Versace’s Fashionable Move: Accessories Lead to Profit

Sexier than this year’s top model! More fashionable than the hottest Italian design! Able to outsell core product in a single bound! It’s Accessories!!

That’s no exaggeration. A recent story in the Wall Street Journal illustrates just how important and profitable accessories have become to a wide variety of retailers.

It turns out that Versace, the Italian design firm, is shifting away from its money-losing clothing line to focus on more profitable accessories, such as luggage, shoes, handbags, leather goods, home furnishings and automobile interiors. Accessories last year accounted for more than 33 percent of Versace’s $383 million in revenue, a 27 percent jump in two short years. They also contributed to the company’s $25.4 million in profit, its first after years of losses, the Journal reported. In most cases, the accessories generate more profit than the designer’s core clothing line, had a longer shelf life and quicker go-to-market cycles, according to the article.