Piercing Profits: Body Jewelry Market Broadens

by Emily Lambert

The Feel-Good Feeling

"Body jewelry is a recession-proof item," says Dennis Moreno, senior vice president of sales at SalesOne International in Norwalk, CT, home of the popular Body Vibe line. "You can buy a piece of jewelry to accent your body to make yourself feel good for only $10."

If sales are any indication, shoppers love that feel-good feeling. "For eight years, we've had an increase [in sales], year over year," Moreno says. To keep those sales coming, the company is constantly introducing new designs. The Body Vibe line has evolved from 500 SKUs eight years ago to more than 12,000 today. SalesOne now wholesales to roughly 50 carts nationwide and plans to launch a cart or kiosk start-up package by the end of the year for retailers who want to get in on the action but don't want to start from scratch.

Moreno isn't the only one in the body jewelry industry who's seeing blue skies these days. James Weber, president of the Association of Professional Piercers, based in Lawrence, KS, says that when he went to work for a Philadelphia body jewelry retailer in 1993, he wasn't sure the category had all that much potential. By 1995, he'd opened his own store, Infinite Body Piercing. It hasn't let up since then," he says. "It's only gotten stronger."

At Culture Craze in Tsawwassen, British Columbia, which operates 18 corporate and four franchised carts and kiosks, sales are up 25 percent over the prior year according to owner Lisa Hayward. Some locations that have grown from a cart into a kiosk are up 90 percent. Based on that success, Hayward plans to offer franchises in the US soon.

Significant sales increases are also reported from Michael Campobasso, managing member of retailer Rockstar Body Jewelry in Plainfield, IL, who adds that body jewelry makes a great year-round concept. Rockstar has five year-round locations (two kiosks and three carts). "Our sales in 2008 are up 13 percent," he says.

An expanding market

These sales increases are reflective of how mainstream body jewelry has become over the years, says Michael Zysman, owner of Desert Trends Body Jewelry, a wholesaler in Tempe, AZ with more than 2,300 accounts worldwide. "It's now socially acceptable to have eyebrow, nose or labret piercings that five or 10 years ago would not be permitted by many employers and parents."

He adds that it's "more common than not" for those in their late teens and early twenties to have "at least one piercing." More than 60 percent "get their first piercing during the college years of 18 to 22."

But it's not only college kids sporting belly rings, Moreno says. Soccer moms, stay-at-home dads, 30-somethings with no kids-it seems these days everyone is expressing themselves with body jewelry. The body jewelry buyer demographic has gotten much larger over the last ten years, says Moreno, rising from the 18-to-24 age range to more like 18 to 40.

Celebrities sporting a huge range of body jewelry elements are further proof of the category's acceptance in the mainstream-and help fuel the trend, says Campobasso. And since so many celebrities wear bare-midriff styles of clothing these days, the category is "getting so much more exposure."

Plus there are a host of new products on the market that are drawing additional customers, including blinking belly rings, monogram belly rings and a host of items that glow.

Ned Harb, owner of Body Arts in Livonia, MI, sells body jewelry from carts in 10 area malls with the help of various family members and friends. Whatever body part is pierced, "we have something to go in it," he says. Body Arts carts carry an average of 10,000 to 12,000 pieces. "The bottom line is selling the customer the items that are right for their piercing. And we only focus on body jewelry, not regular jewelry like necklaces and chains.

"There's no one big-seller," he adds. "It just depends on what the customer wants to buy. We focus on customer service, which means determining what the customer wants, not what we want to sell. Everything sells across the board. I have a hard time keeping the shelves stocked, but that's a good thing."

The top-seller at Body Vibe is navel jewelry, and the company offers more than 6,000 styles. Within that category, anything made from surgical steel is hot. "Surgical steel navels are the number-one selling item," says Moreno, adding that customers seem drawn to cherries, flowers and butterflies.

At Rockstar, belly rings of any kind are top sellers these days, responsible for about 70 percent of the company's sales. Styles that dangle and those that fill up the entire belly button are especially popular, notes Campobasso.

In Philadelphia, most of Weber's Infinite Body Piercing customers go for nose rings. "The popular piercing now is definitely the nostril," he says. A cubic zirconia in a small setting is the most popular nose ring style. In nearby Northern New Jersey, three The Tribal Hut Body Jewelry carts report significant tongue ring sales, particularly barbells.

Whether the accessories end up in the belly, nose, tongue or somewhere else, anything with jewels tends to sell, says Tod Almighty, sales representative for Anatometal, Inc., a wholesaler in Santa Cruz, CA. "People love the bling."

Body jewelry customers are a notoriously loyal group that will come back again and again to check out and buy the latest styles, specialty retailers say. "We have one customer who for three years now has bought five new belly rings every single week," says Campobasso.

Anatometal is also seeing a surge in microdermal body jewelry, Almighty says. As its name implies, microdermal body jewelry requires an implant under the skin to hold the jewelry in place. For less conservative styles, consumers often stretch their holes to accommodate thicker jewelry referred to as heavy gauge body jewelry. Heavy gauge is the "newest craze in body jewelry," says Hayward at Culture Craze, which retails many different HG styles, including tunnels, plugs, spirals, machine heads, stretchers, hoops and horseshoes.

There are other styles of body jewelry, as well, to serve these cutting-edge customers, such as nipple rings. Wholesaler Desert Trends has seen a big increase in sales of their nipple shields this year, in particular ornate designs that conform to the shape of the breast and are secured by a single barbell through the nipple. According to Zysman, nipple shields "took off in popularity after Janet Jackson's 'wardrobe malfunction' back in 2004." For those without the actual nipple piercing, Body Vibe manufactures a line of nipple clip-ons, bendable pieces with charms that are strong sellers as novelty items, Morenon says.

Place matters

It's important to note that best-selling styles vary by area. Culture Craze carts and kiosks sell a wide assortment of belly, tongue, eyebrow and nose rings (all with a lifetime guarantee) no matter where the cart is located, but belly button rings are bestsellers in high-end malls and heavy-gauge items sell best in centers with a strong teen demographic.

Naturally, since body jewelry is more noticeable in the summer months, the category enjoys "another Christmas season" during the warmer months. With girls in bathing suits and low-cut clothing that shows off their belly rings, "summer is always best" at The Tribal Hut's three New Jersey carts, according to owners Amie and David Rothstein.

Moreno agrees, adding that in the south, southwest and western states, navel rings are strong sellers every month. "It's a year-round business." In colder climates, after Labor Day, "there's an influx of sales into nose and ear rings."

In addition to repeat customers, retailers will find great mark-up potential with body jewelry. The Fleur de Lis belly ring from CA Trading, an importer, wholesaler and distributor of body jewelry based in Houston, TX, wholesales for just $3.35 and retails between $14.99 and $19.99.

At Desert Trends, the majority of merchandise wholesales for $1 or less and retails for $5 to $10, depending on the retailer's location and local market conditions, Zysman says. "We wholesale basic pieces as low as 14 cents apiece."

With wholesale prices that low, start-up costs for a complete cart or kiosk are very attractive. At SalesOne, Moreno notes that low start-up costs and high markups are a recipe for success in specialty retail: "For $2,500 you could probably be in the whole category and bring back $10,000 in sales your first month."