Nine West Tops Department Store Handbag Sales

Nine West was the top handbag brand sold in department stores during 1998, according to NPD Group Inc., a Port Washington, N.Y.-based market research firm that tracks retail sales. Nine West accounted for 17% of handbag sales (measured by dollar volume), followed by Coach (16%), Liz Claiborne (11%) and Dooney & Bourke (7%). Private-label handbag manufacturers generated 8% of sales. More than 75% of handbags sold for $50 or less, according to NPD. Private-label brands dominated the market for bags priced below $50, while Nine West dominated the $50-to-$100 range. Coach was the big seller in the $100-and-up market. In an unrelated development, Nine West parent company Nine West Group is the target of a class-action suit filed in New York alleging that the company and several large department store chains have illegally kept prices for 12 brands of women’s shoes artificially high. The Federal Trade Commission is also investigating the company for price-fixing allegations.