Halle Joy In the News
Reprinted with permission
Halle Joy: 2012 "Brand to Watch"
Steve and Brenda Slaughter know fashion. They owned and operated a chain of fashion accessory stores, starting 38 years ago, which they have since sold. For their next venture, they designed and manufactured women’s accessories for charities and nonprofit groups. People would see the product and ask, “Why are you doing this for everybody else?” That’s when the couple started dreaming of their own wholesale business.
Three years ago, the dream became a reality when they founded Halle Joy, a line that takes its inspiration from “the greatest story ever told,” says Steve Slaughter.With some 150 products in eight collections, top fashion groupings are Grace (denim bags and nylon bags embroidered with their signature Grace heart), Hope (creative cross design embroidered on nylon) and Noah (realistic animal prints).
Each collection includes jewelry ($10–$40 cost) and handbags ($17.50–$32 cost). In 2012, the Love collection debuts, with roses and hearts in a black, white and red palette. As an Industry Partner with Texas Christian University, Slaughter volunteers to help guide students in product design and textile design, which has greatly benefited Halle Joy. Each semester, students are tasked with designing a collection of goods that tells the Halle Joy story. Slaughter says it’s like having a “million dollar design department” at his six-person company. “We are investing in our community, but our community is investing in us,” he says. Giving back is important to the Slaughters, who donate 10% of pretax profits through their charitable arm, Points of Joy, that helps orphans, disaster relief and other causes around the world.
Slaughter is optimistic about 2012. “We more than expect to double our sales... momentum is moving us forward quickly,” he adds (817) 832-1935, hallejoy.com.
Halle Joy Collections to be Made Available in Retail Locations
FORT WORTH, TX (November 23, 2011) -- Fort Worth, Texas – based Halle Joy Collections officially announced today that it will begin making its products available across the country through partner retail venues. The task of locating retail venues will be accomplished by Manufacture Representative Groups, The Southern Link, Ron Bauman, and Palmer and Associates. “We are very impressed with Halle Joy’s collections and our customers so far have been very receptive to the fashion, the stories, and the cause behind these exciting and fresh accessory collections,” said Marc Rice, with The Southern Link.
Since its founding in 2010, Halle Joy has been available only through a small network of independent direct sales representatives and through the company’s website. The decision was made recently to test a distribution model utilizing more traditional retail channels, and that test led to a new direction for the company. “We had grown to personally love this group of Halle Joy Ambassadors, who were selling primarily through their own personal networks and through home shows. But once we emerged from our introduction phase, we found that the channel would not be feasible for Halle Joy in the long-run,” said Halle Joy CEO, Steve Slaughter. “Although current Ambassadors are permitted to continue selling to their personal networks, we have frozen the recruitment of new Ambassadors and we will instead focus on growing our penetration within select retail channels,” Slaughter said.
In September, Halle Joy began making its products available on a limited basis at a recent wholesale show in Dallas, Texas and at another in Atlanta Georgia in October. In addition, wholesale representatives began showing the collections on a limited basis and taking orders to select retail companies and boutiques. The response from the retail community exceeded Halle Joy projections.
About HALLE JOY
Halle Joy is built around two primary corporate values:
· Creating beautiful collections of fashion jewelry, handbags, and accessories that enhance the physical, mental, and spiritual beauty of those who wear them
· Investing in Points of Joy to make the lives of people around the world more joyful
Halle Joy products are sold and distributed primarily through its website and through a growing list of retail establishments around the country.
About Points of Joy (Halle Joy’s Global Giving Program)
Halle Joy is committed, not only to designing beautiful products, but also investing in global projects that help make life more joyful for people around the world. A portion of the proceeds from every piece the company sells goes to support causes around the world. Customers are invited to choose their favorite cause at checkout.
For more information about Halle Joy, visit www.hallejoy.com.
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