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Fashion Accessories
Fashion accessories and clothing are inseparable. This is because decorative fashion accessories supplement an individual’s outfit. The most common fashion accessory items include bridge jewelry, handbags, belts, scarves, umbrellas and sunglass. United States Census Bureau estimates that 9 million Americans are employed in the fashion accessories industry. During the year 2011, $50 Billion was realized from the sale of fashion accessories (24). This clearly means that fashion accessories highly contribute to the revenue stream for the fashion industry. Branding of accessories by designers is important since it helps in targeting a certain segment of the market. Consumers are driven by status and attitude when choosing a brand to represent their personality. Therefore, fashion brands should focus on the shifting trends and customers’ psychology. Product licensing is extremely crucial for the success of any entrepreneur (Kuratko 10). This is because it ensures ownership and compliance to all legal requirements during the production and sale of the accessories.
There are five key segments in fashion accessory industry. They include geographic, gender-related, behavior-related, lifestyle, and age-related segments. According to Gerval and Sasha, lifestyle and gender-related segments are the major trend determinants in the fashion accessory industry (62). This is because the market is predominantly flooded with women accessories.
Trends in fashion
accessories keep changing depending on various factors such as economic stability
and weather conditions. Impressive sales of various accessories have been noted
over the recent years. Sales from handbags have increased because consumers are
willing to spend increased money on branded quality products. Improving economy
has led to the growth of sales from bridge jewelry. Colder temperatures have
also increased the sales from scarves and gloves. However, sales from sport
watches, sneakers and winter boots have been on the decline. This is attributed
to the weakness in these accessory categories to adapt with the changing consumer
interests.
Work Cited
Gerval, Olivier, and Sasha Wardell. Fashion Accessories. Richmond Hill, Canada: Firefly Books, 2010. Print.
Kuratko, Donald F. Entrepreneurship: Theory, Process, Practice. Mason, Ohio: South-Western Cengage learning, 2010. Print
United States Census Bureau. Current Industrial Report Series: Instruction Manual for Reporting in Quarterly Survey Mq23a. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Dept. of Commerce, United States Census Bureau, 2012. Print.