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| Tue, Dec. 01 - - Mobile - RSS | |
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Cell users want fashion and function
Date published: 10/19/2006
By JoANNE VIVIANO ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER COLUMBUS, Ohio--For Denise Albert, choosing a cell phone has nothing to do with ring tones, instant messages or megapixels. "To me, it's what it looks like," said Albert, a 53-year-old campaign fundraiser from suburban Powell. "I want a good design. Period." Albert represents a fashion trend marketers are tapping into as they offer mobile phones with sleeker designs and in more colors, such as blue and pink, and accessories ranging from charms and stickers to crystals and tiny designer purses. While some accessories are for necessity--such as in-car chargers--others are for personalization. "Where we had A or B, now we have A through Z," said Neil Strother, research director for mobile devices at The NPD Group market research firm. Cell phone accessories--from decorations to holsters to hands-free devices--bring in $1 billion a year at the retail level in the U.S. and the market is growing 10 percent to 15 percent annually, said Roger Entner, a Boston-based analyst with the market research firm Ovum. "These things have a 70 [percent] to 80 percent profit margin. They're a real moneymaker," he said. "And it's growing rapidly because Americans see cell phones more and more as items for self expression." Sprint has teamed up with Dooney & Burke to offer purses that take the place of cell phone cases--an Italian crocodile leather wristlet was listed at $124.99 on the Sprint Web site. A few bucks can buy a charm featuring Hello Kitty, Sponge Bob, the SuperGirl logo or other designs at a Claire's accessory shop or one of many Internet sites. "We see girls decorating their phones and, a week later, they take everything off and decorate it differently," said Chuck Strottman, director of marketing for Tween Brands Inc., based in the Columbus suburb of New Albany. The kid-sized, oval Firefly Mobile phone sold well last holiday season at Tween Brands' Limited Too stores, which market to girls ages 7 to 14, he said. Girls can change the phone's look with patterned, translucent and glow-in-the dark shells. Accessory sales--especially charms, stickers, faceplates-- account for about 10 percent of business at Adam Anolik's Wireless Zone store in Philadelphia. He said popular logos are of the Philadelphia Eagles and other sports teams and fashion brands such as Baby Phat.
Date published: 10/19/2006
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