Charming Charlie

Charming Charlie is a women’s contemporary jewelry and accessories retailer. Launched in 2004 by Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Charlie Chanaratsopon, the brand is known for merchandising its broad assortment of product by color, which includes fashion jewelry, handbags, accessories, apparel, footwear, and more, ranging in price from $5 to $150 for select limited edition items.

Today, the company has grown to over $500M in sales and has more than 350 global retail stores across the United States, Canada, and the Middle East quickly transforming from "the best kept secret" into a flourishing global brand. Charming Charlie CEO Charlie Chanaratsopon plans to increase that number to 850 within the next seven to eight years.

For more information, visit www.charmingcharlie.com.

New York City Flagship Store

In June 2015, the company opened its New York City flagship store situated at 445 Fifth Avenue. The 16,000-square-foot store features three floors, two of which are allocated to retail space, with the third housing the brand’s press office.

Known for offering a wide array of affordable fashion accessories merchandised by color, the New York City flagship store offers the full range of product including fashion jewelry, handbags, small leather goods, scarves, watches, sunglasses, select footwear and apparel, a special occasion collection, and more. It also features a curated display of product that is unique to the store.

The interior space resembles the label’s 350 existing stores, with additional decorative touches unique to the new location. “It’s a lot larger,” said Chanaratsopon.“It has the heritage of all of our stores, but it also has pieces of art curated for this location,” he said. Among the store’s decorations are walnut flooring laid in a herringbone pattern; a locally sourced marble and granite staircase; custom furniture, including pink Tibetan lambskin chairs, and seven changing rooms — more than any location — for the brand’s apparel offerings.

Global Expansion

Charming Charlie plans to open 50 to 75 stores in the Middle East in the next five years in a joint venture agreement with UAE-based Apparel Group. Dubai-based Apparel Group has agreements to operate Charming Charlie stores in Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, and Saudi Arabia, along with the UAE. “There is strong demand across the Middle East for Charming Charlie’s effortless style, incredible value and fun shopping experience,” said Nilesh Ved, chairman of Apparel Group.

“Dubai is a our first overseas market because it’s a global city. It is the quintessential shopping destination, so it’s the ideal place for visibility and to begin global growth. Tourist traffic in Dubai is more than top shopping malls in the U.S.,” Chanaratsopon told WWD. The Middle East outposts of Charming Charlie carry the brand’s signature look and feel, with pink lacquer double doors and a residential-style interior that mixes feminine, midcentury accents with luxury materials and whimsical details.

Chanaratsopon next has his eyes set on Asia, with agreements already in place to open stores in the Philippines. He said he will be traveling to his native Thailand soon to assess opportunities there. “We will be very active in the next few years,” he said.

Chanaratsopon said he may adjust the buy slightly to fit with local cultural norms, but he expects that it won’t change much for the region. “The opportunity here for accessories is strong. We have high comfort that we will do well in this area. The region loves color, and our stores offer that in a unique way,” he said.

Chanaratsopon plans to move at an equal pace internationally replicating his formula of merchandising an assortment of affordably priced jewelry, handbags, footwear, and apparel by color.

Awards

In 2013, Charming Charlie was honored with The Accessories Council's "Specialty Retailer" ACE Award, ranked number 745 on Inc. Magazine's annual list of "Top 5,000 Fastest Growing Businesses," and was featured on Forbes Magazine's "Ones to Watch" list. Prior to that, in 2010, Charming Charlie received the "Hot Retailer of the Year" award from the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) and the "Marketer of the Year" award in the Retail Category from the American Marketing Association (AMA). Within the same year, Charlie was honored with Ernest & Young's "Entrepreneur of the Year" award in the Retail Category.