Jeweller - April 2020

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News JCK trade shows postponed due to coronavirus pandemic Michael Hill International closes stores Michael Hill International’s New Zealand and Canadian stores have also been closed indefinitely as the pandemic escalates worldwide. Its online stores will continue to operate; e-commerce accounts for 3 per cent of total revenue. MORE BREAKING NEWS JEWELLERMAGAZINE.COM JCK Las Vegas is the US’ largest jewellery trade show. Jewellery trade shows JCK Las Vegas and JCK Luxury have been postponed to later in 2020, following health and safety advice from US authorities. JCK Luxury was due to begin on 31 May, while JCK Las Vegas – the US’ largest jewellery trade show – was scheduled for 2–5 June. Organisers Reed Exhibitions and the Reed Jewelry Group said the decision was made “after careful consideration and comprehensive discussions”. “After consulting with national experts, our customer, and closely monitoring developments and reviewing guidance and advice from renowned national public health officials, the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO), we have decided it is in the best interest of all our JCK community to postpone the show,” a statement read. While Reed confirmed the show would be rescheduled, no new dates had been announced at the time of publication. The decision to postpone the event was announced on 18 March, following an increase in the number of US coronavirus cases to more than 9,000. By 29 March, the case figure had risen to more than 124,000, with the US surpassing Italy as the country with the highest number of active coronavirus patients. At the time of publication, there had been 188,000 cases with at least 3,600 fatalities. In response to the crisis, the US Department of State has introduced a temporary ban on travel to the US from China, Iran, the European Union, Switzerland and the UK, and closed its border with Canada for non-essential travel. The US Congress also passed a $US2 trillion package to support businesses and taxpayers. On 24 March, the Australian government announced a ban on all international travel. Michael Hill has closed stores in Canada, New Zealand and Australia and stood down staff. Following the Australian Government’s guideline for all non-essential stores to cease trading in order to curb the spread of the coronavirus, Michael Hill International closed all 165 Australian stores for an indefinite period from 23 March. Australia is the company’s largest market, accounting for 55 per cent of revenue. In a statement, the company said it would “re-open as soon as we are given approval by government health authorities”. The company noted a significant “drop off in trade” in Australia prior to the store closures, which reflected “a customer base that is, of course, focused on more immediate issues”. Nationwide buying group cancels Noumea conference The annual Nationwide buying group members’ conference, which was scheduled for June, will no longer take place. The four-day event was to be held at the Le Meridien Resort & Spa in Noumea, New Caledonia, and some airfares for members and suppliers had already been booked. However, Nationwide Jewellers management decided to reschedule the event following travel warnings issued by the Australian and New Zealand governments, in light of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Colin Pocklington, managing director Nationwide Jewellers, said, “In the interests of the health and safety of members, suppliers and staff, we have decided to defer the Noumea conference until May-June 2021. We will advise a precise date in a few weeks after discussions with the hotel.” The event had seen a high volume of member bookings, exceeding the number that had signed up for last year’s conference at the same point. Crystal Vilkaitis, a US retail marketing Emma Hill, chair Michael Hill International board of directors, said, “The board and management team have acted swiftly today following the extraordinary circumstances that are impacting the Australian and New Zealand retail markets.” The company confirmed that staff would be ‘stood down’ with full leave entitlements and its head office in Brisbane would also be reviewed “with a view to reducing costs”. It has approximately 2,500 permanent employees across retail, administration and manufacturing. Daniel Bracken, CEO Michael Hill International, said the company would take “all necessary actions to reduce our costs... so that they better match the very subdued consumer demand in all our markets”. Michael Hill International’s share price fell more than 20 per cent on Monday 23 March. It has deferred payment of dividends. specialist, was due to give the keynote presentation and advanced workshops for members. Pocklington confirmed that Nationwide staff were working on transferring prebooked airfares for members and suppliers to next year. At the time of publication, Air Calin flights had been successfully rebooked at no extra cost, while changes to Qantas and Air New Zealand bookings had not been finalised. Members will be advised as soon as details are confirmed. However, Pocklington remained optimistic for the 2021 conference, which will mark Nationwide Jewellers’ 30th anniversary. “Hopefully the world will be back to normal by mid-2021, and we can look forward to what should be one of our best conferences ever in terms of attendance and location. “This will be a great event to look forward to.” Nationwide has 399 members across Australia, New Zealand and Fiji, operating 461 stores. 10 | April 2020
Coronavirus forces drastic measures in watch and jewellery industry Wuhan, China was once the epicentre of the virus; its streets remain empty. The coronavirus pandemic has led to the temporary closure of major international diamond bourses, watch and jewellery retailers, and watch manufacturers. All four diamond bourses in Antwerp, Belgium have been closed until further notice. Meanwhile, the Israel Diamond Exchange (IDE) in Ramat Gan has also closed, with IDE president Yoram Dvash writing, “We are working with all the authorities to ensure we receive a support package that will enable us to get through this period successfully.” The Bharat Diamond Bourse closed on Friday 20 March and the London Diamond Bourse on Wednesday 25 March. De Beers has cancelled its third sight of 2020 due to travel restrictions and is enabling sightholders to defer 100 per cent of their allocations to later in the year. Meanwhile, Rolex temporarily closed its three manufacturing plants in the Swiss cities of Geneva, Bienne and Cressier in order to contain the spread of the coronavirus. Hublot also closed its production facility, located in the city of Nyon, “until further notice”, while TAG Heuer has suspended production at its Swiss factory. The Swiss government has declared an “extraordinary situation” and banned all private and public events and closed ‘non-essential’ businesses until at least 19 April. More than 16,000 people have tested positive for coronavirus in Switzerland, with at least 400 fatalities. Across the border in France, luxury conglomerate Louis-Vuitton Moët Hennessy SE (LVMH) converted its perfume and cosmetics factories to produce hand sanitiser. France has experienced a shortage of hand sanitiser amid the worsening virus crisis, with more than 52,000 confirmed cases. Meanwhile, Chinese jewellery company Chow Tai Fook will begin manufacturing face masks for the public, at a rate of 200,000 per day, in April. In the US, LVMH-owned jeweller Tiffany & Co. has closed several stores – including its flagship location on Fifth Avenue in New York City. The US has surpassed Italy to become the country with the highest number of confirmed coronavirus cases. Tiffany & Co. is not alone in closing doors for safety reasons; all Signet Jewelers-owned stores, including Zales, Jared, and Kay Jewelers, have temporarily closed, as have US locations of Keringowned Pomellato. Pandora Jewelry temporarily closed all its US, UK, Ireland, Italy, Spain, France and Germany stores, while Lovisa has shuttered its store network across Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, the US, UK, Spain, France and Malaysia, leaving only its Singapore stores operating. Proudly distributed by 02 9417 0177 | www.dgau.com.au
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Page 17 and 18: LEARN ABOUT Gems Synthetic Moissani
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Page 40 and 41: Watch Showcase NEW RELEASE Luminox
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