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WALL STREET JOURNAL: JEWELRY WAITS FOR NO MAN August 18, 2011 (1 comment)
New York—An article in this morning’s Wall Street Journal echoes what many in the jewelry industry already know: affluent women are buying designer jewelry for themselves, and quite often. With the holiday season around the corner—and according to its calculations 2/3 of all jewelry sales for the year occurring during this time—the article encourages jewelers to amp up their focus on women.
Jewelry industry statistics on female self purchase already are strong, if somewhat underplayed. Since the late 1980s, for example, 2/3 or more of all gold jewelry sold was bought by women. Silver always has been primarily a self-purchase, with figures there tracking at 90% or higher, and pearls have enjoyed a 75% female self-purchase rate. Statistics for diamond jewelry are, not surprisingly, somewhat lower, but diamonds still are popular when they’re used as design elements in jewelry.
The Wall Street Journal article says affluent women treat fine jewelry as a fashion item; something they buy “just because,” not necessarily for a special occasion. Designers such as Todd Reed (whose jewelry is pictured above), Ippolita, Emily Armenta, and Ivanka Trump, who design jewelry as a precious accessory, rather than a milestone marker, are finding great success with this audience.
Retailers are starting to take notice. While Trump’s namesake boutique on Madison Avenue in New York is, not surprisingly, lushly feminine, other more traditional retailers such as H. Stern—and even JC Penney—are seeing the potential of this demographic. The article quotes Susan Nicholas, CEO of H. Stern, as saying the company’s ads are aimed squarely at women, and feature strong women like actresses Ashley Judd or Katie Holmes. Andrea Hansen, CEO of Ivanka Trump, says as the brand moves into independent jewelry stores, she’s looking for retailers who clearly cater to women, even steering clear of stores with a huge watch division.
“I know they’re selling mostly to men,” she says. 90% of the company’s clients are female self-purchasers, she told the Journal.
At mass retailer JC Penney, meanwhile, its “Platinaire” alloy of 92.5% silver and 5% platinum (the paper didn’t say what the remaining 2.5% is), was so popular in bridal that it will be expanded into the mainstream, while it plans the launch of a fashion line called “Ella Inspired,” priced from $250 to $1,250 in September.