Jeweller - March 2020

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Buying Groups Report
Leading Edge Jewellers
with Charlie Davey, General Manager – Members
& Category Management
Est. 1986 | 5 BOARD MEMBERS
02 9497 4000 • LEADINGEDGEGROUP.COM.AU
Strength in
Numbers
Total
Members
91
89
2
Australia
NZ
Total
Stores
128
124
4
Australia
NZ
What are the prerequisites for joining?
Our application process remains quite
simple and consists of standard trade
checks and proof of assets.
We look to partner with retailers who are
dedicated to building a successful fine
jewellery business and eager to be part
of a like-minded community.
As supporters of family-driven values,
honest and ethical trading have always
been fundamental requirements.
What are the benefits of joining?
As part of Australia’s largest buying group,
with more than 720 independent retailers
across eight industries, our members are
part of a community of retail specialists.
Membership benefits include supplier
discounts with attractive, cost-effective
agreements, and central billing and
credit featuring simple online invoicing.
We also offer opt-in digital and print
marketing programs focused on delivering
sales, and access to a market-leading
e-commerce website platform.
Non-trade benefits such as saving
thousands of dollars annually on insurance,
freight, EFTPOS merchant rates and more
are major benefits that our members enjoy.
Members also have access to our jewellery
retail coaching, inclusive of stock ranging
and management, merchandising, profitand-loss
analysis and financial planning,
management and staff training, as well
as the all-important store design.
What unique benefits are offered?
Our advantage lies in the practical
application of our extensive retail and
marketing knowledge. By providing expert
coaching and retail services, we enable our
family of members to grow in a challenging
environment, ensuring stores are designed
and merchandised for optimum return.
We offer a digital presence that increases
both online and in-store sales, along with
marketing programs that provide tangible
sales results. Our group’s size allows our
members to cross-promote into other
supported merchandise categories as well
as participate in company-wide promotions
rather than just their dedicated category,
such as jewellery.
What are your major achievements over
the past two years?
We have continued to invest heavily in our
digital technology and platform and are
proud to offer members the industry’s
most comprehensive digital and traditional
marketing support package, including
individualised web marketing via their
store’s personalised website.
Has your traditional marketing changed
in the past two years?
Yes. Traditionally our marketing programs
focused on print campaigns and while
we still provide traditional catalogues
opportunities for members, we also
offer many digital promotions and socialmedia
assets.
How have you improved your B2C and
social media marketing strategy?
We now offer our members opt-in
opportunities each month focusing on a
themed jewellery collection. In addition, we
support a significant number of members
in the design, content management and
construction of personalised websites for
their individual stores.
How have you improved your B2B and
internal technology?
Our B2B website is the cornerstone of our
campaign distribution. We are currently
developing and investing heavily in a
ground-breaking digital platform which is
scheduled for release this financial year.
What other promotional support do you
offer members?
In a fast-moving marketplace, our members
value currency and expertise very highly.
That’s why it’s important to offer our
LEADING EDGE
Top 3
Advantages
• Independent
retailer
community
that goes
beyond
jewellery –
720 members
across eight
categories
• Expert
coaching and
retail services
• Comprehensive
digital and
traditional
marketing
support
package
members personalised marketing services,
including but not limited to, social media
advertising and collateral for special events.
We also create bespoke designs for our
exclusive brands. More importantly, we
are currently bringing on board experts
dedicated to marketing research and
social media.
How do you support local jewellery
manufacturers?
Our mandate is all about supporting familyoriented
businesses and their communities.
We employ a ‘hands on’ approach with our
supply partners by tailoring offers specific
to our members.
Supplier partners have the opportunity to
partake in digital marketing campaigns
which we market to our members. We
use our conferences to work with industry
professionals and share new opportunities.
We also sponsor and promote many
industry awards and events.
What is the cost of membership?
To be part of one of Australia’s premier retail
buying groups, it’s as simple as this: an $89
per month membership fee with no joining
fees, no exit fees, and no lock-in contracts.
How have you improved your training and
education in the past two years?
The Friedman Group – a leading retail
consulting and sales training firm – is an
ongoing part of our dedicated offering to
support our members, helping their teams
to strive for sales goals and outstanding
customer service.
We also offer educational webinars twice
a month that focus on business needs and
information to help our members put plans
into action.
Our conferences are also designed with
training and education in mind, with our
guest speakers and trainers being the
best in the field of their expertise – from
understanding how to drive social media
and marketing campaigns to business
growth and analysis.
42 | March 2020