The Business: Seeing Green in 2013

Get your staff up to speed on the colors of fashion this year

BY ADAM GRAHAM

Published in the February 2013 issue

Pantone, the fashion industry’s source for color trend reporting, announced that emerald is the Color of the Year in fashion for 2013. This should be on every jeweler’s radar as a great opportunity this year and something that you should be ready to discuss with clients when talking about their jewelry selections.

So does this mean that you should go out and stock up on emerald jewelry? Not necessarily, but you may want to have some in your merchandising mix for obvious reasons. And remember, it is the color that is important here. Emeralds obviously fit the bill when it comes to matching the color, but you can also stock other green-hued gemstones like tsavorite garnet, green tourmaline, chrome diopside, green quartz, jade and malachite to give you a range of price points within the emerald color range.

Also consider stocking complementary colors, as your clients may not want to accessorize with the exact same color as their outfits. Check with your American Gem Trade Association member gem dealers for ideas and inspiration.

What is your incentive to add more color to your inventory? How about great margins and more fashion credibility? There is no commodity-like price list for colored gemstones, which means you can still make a healthy profit selling colored gemstone jewelry. If you are going to invest time and resources in your business, why wouldn’t you focus on your most profitable categories? This doesn’t mean just adding a few emeralds, sapphires and rubies to that case in the back corner. Display eye-catching colored gemstone jewelry in your front cases and you will be surprised at the attention it receives.

Go to Pantone.com on a regular basis to make sure you know and understand the upcoming color trends in fashion. Typically, they will have those colors reported two or three seasons in advance. This knowledge will help you in your buying and in-season merchandising. Share this with your staff as well, as they will undoubtedly be the ones fielding fashion-related questions from your clients. I would suggest tearing out ads from fashion magazines and role-playing scenarios on accessorizing the apparel in the ads. This will make your staff more confident in advising clients and it may help you discover some holes in your product mix.

It is up to you to make sure your staff is trained and ready to assist clients who come in needing jewelry to accessorize their new emerald green outfits. Being in tune to the important fashion colors will go a long way in building credibility with your clients as their source for fashion advice with accessories.

COMMENTARY BY ADAM GRAHAM

Adam Graham is the outgoing marketing manager for AGTA and the newly appointed CEO of Erica Courtney Inc. Email him at: adam@ericacourtney.com