Jewellery World Magazine - March 2020

COVID-19 a boost for
Australian manufacturers
The retail and tourism sectors are likely to be hit hard by COVID-19 but the silver
lining will be found in the strength of Australian manufacturers.
The threat of the coronavirus (COVID-
19), in combination with the impact of
the bushfires, is expected to result in a
loss of up to 1.5 million international visitors
to Australia according to a Deloitte Access
Economics report. Around the world, the
virus is having a swift affect on the jewellery
market.
Jewellery giant Pandora has closed around a
third of its stores in mainland China, one of its
top markets, saying that business there has
ground to a halt.
“As I sit here and watch the Chinese business,
it is in a standstill mode, I mean there’s
pennies being sold,” Pandora’s chief executive
officer, Alexander Lacik, told Reuters, as
he described an “unprecedented” drop in
business.
To date, Pandora has closed 70 of its
240 shops in China on the order of the
government and at its remaining ones, mostly
in shopping malls, customer traffic is “next to
none”, according to the brand’s boss.
China is the world’s biggest luxury goods
market and Pandora makes about 10% of
annual sales from Hong Kong, China and its
tourists.
Chow Tai Fook
Jewellery Group,
the world’s
second largest
jewellery chain by
market value after
Tiffany & Co. has
also closed stores
in Hong Kong
and Tiffany has
closed outlets in
mainland China.
Manufacturing in
mainland China
has slowed as
the government
there orders closures of factories and millions
of workers are restricted from travelling.
The impact on supply lines is yet to fully play
out, but at the recent Inhorgenta Munich
fair in Germany, many brands were revealing
difficulties in obtaining stock - a situation that
can only flow through to retailers.
The silver lining in a worryingly dark cloud
is the strength of the Australian jewellery
manufacturing sector. Opting for Australianmade
is more important than ever and we
are lucky to have local companies who are
able to swiftly turn around high-quality and
cost-effective product.
Manufacturers who have seen customers
leave them for cheaper overseas
competitors are likely to welcome them
back to place orders in the coming weeks.
Keeping Australian retail windows wellstocked
during a global crisis is one of the
strengths of our tight-knit industry.
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jewellery world - March 2020