Specialty Items Rein Supreme in Down Ecomony

Today's economy is the perfect time for us designers who specialize in specialty items instead of apparel collections to gain more sales. Items such as accessories, t-shirts jewelry and skirts are fun and easy buys for consumers. The more unique and also salable the better.

Today's issue of WWD posted an article on this subject titled, "Buyers Wait Longer, Scour Harder for Special Items". The article indicates that store buyers shopped at the recent trade shows the way customers shop in stores, very cautiously. This means that the more unique your product, the the more people will notice it. Think about yourself as a shopper, are you purchasing single items or are you buying spring/summer clothes like you normally would in an upbeat economy?

This is the perfect opportunity for designers to showcase their unique items by doing trunk shows at local boutiques. This eliminates the risk for retailers as you would pay them a commission for your total sales for the event. Everyone wins in a trunk show event. You and the retailer make money from sales. You get to test your product and if you get a lot of interest, the retailer may want to place a wholesale order for your items that did well!

So, start making your phone calls to your local boutiques and schedule a few trunk shows for this summer. After all, everyone loves fun and unique summer tees, jewelry and bags!

*Pictured above: The Jenny bag from the Kali Collection. Click here for more details!