Because of the target market of Belk and the department that I amworking with, I kept the collared necklaces in sub-classifications like pearls,embellishments and beading. When “shopping” I didn’t choose anything that wastoo avante garde for my customers. Southern women in the target market likebig and bold pieces, sure, but they are also very classic when it comes toclothing and their jewelry. As seen in the prices, I kept all of the pricesbelow $200.00.
Iseparated the layered necklaces into two different sub-classifications;edgy/modern and feminine/classic. The Feminine/Classic style is for thetrue Southern Belle who is very classic and likes to incorporate pearls with florals and coloredbeads. The Edgy/Modern style is for the women who are a little bit more intothe trendy side of fashion. You don’t see a lot of gold, pearls or beads beingused to create the entire piece, what you do see is those aspects beingincorporated into necklace to add little touches. Again, for the target marketI kept the prices under $200.
Embellishedand Simplistic are the two sub-classifications I chose forcuff bracelets. This, I thought, was the best way to organize the styles. Mostwomen who wear costume jewelry will begin with a necklace and go from there.Everyone has their own style; some like to go over the top and pair a statementnecklace with a statement bracelet, while others would rather pair a statementnecklace with simplistic jewelry. The variety offers the target customeroptions, with no right or wrong to mixing and matching. The cuff bracelets caneven be worn as a statement piece by themselves! I still added the classicelements that the target customer loves; pearls, diamonds, beading and gold.
Forthe bangles, I chose to sub-classify by style. Ichose three main sub-classifications; chunky, thin sets and beaded. The chunkybangles are less feminine than the other two and a little more simple, theyalso come in sets but are often sold by themselves. The thin sets are feminineand I like that some of the sets mix and match chunky and thin bangles, thisway the target customer can customize their own set of bangles and wear some bythemselves on occasion. The beaded bangles are just that; beaded! I kept withthe theme of a lot of gold, pearls and diamonds.
Forthe chandelier earrings, I used the very basicsub-classifications of gold and silver. When choosing the chandelier earringsto feature for the department, I stuck with the feminine/classy theme. Thechandelier earrings exude femininity and quality, with tons and pearls anddiamonds! The target customer is drawn to those things and these earrings areexactly what the target customer will be drawn to.
Irejected rings simply because of afunctionality factor. Unlike earrings, bracelets and necklaces, rings requiresizes. Because of sizing, customers have to try on the item and it may or maynot fit correctly. Also, they are not the ideal piece to be wearing on a day today basis. Rings get snagged on things and get in the way when working on acomputer or other such tasks. I rejected stud earrings because although manypeople like studs, they do not necessarily go along with costume jewelry. Whilethe target market might love the diamonds and pearls, they will not love thesmaller scale. The target customer wants to be noticed and make a statementwith their jewelry and stud earrings do not do that. I also rejected watchesbecause they do not have the “wow” factor of the other pieces in the category.Although watches are functional and can be created in very feminine, fancystyles, customers shopping for costume jewelry will not be looking/interestedin watches.
