Stores Have Designs on High Fashion Gadgets

Stores Have Designs on High Fashion Gadgets
Some of the biggest fashion trends at department stores this holiday season have more to do with MP3 players than cashmere ponchos or fur-trimmed sweaters.

With high-tech gadgets at the top of many holiday wish lists, department stores such as Marshall Field's, Macy's and Bloomingdale's have stocked up on such items as $299 iPod music players, $700 pink cell phones, and $300 digital cameras.

It's a step backward for the big stores. Ten years ago, fearing competition from such stores as Best Buy and Wal-Mart, they abandoned electronics to focus on fashion.

"It's a recognition that these new electronics have become the must-haves as opposed to a new sweater," said Wendy Liebmann, president of WSL Strategic Retail.

May Department Stores has quadrupled its electronics offerings this season from a year ago at its Marshall Field's, Hecht's and Robinson-May stores.

Meanwhile, Bloomingdale's has increased its electronics offerings by 30 percent from a year ago with digital cameras, camcorders and miniature iPods.

Stores also are focusing on special, limited distribution items. Bloomingdale's, for example, has an exclusive deal with hip-hop fashion company Baby Phat by Kimora Lee Simmons to sell a collection of cell phones, including a $699 diamond-studded hot pink Motorola version.