Jeweller - October 2021

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Homegrown Heroes | LOCAL JEWELLERY BRANDS Kagi Paterson Fine Jewellery Worth & Douglas Harper & Rowe Georgini Steve Der Bedrossian SAMS Group Australia David Paterson Paterson Fine Jewellery Chris Worth- Worth & Douglas “Over the past 50-plus years, we have worked with many established Australian retailers, maintaining strong connections with Australian businesses and our local community.” “As an Australianowned business, we pride ourselves on our customer service, quality, and authenticity of our products. Customer satisfaction and quality workmanship are at the heart of our business." "During lockdowns, we have continued to serve by offering marketing support, online assets, answer quotes and general enquiries, and just be there to help where we can to navigate these unchartered territories together with our customers." changing marketplace was going to be. "The first thing we did was to put into place the rebuilding of our website to better showcase and streamline our jewellery collections and individual designs,” says Moody. SAMS Group Australia’s digital infrastructure – already in place pre-pandemic – proved a boon for the company, according to Der Bedrossian. “Frequent interstate travel and remote work had always been a big part of the job, which enabled us to be digitally prepared many years before the pandemic happened,” he explains. “The functionality of our systems – with the diversity and flexibility of the working arrangements we have in place – ensured a smooth transition for us to ‘work from home’.” He adds, “Once the pandemic hit, we were ready to service the public with our online presence, especially with the ‘Click and collect from your local stockist’ function. “I’ve always been a big believer in investing into technology. Even though at the time I did not see the return on this investment, it prepared me to face the challenges of the pandemic before it even began.” Similarly, PFJ made investments into e-commerce “long before the pandemic”, and is in the process of launching a new and improved online store. With many retailers unable to meet with sales agents, the business also introduced a consignment box service for Australian and New Zealand customers, with Paterson explaining, “It’s a contactless and COVID-safe delivery to their door. Our consignment boxes contain a selection of our latest arrivals and a variety of stock that we can tailor to request. “Upon delivery, retailers can review and keep the jewellery pieces they wish to stock. We include a free return freight satchel should they wish to return any items to us,” he adds. With NSW, Victoria, the ACT, and Auckland beset by further extended lockdowns in 2021, homegrown brands have another benefit – an ability to relate to the challenges faced by local retailers. With NSW, Victoria, the ACT, and Auckland beset by further extended lockdowns in 2021, homegrown brands have another benefit – an ability to relate to the challenges faced by local retailers" “Boy, it’s certainly been tough,” says Harold. “Being based in metropolitan Melbourne, we’ve had over 230 days in lockdown. "We don’t sell to the public and are, therefore, reliant on retailers exclusively for sales and it’s been a very rough period as our lovely customers are also trying to cope with a greatly-reduced cashflow, furloughed staff and ongoing overheads and costs to their businesses.” She adds, “Selling trips have had to be cancelled suddenly due to different states or regions being locked down, so we haven’t seen some of our customers for over a year and the states that have fared better with COVID-19 cases have had very patchy tourist numbers, resulting in less buying flow through retail.” 76 | October 2021
Gerrim IN SUMM ARY Key Points Market insights Homegrown brands have an intimate knowledge of local consumers and trends, which ensures the product mix remains relevant Personal service Many homegrown brands are backed by family-operated businesses with a hands-on approach Local supply chain An absence of geographic, linguistic, freight, and currency limitations makes doing business simple Ellani’s Hicks has also observed the uneven nature of the ‘pandemic effect’, telling Jeweller, “There are currently challenges for retailers in some states with COVID-19 restrictions. We are seeing states that do not have operating restrictions having strong demand.” Like many in the jewellery industry, Hicks is optimistic. “With higher vaccination rates in the coming months we should see less operating restrictions and if the demand in the run towards Christmas this year is anything like last year we will see incredibly good results,” he says. This assertion is supported by a recent survey of 3,000 local consumers conducted by the Australian Retailers Association (ARA) in conjunction with market research firm Roy Morgan. The survey found that gift buyers would spend an average of $726 each, with 79 per cent of respondents saying they would spend the same or more than they did last year. Economists have also predicted a wave of ‘revenge spending’, similar to the post-lockdown spending bumps observed in 2020. Remarking on the survey’s results, Paul Zahra, CEO of the ARA, said, “The past few months have been a uniquely challenging time for most retailers, in particular small businesses navigating extended state-imposed lockdowns and restrictions that have limited their ability to trade. “Despite this uncertainty, the good news is that consumer sentiment is upbeat for Christmas and retailers can look forward to healthy trading conditions over the busy festive season." With a bumper season hopefully just around the corner, jewellery retailers should consider the benefits of adding homegrown brands to their product mix – both for the holidays, and beyond. Bloom PINK KIMBERLEY This collection is truly a wonder: every piece is a work of art, a floral-inspired design with a breathtaking, gorgeous arrangement of Argyle pink diamonds. The blend of pink, white and gold tones is simply phenomenal. Reminiscent of Australian pink magnolias, this collection captures the moment when a flower blossoms in real time for it to be preserved for eternity. PinkKimberley.com.au E pink@samsgroup.com.au W samsgroup.com.au P 02 9290 2199
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VOICE OF THE AUSTRALIAN JEWELLERY I
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Helping you shine yesterday, today
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DURAFLEX GROUP AUSTRALIA The new ex
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Call SGA today to become an Authori
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OCTOBER 2021 Contents This Month In
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Upfront #Instagram hashtags to foll
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News In Brief Pandora announces new
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News Pandora Jewelry restructures A
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News New Zealand jeweller launches
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News In Brief International watch a
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10 Years Ago Time Machine: October
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INSIDE Now & Then JM Leech Jeweller
Page 26 and 27: INSIDE My Store Harriet Kelsall Bes
Page 28 and 29: Completing my Diploma in Gemmology
Page 30 and 31: IN-DEPTH FEATURE Lab-Created Diamon
Page 32 and 33: Lab-Created Diamonds | IN-DEPTH FEA
Page 40 and 41: CELEBRATING Local Talent TIQUE META
Page 42 and 43: GERMANY Timesupply jewellery + watc
Page 44 and 45: Champagne & Cognac D I A M O N D S
Page 46 and 47: Christmas Ready | 2021 HOLIDAY STOC
Page 70 and 71: MARKET FEATURE Local Jewellery Bran
Page 72 and 73: Homegrown Heroes | LOCAL JEWELLERY
Page 74 and 75: Homegrown Heroes | LOCAL JEWELLERY
Page 78 and 79: BUSINESS Strategy When less is more
Page 80 and 81: BUSINESS Selling Give your sales te
Page 82 and 83: BUSINESS Marketing & PR Repetition
Page 84: My Bench Roberto Mattei Roberto Mat
Page 87 and 88: THE JEWELLERY INSURANCE SPECIALIST
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Jeweller - October 2021

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