Stats Tell Top Selling Wholesale Fashion Accessories Of Summer 2009

July 2009

Greetings!

The business curve for many retailers has a summer slump that is as regular as clockwork. Add to that a slow economy and business owners have every right to be very cautious. Still, we can't sell off an empty wagon, but the inventory we buy has to turn.

Get ready for some encouragement because hats and sunglasses are two items that are solid sellers every summer (even in a summer slump). This season's sales statistics confirm the fact clearly showing wholesale hats leading all the other accessories. So let's take a close look at what hats are selling and see how this can boost your sales.

Cowboy Hats Grab the Brass Ring

Wholesale casual hats on our site start with the code "HTC" and statistics for sales from June 1 to July 15 show 46% of HTC sales are cowboy hats. Wow! That even surprises us! So much for those fashion forecasters that said cowboy hats were only a fad. Consumers just won't let go of this American icon in headwear that rises to the top of sales year after year. Cowboy hats fit in so easily for nearly every outdoor event--sports, festivals, concerts, vacation, fishing, and the beach. Guys and gals alike look good in cowboy hats and they appeal to every age group.

Now what style is selling the best? Natural straws, especially the well-worn looks called distressed, lead the pack. These are the cowboy hats so popular with country music entertainers and celebrities and they are the fastest sellers for retailers. Straw cowboy hats are usually shapeable and sometimes hats in raffia straw are crushable. Price is becoming more important, especially with a tight economy so cowboy hats under $10.00 wholesale are leading sales because retailers can sell them for under $20.00.

What about cowboy hats with color? Here you can have a captive audience. As wholesalers and retailers that thought cowboy hats were a fad drop out of the picture, supply dwindles while demand continues. Black and white will always have a market and red and pink sells to ladies that are into red hats. Other fashion colors appeal to the cowgirls as a fashion statement or worn in groups by cheerleading squads, majorettes, band members, and others. Include some cowboy hats in your headwear selection and pick up some dollars your competition missed.

Style Trumps Price in Ladies Headwear

When it comes to ladies casual hats, forget about economic woes because price isn't selling ladies headwear. No, style is the motivating factor and statistics prove it with fashionable ladies casual hats outdistancing inexpensive headwear by capturing the number two spot with 25% of total sales. Nothing is better than wide brims--the wider the better. The market for fashionable ladies hats does not hinge on price like cowboy hats. Nice designs run the full gamut of price from around $5.00 wholesale to around $15.00. Yes, look carries more weight with striking designs outselling less attractive headwear even if the stylish hats are twice the price.

Beyond wide brims, kettle shapes are good. These are summer hats with a brim that flips up all the way around. While natural straws are always good, so are colors especially white, ivory, natural, and black. Some fashion colors like sage and pink seem to be irresistible. Cautious retailers failed to adequately prepare for the summer's demand so this market is underserved. You can get inventory in a week and test your market. If demand is good, you can restock just as quickly and avoid big risks with "just on time" inventory.

Church Hats have High Demand

The United States is fortunate to have a unique market of dressy hats for church that some retailers build an entire business on. Normally wholesalers import one shipment of these church hats and really don't have enough time to get a second shipment in the same season if the dressy hats sell out. While demand continues, retailers struggle to find inventory.

Good news for you--here is a market hungry for headwear and you have a source for the inventory to capitalize on filling the needs. Every season we try to overbuy dress hats because demand just doesn't seem to let up. So you have a market, a source, and best of all, customers for church hats that expect to pay the price for nice headwear. Selling reasonably priced church hats is normally a haggle-free business with customers that are pre-conditioned to the price of elegance in church hats. Take advantage of the demand for church hats in mid-summer when supply is low by being the "go-to" source that can fill the needs.

All the economy talk has many retailers feeling some anxiety. The business climate across the country seems like a patchwork quilt of ups and downs. Some cities are posting below average unemployment figures while a city of the same size 50 miles away may be above average. We are half way through the summer. Is the worst behind us? Cautious optimism is the forecast for the near future perhaps best expressed by Accessories Magazine's statement that "retailers and manufacturers these days are filled with cautious relief that the free-fall has leveled and that stores are ordering once again".

If that is true for the big box stores, how much more you in small business can enjoy a sense of relief. You are much closer to the community of buyers than the majors and moderate pricing along with hands-on management has navigated your business through difficult times. By next newsletter fall merchandise will be arriving with fresh looks that will give consumers a chance to treat themselves to some uplifting perks without breaking the bank. This is the strength of your business and next newsletter will have plenty of irresistible surprises.

Copyright © 2009 Accessory Wholesale Inc. Feel free to reproduce the newsletter as long as the copyright notice is included and a link to www.awnol.com

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