Jeweller - December 2020

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STATE OF THE INDUSTRY | Buying Groups Report the customer in your area, town, city or even online, shop with you? Why are you any different or special? “If you can answer that honestly, and your customer agrees with you, then you’re on the right track indeed.” Webb said many Showcase members who focused on custom design and manufacture, and specialise in fine jewellery, are performing very well. Zarb advised retailers to reassess marketing, while Davey said it was vital for jewellers to concentrate on great customer service and creating unique environments – shopping experiences that can’t be matched by online competitors. “Focus on providing a seamless customer shopping experience, from the presentation of your store, website and mobile interaction. Continue to review your cost of doing business and review the options available for payments, utilities and rent, and where needed, get help from your network,” he advised. TABLE 3: 2020 GRAND TOTALS TYPE NATIONWIDE SHOWCASE LEADING EDGE IJC TOTAL MEMBERS 317 139 70 43 569 STORES 364 184 104 52 704 Excludes New Zealand and International stores TYPE TOTAL 2018 VARIANCE MEMBERS 569 622 -53 STORES 704 800 -96 2018 vs 2020 total variance. Excludes New Zealand and International stores However, post-COVID, Webb cautioned: “Stores are certainly using their online presence as a place to connect and get the customers in. When they are in, it’s a matter of keeping everyone safe and yet still trying to maximise sales when you have limited people in the store with social distancing rules. “There’s never a dull moment in retail, however, we are some of the most resilient people you’ll ever meet and we find ways to make things work!” Equipped for the future As the business climate has changed, and as traditional retailing has come to grips with digital competition, training and education have become the cornerstones of all the buying groups. Pocklington notes that the ability to benchmark your store against other, similar stores is vital: “In the past two years, we have created a 12-month trading budget for more than 150 of our members, and in the process benchmarked their business and provided them with the precise actions needed to improve their profitability.” Webb doesn’t see the current retail environment as an ‘us versus them’ fight: “It’s about transparency and giving consumers a choice [with lab-created diamonds]. Let’s get on with it and stop trying to pull each other down! “Our amazing industry needs better cohesion and a few more smiles and high fives, not constant beat ups. We have an amazing industry that offers consumers emotional engagement like no other can. Make it count!” Proudly distributed by Before launching IJC, Zarb conducted a review of the marketplace in order to find the new buying group’s niche. He told Jeweller, “Everything we offer at IJC aims at specific one-on-one support for our retailer partners. “Upon joining the Independent Jewellers Collective, partners will receive 02 9417 0177 | www.dgau.com.au
a free Business Health Check, covering staffing levels, stock holding, merchandising, marketing and overall business performance and profitability – delivered in a ‘real world’ solution package.” Like all other industries, the original reason for joining a buying group was to take advantage of the trade discounts from suppliers – but that is only part of the picture. Taking the next steps In March, Webb was quick to address the ‘glass half-empty mentality’ that can permeate any industry during tough times. “Aside from all the difficulties, the real danger I see is the danger from ourselves, as the retailer, getting stuck in the negative talk and becoming irrelevant to the consumer,” he explained. Indeed, while retailers must continue to adapt to a more digitallyfocused environment, 2020 also proved that the retail experience is a resilient one. A recent survey of 25,000 international consumers, conducted by Adyen and Opinium Research, found Australians had a far stronger desire to shop in-store than their UK or US counterparts –72 per cent versus 50 per cent 62 per cent, respectively – and nearly two-thirds of Australian respondents indicated they they were looking forward to shopping ‘or pleasure again. More broadly, the Westpac-Melbourne Institute Index of Consumer Sentiment reached a seven-year peak of 107.7 in November, following an 11.9 per cent increase in October. The Index is now 13 per cent above the average over the six months prior to March 2020. Indeed, while retailers must continue to adapt to a more digitally-focused environment, 2020 also proved that the retail experience is a resilient one Yet even amid signs of recovery, Webb recommends “cautious and measured steps”, predicting, “2021 will be a little more unknown as the government incentives slowly disappear. With a vaccine promising to be close, it’s still going to be fragile and uncertain times ahead.” This is perhaps where the benefits of safety in numbers becomes vital; membership to a buying group offers a range of support not readily available to individual stores. While retail buying groups do not offer the elusive panacea – and may not be the right choice for every independent jeweller – as the business world becomes increasingly competitive and complicated, they do offer a safe harbour within which like-minded business owners can seek protection and assistance in order to flourish. Better still, jewellers now have a choice of four groups – all with different advantages – to suit their specific needs. DGA diamonds are all natural and ethically mined. The range includes 9K and 18K gold bridal sets, wedding bands, fashion earrings, bracelets, rings and pendants. New season designs now available. Editor’s note: A previous version of this report appeared in the March 2020 edition of Jeweller. Consistent with Jeweller’s role as a journal of record for the industry, updated membership and store count figures were deemed necessary given the impact of COVID-19, as well as the entrance of a fourth buying group into the category. Proudly distributed by 02 9417 0177 | www.dgau.com.au
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VOICE OF THE AUSTRALIAN JEWELLERY I
Page 6 and 7: Australian Argyle pink diamonds are
Page 8 and 9: Baumatic self-winding calibre, 40mm
Page 11 and 12: DECEMBER 2020 Contents This Month I
Page 13: Editor’s Desk Listening to the he
Page 17 and 18: Proudly distributed by 02 9417 0177
Page 19 and 20: Ethical Colombian Emeralds direct f
Page 21 and 22: Louis Vuitton purchases a second la
Page 23 and 24: Pandora launches holiday marketing
Page 25 and 26: For your free copy of the Peter W B
Page 27 and 28: INSIDE Now & Then Fairfax & Roberts
Page 30 and 31: Completing my Diploma in Gemmology
Page 32 and 33: CELEBRATING Local Talent LUCAS BLAC
Page 34 and 35: Proudly distributed by (02) 9417 01
Page 36 and 37: BACKGROUND STATE OF THE INDUSTRY RE
Page 38 and 39: STATE OF THE INDUSTRY | Chains thro
Page 46 and 47: STATE OF THE INDUSTRY Brand-Only St
Page 48 and 49: L to R: Rolex; Omega IN SUMM A RY C
Page 50 and 51: Swarovski is also interesting. Of t
Page 52 and 53: STATE OF THE INDUSTRY Buying Groups
Page 54 and 55: STATE OF THE INDUSTRY | Buying Grou
Page 58 and 59: BUSINESS Strategy Survival lessons
Page 60 and 61: BUSINESS Selling Six simple and eff
Page 62 and 63: BUSINESS Marketing & PR How to eval
Page 64 and 65: My Bench Leon Raper Australian Diam
Page 66 and 67: OPINION Soapbox There are many e-co
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Jeweller - December 2020

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