, in Table 6-3, U.S.-resident Asians have an index of 132 in the
data set on adult purchase of belts, while those purchasers who are married have an index of
91. But no one would suggest that the Asian belt-purchasers, who number 977,000, are more
important than married belt purchasers, who are a sector of 9.4 million almost ten times
greater than the Asian sector. To reiterate, the ranking of factors is colored by each
marketers qualitative goals via advertising, promotion, P.R., new products, merchandising.
Points of analysis depend on marketing strategies, including positioning.
Furthermore, one sector may include or overlap another; presumably a significant share of the
977,000 Asian belt purchasers is also married.
In the demographic profiles tables presented in this chapter, grey shading is used to highlight
notable factors.

The Surveys Overall Gauge
Table 6-1 presents Simmons projections of numbers of U.S. adults by age of respondent,
race, household income bracket, etc. The firm used these projections as yardsticks for
analysis of the data gathered during its spring 2008 survey.
Marketing Regions Defined
Some data in this chapter pertain to U.S. marketing regions, which are broken out as follows.
Please note that Alaska and Hawaii are excluded from Simmons surveys.
Northeast
Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New

Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania (except counties included within the East
Central region), Rhode Island, Vermont, and northern Virginia counties (Arlington, Fairfax,
Loudoun, and Prince William).
East Central
Indiana (excluding Lake and Porter counties), Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, selected
Pennsylvania counties (Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Clarion, Crawford, Erie,
Fayette, Forest, Greene, Indiana, Jefferson, Lawrence, Mercer, Venango, Warrren,
Washington, and Westmoreland), and West Virginia.
West Central
Colorado, Illinois, selected Indiana counties (Lake and Porter), Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota,
Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.
Southeast
Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and
Virginia (except counties included within the Northeast).
Southwest
Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas.

Pacific
Arizona, California, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and Washington.
Table 6-1
Projections of Numbers of U.S. Adults, by Demographic Factor, 2008 (In Thousands)
% All U.S. No. of
Factor Adults Adults
Total/Base 100.0% 218,841
Gender
Male 48.3 105,752
Female 51.7 113,089
Age
18-24 11.5 25,122
25-34 16.4 35,803
35-44 18.9 41,291
45-54 20.2 44,163
55-64 15.7 34,270
65-74 9.6 21,018
75+ 7.8 17,174
Race/Hispanic Origin
White Non-Hispanic 70.1 153,312
African American 10.6 23,136
Asian 4.1 8,988
Other Race 1.5 3,218
Hispanic 13.5 29,584
Education
Grade School 4.8 10,414
Did Not Graduate HS 33.2 72,762
HS Grad 39.6 86,600
Some College Experience 27.0 59,109
College Grad 14.6 32,022
Grad School Experience 11.7 25,496
Employment Status
Part Time 10.1 22,023
Full Time 53.9 117,886
Self-Employed 7.4 16,194
Retired 17.1 37,431
Student 1.8 3,888
Homemaker 6.9 15,059


% All U.S. No. of
Occupation
Management/Financial 9.5 20,866
Professional/Technical 13.7 29,913
Sales 6.9 15,036
Office/Admin. Support 8.8 19,360
Labor 24.4 53,466
Marital Status
Single (Never Married) 23.6 51,556
Married 57.4 125,639
Divorced/Separated 12.6 27,477
Widowed 6.5 14,169
Marketing Region
Northeast 18.5 40,460
East Central 12.6 27,596
West Central 15.2 33,276
Southeast 20.9 45,649
Southwest 11.3 24,652
Pacific 19.8 43,279
Household Income (000)
Under $25 16.4 35,791
$25-$50 22.2 48,648
$50-$75 18.0 39,430
$75-$100 13.8 30,143
$100-$150 15.5 34,011
$150+ 14.1 30,818
Household Size (No. of Persons)
One 14.0 30,637
Two 35.8 78,417
Three or Four 34.2 74,868
Five or More 16.0 34,907


% All U.S. No. of
Children in Household (Age)
No Child Present 61.2 133,984
Any Children Present 38.8 84,856
Under 2 6.5 14,203
Two-5 12.1 26,371
Six-9 12.0 26,280
Ten-11 7.2 15,772
Twelve-17 15.6 34,230
Residence
House 77.5 169,669
Rented House 9.9 21,622
Condo/Co-op 3.2 7,048
Rented Apartment 13.8 30,114
Packaged Facts

Consumer Attitudes Relevant to Fashion Accessories

Purchase
Conservatism, Value Are Leading Fashion Orientations
Simmons presents hundreds of data sets on survey respondents agreement or not with
statements of attitude. Packaged Facts has excerpted the numbers of all U.S. adults who
agree strongly with 11 statements pertinent to fashion accessories purchase. The largest
sector, projected at over 102.0 million adults, close to 47%, agree that, I dress to please
myself. [Table 6-2]
But the second and third most popular attitudes are clearly more relevant to the marketing of
fashion accessories: A huge sector, 53.2 million, or 24% of adults, agree strongly with the
statement, I dress conservatively; while 48.9 million, or 22% say, Clothes from discount
stores are as good as clothes from department stores.
These numbers confirm that mainstream tastes and concerns dominate. Other projections in
Table 6-2 put fashionistas in perspective. Though fashion-forward and highly influential upon
how America dresses, fashionistas are definitely in the minority. For example, adults
agreeing that they like to keep up with the latest fashions, number 16.4 million, about 8%.
Nearly as many say, I like to experiment with new styles.

Table 6-2
Numbers of U.S. Adults Strongly Agreeing With 11 Statements of Attitude
Concerning Fashion and Appearance, 2008
(Thousands of Adults, in Recent 12 Months)
No. Who
Statement Agree % All Adults
I dress to please myself. 102,089 46.7%
I have a conservative style of dressing. 53,214 24.3
Clothes from discount stores are as good as clothes 48,866 22.3
from department stores.
I like to keep up with the latest fashions. 16,393 7.5
I like to experiment with new styles. 16,092 7.4
Everything I wear is the highest quality. 13,923 6.4
I like to make a unique fashion statement. 12,984 5.9
I spend more on clothes than I can afford. 8,099 3.7
A designer label improves a persons image. 7,605 3.5
Every season, I buy the latest fashions. 7,451 3.4
Im first among my friends to try new styles. 7,127 3.3
Total/Base 218,841 100.0%
Packaged Facts

The Purchaser of Womens Fashion Accessories
Almost 18.0 Million Buy Womens Belts
Simmons finds that just fewer than 18.0 million adults, over 8%, purchase womens belts.
[Table 6-3] Of this number, 93% are female and 7% are male. The majority of the latter 1.3
million men are buying belts as gifts for the wives, girlfriends, or other women in their lives.
Womens Belts Data Indicate Some Affluence in Purchaser-Base
Simmons data set on purchase of womens belts bears the hallmarks of affluence. Adults
with college experience, for example, have significantly above-average incidence in the
purchaser-base, as do singles and those living in households earning $75,000 and higher.
[Table 6-3] The featured age-range is 18-54, which reaches into the middle-age brackets in
which many Americans first achieve the financial solidity that enables them to start families
and buy first homes. White-collar occupations also have prominence.
Nearly 17.9 Million Buy Womens Gloves
The number of adults purchasing womens gloves nudges the 17.9 million mark; such
purchasers, like womens belt purchasers, account for approximately 8% of all U.S. adults.
[Table 6-3]
Women account for the lions share of glove purchasers, but men account for almost 10%,
more than 1.7 million.
Womens Glove Purchasers Tend More to Middle Age
The demographics of womens glove purchasing are somewhat on middle age, with only the
35-54 age bracket characterizing purchasers to a significantly above-average degree. [Table
6-3] Grad school, white-collar occupations, and household income of $150,000-plus (lower
brackets also favor purchase) all reinforce the focus on mid-life, as does the idea of affluence
they suggest.

Table 6-3
Demographic Characteristics Most Favoring Purchase of Womens Belts and Gloves,
2008 (Adults in Thousands, in Recent 12 Months)
N.B.: Grey shading indicates that factor has significantly above-average incidence.
Womens Belts Womens Gloves
No. Adult % All U.S. No. Adult % All U.S.

Factor Users Adults Index Users Adults Index
Total/Base 17,977 8.2% 100 17,890 8.2% 100
Gender
Male 1,265 0.6 15 1,730 0.8 20
Female 16,712 7.6 180 16,160 7.4 175
Age
18-24 3,204 1.5 155 2,043 0.9 99
25-34 3,604 1.6 123 2,826 1.3 97
35-44 4,237 1.9 125 4,178 1.9 124
45-54 3,877 1.8 107 4,490 2.1 124
55-64 1,917 0.9 68 2,368 1.1 85
65-74 784 0.4 45 1,175 0.5 68
75+ 355 0.2 25 809 0.4 58
White Non-Hispanic 10,902 5.0 87 12,023 5.5 96
African American 2,927 1.3 154 2,357 1.1 125
Asian 977 0.4 132 1,042 0.5 142
Other Race * * * * * *
Hispanic 2,900 1.3 119 2,073 0.9 86
Education
Grade School 518 0.2 61 545 0.2 64
Did Not Graduate HS 4,981 2.3 83 6,129 2.8 103
HS Grad 5,908 2.7 83 7,237 3.3 102
Some College Experience 5,175 2.4 107 4,831 2.2 100
College Grad 3,367 1.5 128 2,592 1.2 99
Grad School Experience 2,453 1.1 117 2,576 1.2 124
Employment Status
Part Time 2,466 1.1 136 2,257 1.0 125
Full Time 10,004 4.6 103 9,757 4.5 101
Self-Employed 1,419 0.6 107 1,274 0.6 96
Retired 1,103 0.5 36 1,995 0.9 65
Student 516 0.2 161 351 0.2 111
Homemaker 2,067 0.9 167 1,744 0.8 142


2008 (Adults in Thousands, in Recent 12 Months)
% All
No. Adult % All U.S. No. Adult U.S.
Occupation
Management/Financial 1,709 0.8 100 2,104 1.0 123
Professional/Technical 3,374 1.5 137 3,034 1.4 124
Sales 1,625 0.7 132 1,625 0.7 132
Office/Admin. Support 2,043 0.9 128 1,898 0.9 120
Labor 3,665 1.7 83 3,352 1.5 77
Marital Status
Single (Never Married) 5,488 2.5 130 4,292 2.0 102
Married 9,411 4.3 91 9,512 4.3 93
Divorced/Separated 2,290 1.0 101 2,863 1.3 127
Widowed 788 0.4 68 1,223 0.6 106
Marketing Region
Northeast 3,657 1.7 110 4,639 2.1 140
East Central 1,951 0.9 86 2,682 1.2 119
West Central 2,439 1.1 89 3,395 1.6 125
Southeast 3,837 1.8 102 2,578 1.2 69
Southwest 2,261 1.0 112 1,335 0.6 66
Pacific 3,245 1.5 91 2,786 1.3 79
Under $25 2,424 1.1 82 2,840 1.3 97
$25-$50 3,127 1.4 78 3,347 1.5 84
$50-$75 2,932 1.3 91 3,723 1.7 115
$75-$100 3,032 1.4 122 2,696 1.2 109
$100-$150 3,064 1.4 110 2,539 1.2 91
$150+ 3,397 1.6 134 2,746 1.3 197
One 1,899 0.9 75 2,633 1.2 105
Two 5,051 2.3 78 5,871 2.7 92
Three or Four 7,336 3.4 119 6,362 2.9 104
Five or More 3,690 1.7 129 3,024 1.4 106


2008
(Adults in Thousands, in Recent 12 Months)
% All
No. Adult % All U.S. No. Adult U.S.
No Child Present 8,806 4.0 80 10,031 4.6 92
Any Children Present 9,171 4.2 132 7,860 3.6 113
Under 2 1,377 0.6 118 1,076 0.5 93
Two-5 2,469 1.1 114 2,258 1.0 105
Six-9 2,701 1.2 125 2,766 1.3 129
Ten-11 1,601 0.7 124 1,613 0.7 125
Twelve-17 4,240 1.9 151 3,598 1.6 129
Residence
House 14,024 6.4 101 13,526 6.2 98
Rented House 2,085 1.0 117 1,906 0.9 108
Condo/Co-op 589 0.3 102 550 0.3 95
Rented Apartment 2,515 1.1 102 2,803 1.3 114
Survey sample too small to be reliable.
Packaged Facts
Handbags Have Largest Accessories Purchaser-Base: 54.1

Million
Simmons projects that nearly 54.1 million adults, about a quarter of the U.S. population,
purchase handbags. [Table 6-4] This group is by far the largest among the respective groups
of purchasers of the five womens accessories types studied here.
Of the 54.1 million bag buyers, almost 8% (4.1 million) are male, meaning that men are
bravely choosing bags as gifts for the women in their lives, or for themselves.
Womens Handbag Purchasers Skew Affluent
A few standout skews suggest the sector of adult purchasers of womens handbags contains a
high concentration of Americas affluent: The skews are to age 25-44, to college education,

to households earning $75,000 or more, and to residence in co-op or condominium

apartments. [Table 6-4]
Interestingly, the widowed also stand out among purchasers of womens bags.
One in 20 Women Owns 100-Plus Handbags
According to Research Alert (September 21, 2008), the average 30-year-old woman has 21
handbags in her closet, and adds another one every three months. About 5% of women one
in 20 have a staggering 100 or more handbags in their closets.
15.6 Million Purchase Womens Wallets
The purchaser-base for womens wallets is projected by Simmons at close to 15.6 million,
7% of all of the countrys adults. [Table 6-4]
This base is over 93% women, but men do account for almost 7%, more than 1.0 million of
the wallet-buyers.
Purchase of Womens Wallets Encouraged by Affluence,

Relative Youth
Yet again, a data set on womens fashion accessories presents skews that coherently portray
affluence. Middle age, with prevalence extending up to those who are 44 years old; college
education; a range of featured careers that include financial and managerial thrusts;
household income of $100,000 or more; and as with womens handbag purchasers, residence
in co-ops or condos (though house and apartment rentals are also key). [Table 6-4]
In addition, it is interesting to note that prominent activity in the age range extend down, too,
all the way to 18. Complementing this youthful pocket is a notable incidence of singles who
have never married.

Table 6-4
Demographic Characteristics Most Favoring Purchase of Womens Handbags and
Wallets, 2008 (Adults in Thousands, in Recent 12 Months)
Womens Handbags Womens Wallets

Total/Base 54,050 24.7% 100 15,557 7.1% 100
Gender
Male 4,055 1.9 16 1,028 0.5 14
Female 49,995 22.8 179 14,529 6.6 181
Age
18-24 5,899 2.7 95 2,812 1.3 157
25-34 9,412 4.3 106 2,906 1.3 114
35-44 11,925 5.4 117 3,484 1.6 119
45-54 10,703 4.9 98 3,048 1.4 97
55-64 8,438 3.9 100 1,912 0.9 79
65-74 4,444 2.0 86 918 0.4 61
75+ 3,229 1.5 76 477 0.2 39
Asian 2,417 1.1 109 859 0.4 134
Other Race 873 0.4 110 * * *
Hispanic 6,682 3.1 91 1,938 0.9 92
Education
Grade School 1,630 0.7 63 419 0.2 57
HS Grad 20,249 9.3 95 5,627 2.6 91
College Grad 9,184 4.2 116 2,354 1.1 103
Employment Status
Part Time 6,887 3.1 127 2,223 1.0 142
Full Time 28,620 13.1 98 8,539 3.9 102
Self-Employed 3,584 1.6 90 1,236 0.6 107
Retired 7,267 3.3 79 1,422 0.6 53
Student 971 0.4 101 397 0.2 144
Homemaker 6,241 2.9 168 1,668 0.8 156

Table 6-4
Womens
Handbags Womens Wallets
% All
No. Adult U.S. No. Adult % All U.S.
Occupation
Sales 3,940 1.8 106 1,611 0.7 151
Labor 9,081 4.1 69 2,835 1.3 75
Marital Status
Married 32,019 14.6 103 8,213 3.8 92
Widowed 3,890 1.8 111 850 0.4 84
Marketing Region
Northeast 10,025 4.6 100 3,345 1.5 116
East Central 6,298 2.9 92 1,757 0.8 90
West Central 8,669 4.0 105 1,995 0.9 84
Southeast 11,532 5.3 102 3,078 1.4 95
Southwest 6,415 2.9 105 1,573 0.7 90
Pacific 10,168 4.6 95 3,193 1.5 104
Under $25 7,118 3.3 81 2,103 1.0 83
$25-$50 10,485 4.8 87 2,898 1.3 84
$50-$75 10,204 4.7 105 2,919 1.3 104
$75-$100 8,344 3.8 112 2,240 1.0 105
$100-$150 9,120 4.2 109 2,633 1.2 109
$150+ 8,779 4.0 115 2,764 1.3 126
One 7,319 3.3 97 1,954 0.9 90
Two 19,153 8.8 99 4,351 2.0 78
Three or Four 19,777 9.0 107 6,291 2.9 118
Five or More 7,793 3.6 90 2,960 1.4 119


Womens
Handbags Womens Wallets
% All
No. Adult U.S. No. Adult % All U.S.
No Child Present 30,970 14.2 94 8,009 3.7 84
Under 2 3,122 1.4 89 1,021 0.5 101
Two-5 6,630 3.0 102 1,993 0.9 106
Six-9 6,806 3.1 105 2,278 1.0 122
Ten-11 4,272 2.0 110 1,474 0.7 131
Twelve-17 10,183 4.7 120 3,402 1.6 140
Residence
House 42,096 19.2 100 11,757 5.4 97
Rented House 4,690 2.1 88 1,902 0.9 124
Condo/Co-op 2,011 0.9 116 589 0.3 118
Packaged Facts
Over 11.3 Million Buy Womens Scarves
Simmons projects more than 11.3 million U.S. adults, 5%, purchase womens scarves. [Table
6-5] Women comprise 89% of the purchaser-base and11%, 1.2 million, are men.
For Women, Scarves Signal Youth and Freedom
The data set on purchase of womens scarves is full of high indicators, but conflicting ones.
For example, there are split skews between 18-24 and 45-54 year-olds, as well as between
middle and high levels of household income, and occupations that command a range of
salaries and levels of respect. [Table 6-5]
But the same data suggest to Packaged Facts that purchase of a new scarf may signal young
thinking, as well as newly realized freedom. The split age significance covers the young and
fancy-free, plus the middle-aged who may be just divorced or widowed. This idea is

reinforced by the key importance of every marital status except married. The presence of
teen children also fits, as parents contemplate becoming empty-nesters.
Table 6-5
Demographic Characteristics Most Favoring Purchase of Womens Scarves, 2008
Womens Scarves
No. Adult % All U.S.

Factor Users Adults Index
Total/Base 11,324 5.2% 100
Gender
Male 1,201 0.5 22
Female 10,123 4.6 173
Age
18-24 1,857 0.8 143
25-34 1,751 0.8 95
35-44 1,954 0.9 91
45-54 2,465 1.1 108
55-64 1,747 0.8 99
65-74 909 0.4 84
75+ 640 0.3 72
White Non-Hispanic 6,816 3.1 86
African American 1,828 0.8 153
Asian 1,038 0.5 223
Other Race * * *
Hispanic 1,526 0.7 100
Education
Grade School 385 0.2 71
Did Not Graduate HS 3,306 1.5 88
HS Grad 3,959 1.8 88
Some College Experience 3,238 1.5 106
College Grad 1,965 0.9 119
Grad School Experience 1,829 0.8 139
Employment Status
Part Time 1,557 0.7 137
Full Time 5,970 2.7 98
Self-Employed 752 0.3 90
Retired 1,469 0.7 76
Student * * *
Homemaker 1,107 0.5 142


Womens Scarves

Occupation
Management/Financial 1,305 0.6 121
Professional/Technical 1,996 0.9 129
Sales 984 0.4 126
Office/Admin. Support 1,064 0.5 106
Labor 2,142 1.0 77
Marital Status
Single (Never Married) 3,245 1.5 122
Married 5,596 2.6 86
Divorced/Separated 1,670 0.8 117
Widowed 813 0.4 111
Marketing Region
Northeast 3,126 1.4 149
East Central 1,160 0.5 81
West Central 1,737 0.8 101
Southeast 1,809 0.8 77
Southwest 1,094 0.5 86
Pacific 2,146 1.0 96
Under $25 1,795 0.8 97
$25-$50 2,204 1.0 88
$50-$75 2,322 1.1 114
$75-$100 1,376 0.6 88
$100-$150 1,615 0.7 92
$150+ 2,012 0.9 126
One 1,778 0.8 112
Two 3,722 1.7 92
Three or Four 4,218 1.9 109
Five or More 1,606 0.7 89


Womens Scarves

No Child Present 6,962 3.2 100
Any Children Present 4,362 2.0 99
Under 2 477 0.2 65
Two-5 1,112 0.5 82
Six-9 1,283 0.6 94
Ten-11 692 0.3 85
Twelve-17 2,044 0.9 115
Residence
House 8,615 3.9 98
Rented House 1,320 0.6 118
Condo/Co-op 620 0.3 170
Rented Apartment 1,686 0.8 108
Packaged Facts

The Purchaser of Mens Fashion Accessories
39.5 Million Adults Buy Mens Belts
Simmons projects 39.5 million adults, 18%, purchase mens belts. [Table 6-6] These
purchasers break out as 69% male and 32% female. While over two thirds of the group are
men likely buying belts for themselves, almost a third, 12.4 million, are women fulfilling the
traditional role of outfitting their men with accessories (and probably clothing, too).
Straightforward Belt-Purchaser Data Indicates Affluence
Simmons set of demographic data on purchasers of mens belts clearly suggests an affluent
consumer: Those age 35-44 have a significantly higher-than-average incidence among the
pool of purchasers. Again, this age span includes the years when many Americans first
achieve a degree of financial security allowing them to start families and to think about
buying a home. [Table 6-6] Supporting this view are the above-average indexes of college
education, white-collar occupation, marriage, and household income of $75,000 or higher.
About 16.0 Million Buy Mens Gloves
Slightly less than 16.0 million adults are projected to be purchasers of mens gloves; the
group accounts for over 7% of all U.S. adults. [Table 6-6]
As is the case with mens belts, nearly two thirds of the mens gloves purchasers are men,
while the remaining third, 6.1 million, are the women who dress them.
Mens Glove Purchasers Display Wider Age, Income Spans
The purchase of mens gloves is also keyed to affluence. [Table 6-6] For example, those in
middle age are featured among purchasers, but the full range of influential brackets begins
relatively young, at age 25, and tops out, as in the set on mens belt purchase, at 54. The span
of household income levels that encourage purchase likewise extend lower, to $50,000. But
again as in the mens belt data, there is no real ceiling on influential income. Broader levels

of education are also notable, with high school dropouts, high school grads, and college
grads, all standing out.
Distinguishing the data on mens glove purchase is residency in the Northeast, East Central,
or West Central regions.
Table 6-6
Demographic Characteristics Most Favoring Purchase of Mens Belts and Gloves, 2008
Mens Belts Mens Gloves

Total/Base 39,470 18.0% 100 15,966 7.3% 100
Gender
Male 27,092 12.4 142 9,863 4.5 128
Female 12,378 5.7 61 6,103 2.8 74
Age
18-24 4,292 2.0 95 1,497 0.7 82
25-34 6,561 3.0 102 2,791 1.3 107
35-44 8,833 4.0 119 3,563 1.6 118
45-54 9,289 4.2 117 4,301 2.0 133
55-64 6,021 2.8 97 2,190 1.0 88
65-74 2,779 1.3 73 1,071 0.5 70
75+ 1,695 0.8 55 553 0.3 44
Asian 1,866 0.9 115 515 0.2 79
Other Race 403 0.2 69 * * *
Hispanic 6,300 2.9 118 2,193 1.0 102
Education
Grade School 1,404 0.6 75 452 0.2 59
HS Grad 14,213 6.5 91 6,688 3.1 106
College Grad 6,193 2.8 107 2,496 1.1 107



Employment Status
Part Time 3,896 1.8 98 1,740 0.8 108
Full Time 24,794 11.3 117 10,113 4.6 118
Self-Employed 3,173 1.5 109 1,383 0.6 117
Retired 4,748 2.2 70 1,730 0.8 63
Student 449 0.2 64 * * *
Homemaker 2,027 0.9 75 858 0.4 78
Occupation
Sales 3,161 1.4 117 1,407 0.6 128
Labor 11,166 5.1 116 4,992 2.3 128
Marital Status
Married 25,602 11.7 113 10,009 4.6 109
Widowed 1,040 0.5 41 507 0.2 49
Marketing Region
Northeast 7,500 3.4 103 3,684 1.7 125
East Central 5,034 2.3 101 2,872 1.3 143
West Central 5,386 2.5 90 3,179 1.5 131
Southeast 8,106 3.7 98 2,204 1.0 66
Southwest 4,398 2.0 99 1,251 0.6 70
Pacific 8,170 3.7 105 2,447 1.1 77
Under $25 4,003 1.8 62 2,036 0.9 78
$25-$50 7,419 3.4 85 3,293 1.5 93
$50-$75 7,180 3.3 101 3,049 1.4 106
$75-$100 6,982 3.2 128 2,454 1.1 112
$100-$150 7,106 3.2 116 2,761 1.3 111
$150+ 6,779 3.1 122 2,372 1.1 106



One 3,692 1.7 67 1,463 0.7 65
Two 14,119 6.5 100 5,461 2.5 95
Three or Four 14,819 6.8 110 6,157 2.8 113
Five or More 6,837 3.1 109 2,885 1.3 113
No Child Present 22,702 10.4 94 8,545 3.9 87
Under 2 2,492 1.1 97 1,138 0.5 110
Two-5 4,518 2.1 95 2,323 1.1 121
Six-9 5,079 2.3 107 2,392 1.1 125
Ten-11 3,467 1.6 122 1,289 0.6 112
Twelve-17 7,785 3.6 126 3,346 1.5 134
Residence
House 31,426 14.4 103 12,253 5.6 99
Rented House 4,374 2.0 112 1,780 0.8 113
Condo/Co-op 1,106 0.5 87 354 0.2 69
Packaged Facts
Over 24.6 Million Are Necktie Purchasers
Simmons estimates that 24.6 million adults (11%) purchase neckties. [Table 6-7] As with
mens belts and gloves, the ratio of male to female necktie purchasers is 63%:37%. This
means 9.2 million women are choosing necktie styles.
Necktie Data Skew to Greater Financial Security
As with the other purchasers of mens accessories studied in this section, affluence is a
pivotal factor in purchase of neckties. However, a few details hint at greater authority, and as
a consequence, greater financial security. [Table 6-7] Once again, persons of middle age are

standouts, as are the college-educated, managers/professionals, and residents of households

earning $75,000 or more. But additionally, those holding full-time jobs, the self-employed,
married persons, and homeowners (houses or co-ops/condos), all exhibit higher-than-average
occurrence among necktie purchasers.
Almost 4.2 million Mostly Women Purchase Mens Scarves
Close to 4.2 million adults purchase mens scarves, a sector that actually translates into just
under 2% of all U.S. adults. [Table 6-7]
Marketers to note! Women are purchasing more mens scarves than men are: About 47% of
purchasers are male, but 53% -- 2.2 million are female.
For Mens Scarf Purchasers, Details of Affluence Differ Slightly
Yet again, factors that suggest affluence shape the profile of mens scarf purchasers: Middle
age has notably higher-than-average occurrence here; college education also has prominence;
and white-collar occupations and high household income further support the conclusion that
affluence encourages purchase of mens scarves. [Table 6-7]
Of note, however, is that the key age span is staggered as young as 18, and tops out at only
44; and that household income as low as $50,000 also favors purchase.

Table 6-7
Demographic Characteristics Most Favoring Purchase of Mens Neckties and Scarves,
2008
Mens Neckties Mens Scarves
Factor No. Adult % All U.S. No. Adult % All U.S.
Index Index
Users Adults Users Adults
Total/Base 24,626 11.3% 100 4,176 1.9% 100
Gender
Male 15,446 7.1 130 1,980 0.9 98
Female 9,179 4.2 72 2,196 1.0 102
Age
18-24 2,188 1.0 77 566 0.3 118
25-34 4,450 2.0 110 845 0.4 124
35-44 5,764 2.6 124 933 0.4 118
45-54 6,134 2.8 123 834 0.4 99
55-64 3,525 1.6 91 507 0.2 77
65-74 1,790 0.8 76 313 0.1 78
75+ 775 0.4 40 178 0.1 54
African American 2,862 1.3 110 634 0.3 144
Asian 1,182 0.5 117 * * *
Other Race * * * * * *
Hispanic 2,985 1.4 90 923 0.4 163
Education
Grade School 742 0.3 63 113 0.1 57
Did Not Graduate HS 6,252 2.9 76 972 0.4 70
HS Grad 7,750 3.5 80 1,200 0.5 73
Some College Experience 6,572 3.0 99 994 0.5 88
College Grad 4,986 2.3 138 806 0.4 132
Grad School Experience 4,828 2.2 168 921 0.4 189
Employment Status
Part Time 2,204 1.0 89 658 0.3 157
Full Time 16,025 7.3 121 2,589 1.2 115
Self-Employed 2,027 0.9 111 414 0.2 134
Retired 2,436 1.1 58 421 0.2 59
Student 366 0.2 84 * * *
Homemaker 1,564 0.7 92 199 0.1 69
Occupation
Management/Financial 3,624 1.7 154 560 0.3 141
Professional/Technical 4,813 2.2 143 845 0.4 148
Sales 2,133 1.0 126 390 0.2 136
Office/Admin. Support 2,360 1.1 108 342 0.2 93
Labor 5,199 2.4 86 1,098 0.5 108
Marital Status
Married 17,346 7.9 123 2,267 1.0 95
Divorced/Separated 2,217 1.0 72 501 0.2 96
Widowed 475 0.2 30 207 0.1 77
Marketing Region
Northeast 5,304 2.4 116 1,177 0.5 152
East Central 3,101 1.4 100 431 0.2 82
West Central 3,255 1.5 87 658 0.3 104
Southeast 5,782 2.6 113 652 0.3 75
Southwest 2,180 1.0 79 295 0.1 63
Pacific 4,119 1.9 85 779 0.4 94

Table 6-7 [cont.]

Mens Neckties Mens Scarves
Factor No. Adult % All U.S. No. Adult % All U.S.
Index Index
Users Adults Users Adults
Under $25 1,856 0.8 46 538 0.2 79
$25-$50 3,708 1.7 68 741 0.3 80
$50-$75 4,022 1.8 91 862 0.4 115
$75-$100 4,392 2.0 129 434 0.2 75
$100-$150 4,772 2.2 125 856 0.4 132
$150+ 5,875 2.7 169 744 0.3 127
One 1,785 0.8 52 533 0.2 91
Two 8,885 4.1 101 968 0.4 65
Three or Four 10,172 4.6 121 1,813 0.8 127
Five or More 3,783 1.7 96 862 0.4 129
No Child Present 14,144 6.5 94 2,266 1.0 89
Under 2 1,938 0.9 121 226 0.1 83
Two-5 2,934 1.3 99 450 0.2 89
Six-9 3,104 1.4 105 595 0.3 119
Ten-11 2,176 1.0 123 473 0.2 157
Twelve-17 4,579 2.1 119 961 0.4 147
Residence
House 20,337 9.3 107 3,245 1.5 100
Rented House 2,015 0.9 83 655 0.3 159
Condo/Co-op 859 0.4 108 188 0.1 140
Rented Apartment 2,578 1.2 76 684 0.3 119
* Survey sample too small to be reliable.
Packaged Facts
Mens Wallet Purchaser-Base at 24.4 Million
Finally, Simmons calculates that adult purchasers of mens wallets are just fewer than 24.4
million strong, comprising 11% of all U.S. adults. [Table 6-8] This purchaser-base is 61%
male, but 39% female -- meaning that over 9.5 million women not only dress their men, but
choose the small leather goods that go in their pockets.
Mens Wallet Profile Skews Affluent -- in Most Ways
In the pool of adults who purchase mens wallets, there are notably above-average
occurrences of the middle-aged, although they are included within the broader 18-54 key age
span; the college-educated, despite that only those who have some college attendance, but no
degree, are the standouts; and those who enjoy high household income -- though the strongest
skew is limited to $75,000-$150,000. [Table 6-8]

Table 6-8
Demographic Characteristics Most Favoring Purchase of Men's Wallets, 2008
Men's Wallets

Total/Base 24,392 11.1% 100
Gender
Male 14,863 6.8 126
Female 9,529 4.4 76
Age
18-24 3,358 1.5 120
25-34 4,560 2.1 114
35-44 5,354 2.4 116
45-54 5,344 2.4 109
55-64 3,307 1.5 87
65-74 1,561 0.7 67
75+ 908 0.4 47
Asian 934 0.4 93
Other Race 411 0.2 115
Hispanic 4,654 2.1 141
Education
Grade School 1,136 0.5 98
HS Grad 9,380 4.3 97
Employment Status
Part Time 3,134 1.4 128
Full Time 14,203 6.5 108
Self-Employed 2,121 1.0 117
Retired 2,603 1.2 62
Student 491 0.2 113
Homemaker 1,415 0.6 84


Men's Wallets

Occupation
Sales 2,004 0.9 120
Labor 7,244 3.3 122
Marital Status
Married 15,359 7.0 110
Widowed 664 0.3 42
Marketing Region
Northeast 4,353 2.0 97
Southeast 5,166 2.4 102
Southwest 3,047 1.4 111
Pacific 5,176 2.4 104
Under $25 3,205 1.5 80
$25-$50 4,886 2.2 90
$50-$75 4,555 2.1 104
$75-$100 4,398 2.0 131
$100-$150 4,251 1.9 112
$150+ 3,097 1.4 90
One 1,683 0.8 49
Two 7,789 3.6 89
Five or More 4,993 2.3 128


Men's Wallets

Under 2 1,786 0.8 113
Two-5 3,583 1.6 122
Six-9 3,716 1.7 127
Ten-11 2,449 1.1 139
Twelve-17 5,704 2.6 150
Residence
House 19,082 8.7 101
Condo/Co-op 642 0.3 82
Packaged Facts

The Purchaser of Hats/Baseball Caps Bearing

Licensed Sports Team Logos
Almost 21.6 Million Buy Hats/Baseball Caps with Licensed

Sports Logos
Simmons projection is that 21.6 million U.S. adults purchase hats or baseball caps
emblazoned with licensed sports team logos. [Table 6-9] This robust number equals nearly
10% of all of the countrys adults; a share that reflects, of course, our allegiance to our
favorite baseball, basketball, football, hockey, or other team, whether on the professional or
college level. But in 2008 a significant, but unknown sub-share of Americans wears such
sports-oriented hats/caps to effect hip-hop style.
Of the 21.6 million purchasing the licensed sports hats/caps, over 62% are men, and almost
38% are women.
Purchase of Hats/Caps with Sports Logos: Skews to Men,

Affluence, Presence of Kids
The significantly above-average incidence of men among purchasers of hats/baseball caps

bearing licensed sports team logos has just been noted. Other skews include age spanning
18-54 (indices drop off sharply in older brackets), college education, white-collar
occupations, and household income of $75,000 and higher. [Table 6-9] Obviously, such
skews conspire to suggest a purchaser that is often affluent.
Other interesting standout factors in purchase of licensed sports headwear are White race, the
household presence of kids of any age, and residency in the East Central and West Central
states.

Table 6-9
Demographic Characteristics Most Favoring Purchase of Hats and Baseball Caps with
Licensed College or Professional Sports Team Logos, 2008
Hats and Baseball Caps with

Team Logos

Total/Base 21,555 9.8% 100
Gender
Male 13,408 6.1 129
Female 8,146 3.7 73
Age
18-24 2,887 1.3 117
25-34 4,422 2.0 125
35-44 5,465 2.5 134
45-54 5,226 2.4 120
55-64 2,235 1.0 66
65-74 934 0.4 45
75+ 387 0.2 23
Asian * * *
Other Race * * *
Hispanic 2,096 1.0 72
Education
HS Grad 7,694 3.5 90
Employment Status
Part Time 1,851 0.8 85
Full Time 14,722 6.7 127
Retired 1,447 0.7 39
Student 528 0.2 138
Homemaker 1,210 0.6 82

Table 6-9

Team Logos

Occupation
Sales 1,564 0.7 106
Labor 6,207 2.8 118
Marital Status
Married 13,304 6.1 108
Widowed 568 0.3 41
Marketing Region
Northeast 4,120 1.9 103
Southeast 4,312 2.0 96
Southwest 2,352 1.1 97
Pacific 3,521 1.6 83
Under $25 1,730 0.8 49
$25-$50 3,526 1.6 74
$50-$75 3,317 1.5 85
$75-$100 4,120 1.9 139
$100-$150 4,464 2.0 133
$150+ 4,398 2.0 145
One 1,728 0.8 57
Two 6,694 3.1 87
Five or More 3,802 1.7 111

Table 6-9

Team Logos

Under 2 1,740 0.8 124
Two-5 3,166 1.4 122
Six-9 3,489 1.6 135
Ten-11 2,446 1.1 157
Twelve-17 4,680 2.1 139
Residence
House 17,590 8.0 105
Condo/Co-op 596 0.3 86
Packaged Facts
Background: College Teams, NFL Lead Popular Sports Licenses

for Clothing
Table 6-10 lists numbers of adult purchasers of clothing decorated with licensed sports team
logos. The total approaches 46.2 million, or about one in five of all U.S. adults.
Licensed college sports clothing is most popular, having over 20.7 million purchasers who
account for almost 10% of all adults. National Football League (NFL) clothing ranks second,
with 16.2 million purchasers, or more than 7% of adults. Major League Baseball (MLB) is
third, with 11.4 million, or 5%. There is a sharp drop in purchasers, as of the fourth rank,
occupied by the National Basketball Association (NBA), which has 4.6 million purchasers, or
just over 2%.
Fully 28.8 million of the licensed sports clothing purchasers buy the products associated with
only one team or league of teams. This group accounts for more than 13 percentage-points of

the whole 46.2 million purchasers 21% of all U.S. adults. In other words, team/league
loyalists account for 62% of the purchaser-base, or nearly two thirds.
Table 6-10
Numbers of Purchasers of Clothing Bearing Licensed College or Professional Sports
Team Logos, 2008
No. Adult
Type of License Purchasers % All Adults
College Sports 20,728 9.5%
National Football League 16,224 7.4
Major League Baseball 11,414 5.2
National Basketball Association 4,594 2.1
NASCAR 3,483 1.6
National Hockey League 2,008 0.9
Professional Golfers 1,101 0.5
Association Tour
Major League Soccer 942 0.4
All Other 4,067 1.9
Loyal Purchasers/Sole League 28,799 13.2
Total/Base 46,152 21.1%
Packaged Facts

The Purchaser of Fashion Accessories from Mail-

Order Catalogs
Almost 10.7 Million Buy Accessories from Mail-Order Catalogs
Simmons calculates that slightly less than 10.7 million adults, nearly 5%, purchase fashion
accessories from mail-order catalogs. [Table 6-11] This purchaser-base breaks out as 72%
female, and 38% male.
As noted in Chapter 1, Executive Summary, mail-order accounts for about $1.2 billion, 7%,
of fashion accessories retail sales in 2008.
Accessories Mail-Order Has Distinct Profile That Skews Affluent
As with many other of the Simmons demographic data sets interpreted in this chapter, the set
on purchase of fashion accessories via mail-order catalogs suggest affluence. Yet the profile
shapes up differently in the details: Persons in middle age stand out in the purchaser-base,
although the skew is limited to the 35-44 bracket; college grads and those who have at least
attended college standout, but those with grad school experience do not; household income is
a factor, but is not notably influential until the $150,000 mark and higher; and home
ownership is prominent -- not ownership of houses, but of co-ops or condos. [Table 6-11]
Other distinctive characteristics of the data set on accessories purchase by mail-order include
the prominence of only one race, African Americans; and of residency in any of three
regions, the Northeast, the East Central states, and the Southwest.

Table 6-11
Demographic Characteristics Most Favoring Purchase of Fashion Accessories from
Mail-Order Catalogs, 2008
Purchase Accessories
from Mail-Order Catalogs

Total/Base 10,696 4.9% 100
Gender
Male 2,983 1.4 58
Female 7,713 3.5 140
Age
18-24 1,203 0.5 98
25-34 1,503 0.7 86
35-44 2,675 1.1 133
45-54 2,226 1.0 103
55-64 1,692 0.8 101
65-74 841 0.4 82
75+ 556 0.3 66
Asian * * *
Other Race * * *
Hispanic 1,338 0.6 93
Education
HS Grad 3,805 1.7 90
Employment Status
Part Time 1,463 0.7 136
Full Time 5,881 2.7 102
Retired 1,163 0.5 64
Student * * *
Homemaker 1,023 0.5 139

Table 6-11

Occupation
Sales 771 0.4 105
Labor 2,253 1.0 86
Marital Status
Married 6,477 3.0 105
Widowed 655 0.3 95
Marketing Region
Northeast 2,355 1.1 119
Southeast 2,265 1.0 102
Southwest 1,340 0.6 111
Pacific 1,581 0.7 75
Under $25 1,340 0.6 77
$25-$50 2,398 1.1 101
$50-$75 1,556 0.7 81
$75-$100 1,549 0.7 105
$100-$150 1,688 0.8 102
$150+ 2,166 1.0 144
One 1,194 0.5 80
Two 3,922 1.8 102
Five or More 1,557 0.7 91

Table 6-11

Under 2 681 0.3 98
Two-5 1,473 0.7 114
Six-9 1,307 0.6 102
Ten-11 828 0.4 107
Twelve-17 1,732 0.8 104
Residence
House 8,166 3.7 98
Rented House 849 0.4 80
Condo/Co-op 533 0.2 155
Packaged Facts

Numbers of Clothing/Accessories Purchasers at

Department and Discount Stores
Almost 174.3 Million Clothing/Accessories Purchasers at

Department/Discount Stores
In this data set, Simmons combines the purchaser-bases for clothing and accessories products.
Also in this set, the firm combines two retail channels, department stores and discount stores.
Simmons projects that adult purchasers of clothing or accessories at department stores and
discounters were a towering 174.3 million, or nearly 80%, in just the 90-day period preceding
the actual survey conducted in spring 2008. [Table 6-12]
The 174.3 million breaks out as 55% female and 45% male.
Wal-Mart, Target, JC Penney Are Leaders
According to Simmons, purchasers of clothing/accessories at mega-discount chain Wal-Mart

stand at 82.4 million, almost 38% of all U.S. adults. [Table 6-12] Target is the second most
popular destination for these products, with 52.1 million purchasers, who are 24% of adults.
JC Penney ranks third, with 43.8 million purchasers, or 20%.
Many survey respondents said they shopped for clothing/accessories at multiple department
store or discount store chains.

Table 6-12
Numbers of Purchasers of Clothing and Accessories at Selected Department Stores
and Discount Stores, 2008
Dept. Store/ No. % All U.S.

Discounter Purchasers Adults
Any/Total/Base 174,259* 79.6%
B.J.'s Wholesale Club 2,768 1.3
Beall's 4,115 1.9
Bloomingdale's 1,969 0.9
Bon-Ton (Pomeroy's) 1,574 0.7
Boscov's 2,719 1.2
Carson Pirie Scott 1,252 0.6
Costco 11,227 5.1
Dillard's 11,299 5.2
Herberger's 1,089 0.5
JC Penney 43,756 20.0
Kmart 25,742 11.8
Kohl's 33,814 15.5
Lord & Taylor 1,986 0.9
Macy's 32,867 15.0
Meijer 5,037 2.3
Mervyn's 7,022 3.2
Neiman Marcus 999 0.5
Nordstrom 5,422 2.5
Off Fifth 633 0.3
Parisian 737 0.3
Ross Dress for Less 9,203 4.2
Saks Fifth Avenue 1,232 0.6
Sam's Club 13,407 6.1
Sears 21,173 9.7
Shopko 2,456 1.1
Stage Stores 977 0.4
Target 52,118 23.8
Value City 3,270 1.5
Wal-Mart 82,382 37.6
Younkers 1,063 0.5
Other Department Store 10,178 4.7
Other Discounter 10,894 5.0
* Column adds to more than total, due to respondents' patronage of multiple
retailers.
Packaged Facts


Mens and Womens Fashion Accessories in the U.S Appendix: Selected Marketers
Appendix: Addresses of Selected Marketers
Apax Partners, Inc. Carhartt, Inc.

153 East 53rd Street, 53rd floor 5750 Mercury Drive
New York, NY 10022 Dearborn, MI 48126
Phone: 212-753-6300 Phone: 313-271-8460
www.apax.com Fax: 313-271-3455
Tommy Hilfiger Corporation subsidary www.carhartt.com
9/F Novel Industrial Building
850-870 Lai Chi Kok Road Casual Male Retail Group, Inc./Casual
Cheung Sha Wan Male XL
Kowloon, Hong Kong 555 Turnpike Street
Phone: +852-2216-0668 Canton, MA 02021
Hilfiger, Tommy USA, Inc., subsidiary Phone: 800-767-0319
18 Thatcher Road www.casualmale.com
Dayton, New Jersey 08810-1598 www.rochesterclothing.com
Phone: 609-819-8888
www.tommy.com Charming Shoppes, Inc.
450 Winks Lane
Arena Brands, Inc. Bensalem, PA 19020
601 Marion Drive Phone: 215-245-9100
Garland, TX 75042 www.charmingshoppes.com
Phone: 972-494-0511
Fax: 972-494-2369 Lane Bryant subsidiary
www.stetson.com 3344 Morse Crossing
Columbus, OH 43219
BCBG Max Azria Phone: 614-463-5200
2761 Fruitland Avenue www.lanebryant.com
Vernon, California 90058
Phone: 323-589-2224 Fashion Bug subsidiary
Fax: 323-277-5454 450 Winks Lane
www.bcbgmaxazriagroup.com Bensalem, PA 19020
Phone: 215-245-9100
Berkeley Hat Company www.fashionbug.com
2510 Telegraph Avenue
Berkeley, CA 94704 Catherines Plus-Sizes subsidiary
Phone: 510-549-2955 3742 Lamar Avenue
www.berkeleyhat.com Memphis, TN 38118
Phone: 901-363-3900
Buxton Acquisitions Co., LLC www.catherines.charmingshoppes.com
45 Plainfield Street
Chicopee, MA 01013-1561 Crosstown Traders, Inc., subsidiary
Phone: 413-734-5900 3740 East 34 th Street
Fax: 413-781-7955 Tucson, AZ 85713
www.buxton-dopp.com Phone: 520-745-4500
www.oldpueblotraders.com
January 2008 Packaged Facts i

Appendix: Selected Marketers Mens and Womens Fashion Accessories in the U.S
Coach, Inc. Jones Apparel Group, Corporate

516 West. 34th Street Offices
New York, NY 10001-1394 1411 Broadway
Phone: 212-594-1850 New York, NY 10018
Fax: 212-594-1682 Phone: (212)642-3860
www.coach.com Jones Apparel Group, Financial Offices
180 Rittenhouse Circle
Dooney & Bourke Bristol, PA 19007
P.O. Box 841 Phone: (215)785-4000
1 Regent Street www.jonesapparel.com
Norwalk, CT 06855
Phone: 800-347-5000 Kangol Headwear
Fax: 800-326-1496 3 Maltings Place
www.dooney.com 169 Tower Bridge Road
London SE1 3NA
Dynomighty Design, Inc. England
18 Bridge Street, suite 4G Phone: +44 (0) 207 367 4230
Brooklyn, NY 11201 Fax: +44 (0) 207 378 9834
Phone: 212-431-3005 Kangol Headwear USA
Fax: 718-569-0662 411 Fifth Avenue, second floor
www.dynomighty.com New York, NY 10016
Phone: 212-981-9900
Ecoist LLC Fax: 212-981-9901
2628 Northwest 2nd Avenue www.kangol.com
Miami, FL 33127 www.388308.com
Phone: 877-ECOISTS (877-326-4787)
www.ecoist.com Liberty Media Holding Corporation
/QVC, Inc.
Gap, Inc. 12300 Liberty Boulevard
Two Folsom Street Englewood, CO 80112
San Francisco, CA 94105 Phone: 720-875-5400
Phone: 650-952-4400 www.libertymedia.com
www.gap.com www.qvc.com
Herms International SA Liz Claiborne, Inc.

24 rue du Faubourg Saint-Honor 1441 Broadway
75008 Paris New York, NY 10018
France Phone: 212-354-4900
Phone: +33-1-40-17-49-20 www.lizclaiborne.com
Fax: +33-1-40-17-49-21 www.elisabeth.com
www.hermes.com
L.L. Bean, Inc.
HSN, Inc. 3 Campus Drive
2501 118th Avenue North Freeport, ME 04033-0001
St. Petersburg, FL 33716 Phone: 207-552-3028
Phone: 727-872-7069 Fax: 207-552-3080
www.hsni.com www.llbean.com
ii Packaged Facts January 2009

Mens and Womens Fashion Accessories in the U.S Appendix: Selected Marketers
Macys, Inc. (formerly Federated Randa Accessories New York

Department Stores, Inc.) 120 West 45th Street, 38th floor
7 West Seventh Street New York, NY 10036
Cincinnati, OH 45202 Phone: 212-768-8800
Phone: 513-579-7000 www.randa.net
(second corporate office address:)
Macys, Inc. Randa International S.R.L
151 West 34th Street Lungo Lario Trento, N. 13
New York, NY 10001 Como, Italy 22100
Phone: 212-494-1602 Phone: +39 (031) 261-850
www.macysinc.com The Trafalgar Company subsidiary
www.macys.com 24 West 40th Street, 6th floor
www.bloomingdales.com New York, NY 10018
Phone: 212-354-5100
New Era Cap Co., Inc. www.trafalgarcompany.com
160 Delaware Avenue
Buffalo, NY 14202 MCG: Market Connect Group
Phone: 716-549-0445 subsidiary
Fax: 716-549-7247 Highpoint Business Campus
www.neweracap.com 1500 Horizon Drive, suite 111
Chalfont, PA 18914
Phillips-Van Heusen Corporation Phone: 215-822-5034
200 Madison Avenue www.mcgconnect.com
New York, New York 10016
Phone: 212-381-3500 Vera Wang Bridal House, Ltd.
www.pvh.com 225 West 39th Street
New York, NY 10018
Polo Ralph Lauren Corporation Phone: 212-575-6400
650 Madison Avenue Fax: 212-354-2548
New York, NY 10022 www.verawang.com
Phone: 212-318-7000
www.poloralphlauren.com Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.
702 Southwest 8th Street
PPR (formerly Pinault-Printemps- Bentonville, AR 72716
Redoute) Phone: 479-273-4000
Redcats Group www.walmartstores.com
5-7 rue du Delta
75009 Paris World of Good, Inc.,
France 5900 Hollis Street, suite X
Phone: +33 (0)1 56 92 98 00 Emeryville, CA 94608
Redcats USA Phone: 510-528-8400
463 7th Avenue Fax: 510-528-8440
New York, NY 10018 www.worldofgoodinc.com
Phone: 212-613-9500
www.redcats.com Woolrich, Inc.
2 Mill Street
Randa Accessories New Orleans Woolrich, PA 17779
Worldwide Corporate Headquarters Phone: 570-769-6464
200 James Drive East Fax: 570-769-6234
St. Rose, LA 70087 www.woolrich.com
Phone: 504-712-7100
January 2008 Packaged Facts iii

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Mens and Womens Fashion Accessories in the U.S.

Bags, Belts, Gloves, Hats, Scarves, Ties and Handkerchiefs

Packaged Facts 11200 Rockville Pike 800.298.5294 t

Why Buy From Us?

The right informationat the right time.

Products you needwith flexibility in pricing and delivery you want.

Personalized Client Support

Vice President of Publishing Don Montuori

Publisher Tatjana Meerman

Author Tim Dowd

Research Director David Sprinkle

Communications Associate Daniel Granderson

Publication Date January 2009

Copyright 2009 Packaged Facts

Mens and Womens Fashion Accessories in the U.S.:

Chapter 1 Executive Summary ................................................... 1

January 2009 Packaged Facts I

Chapter 1 Executive Summary [Cont.]

Summary of Report ....................................................................16

Chapter 2 Trends and Opportunities ........................................27

II Packaged Facts January 2009

Chapter 2 Trends and Opportunities [Cont.]

Chapter 3 The Market ................................................................ 35

January 2009 Packaged Facts III

Chapter 3 The Market [Cont.]

Chapter 4 The Marketers............................................................61

IV Packaged Facts January 2009

Chapter 4 The Marketers [Cont.]

The Competitive Situation......................................................... 77

January 2009 Packaged Facts V

Chapter 4 The Marketers [Cont.]

Chapter 5 Distribution and Retail............................................119

Chapter 6 The Consumer.........................................................135

VI Packaged Facts January 2009

Chapter 6 The Consumer [Cont.]

January 2009 Packaged Facts VII

Chapter 6 The Consumer [Cont.]

Appendix: Addresses of Selected Marketers .............................i

VIII Packaged Facts January 2009

Chapter 1 Executive Summary

Packaged Facts organizes fashion accessories into seven product categories:

o belts/small leather goods

In describing products that make up the available assortment of fashion accessories, it

January 2009 Packaged Facts 1

2 Packaged Facts January 2009

January 2009 Packaged Facts 3

Terms Used: A Glossary

Apparel versus Clothing

Better versus Bridge

See couture collections versus diffusion lines, below.

4 Packaged Facts January 2009

To take the measure of your carbon footprint, visit Al Gores

Couture Collections versus Diffusion Lines

Multilevel marketing refers to programs in which consumers become salespersons who in

January 2009 Packaged Facts 5

Refers to materials-sourcing from developing countries, according to practices that benefit

This term describes environmentally responsible actions or thinking, as in states of green-

Market versus Category versus Segment

6 Packaged Facts January 2009

Supermarket, Chain Drugstore, Mass Merchandiser

January 2009 Packaged Facts 7

Sustainable (also, Renewable)

Sustainability is closely allied with green-consciousness, and is a green concern.

Analysis of consumers purchase and use of fashion accessories is based on semi-annual