News Major rebrand for icon <strong>Jeweller</strong>s see mixed sales results for May also went down by 6 per cent when measured against May last year, but saw a good increase compared with May 2020 by 27 per cent. After more than four decades of operation, the Peter W Beck Company has to undergone a major rebrand, becoming BECKS. Peter Beck founded the Peter W Beck Company in 1976 alongside his wife, Ann Beck. The pair worked tirelessly over 40 years, developing the business into an ambitious market-leading provider of precious metals products and services. Ann Beck passed away in September of 2021 and Peter in December of the same year. The move is said to be an ‘evolution’ of the business which is now rebranded as BECKS, and managing director Greville Ingham said it’s a move aiming to both acknowledge the past and prepare for the future. “Peter Beck built our business to become and always be a family business,” Ingham said. “Carol, Jenni and I have worked at various stages of our lives with Peter and always knew at some point we would all end up together as part of Peter’s succession plan. Our transition to Becks reflects upon the fact that we are now in all ways truly the manifestation of a family business and we felt that should be reflected in our brand. “Becks pays homage to our father who built an incredibly successful Australian precious metals business and also acknowledges the change we have in leadership.” Ingham said the company will continue to remain flexible, while also keeping the core principles, particularly that of loyalty, in place. “[This is] evolution, definitely not revolution! We have incredibly loyal supporters in the industry,” he said. “We do everything here using Australian labour, right down to refining our platinum and palladium, setting our stones, drafting our CAD designs and alloying our metals. Our support of the industry, and our desire to promote growth and education for the benefit of the industry will not change. We want to remain relevant not just as a supplier but also as a builder and contributor to opportunity within the jewellery and precious metals industry." He added: “Our new product development will head in a slightly different direction, the emphasis on being environmentally and socially responsible will heighten under a younger generation.” Following a series of positive sales trends since the beginning of the year, May overall sales dollars dipped slightly by 2.8 per cent compared with the same month last year. The latest Retail Edge Consultants sales performance report indicated a significant 54 per cent decrease from 2020. However the report shows a wide array of mixed results. For example, there was a slight decrease in comparative units sold by 4.6 per cent compared with May 2021 but a strong increase by 23 per cent when measured against May 2020. The report indicates a significant change in Mother’s Day sales this year. According to Mike Dyer, sales manager, Retail Edge, “It appeared the Mother’s Day celebrations were more centred around faceto-face contact and meeting and eating rather than jewellery gift-giving.” “It’s possibly a reflection on the changed circumstance from last year around social distancing.” Comparative average sales based on inventory continued to sustain the growth momentum as it steadily increased by 1.6 per cent compared to the same period last year from $194 to $197 and a much stronger increase by 27 per cent ($156) when measured against May 2020. Dyer noted “mixed results across the product categories” led by diamond set precious metal jewellery which saw a significant decline in sales dollars by 21 per cent compared with May 2021 but saw a much higher increase by 66 per cent based on a two-year difference. “The overall drop in unit sales and the Mother’s Day shift from jewellery gifting to socialising would have an influence on that,” he said. Colour stone set precious metal jewellery sales dollars were down by 10 per cent compared with May last year but revealed a much stronger increase by 68 per cent compared with May 2020. Non-stone precious metal jewellery sales Silver and alternative metal jewellery saw a sustained uptrend marked by an increase of 3.1 per cent compared with May last year, as well as a significant increase of 69 per cent when measured against May 2020. Laybys also increased by 4.5 per cent between new pieces and pickups/cancellations which, according to Dyer, “indicates that there will be potential increased cashflow and customer visitations as a result.” Services and repairs fell by 25 per cent based on dollar values between new pieces and pickups/cancellations. Dyer said that dollars for special orders remained steady with no variance, adding “maybe it’s time to bring these activities (services) you offer back into the forefront of your marketing and social media.” Retail Edge’s data is gathered from its POS software across more than 400 Australian independent retail jewellery stores. It is intended to present a representative sample of the wider jewellery industry. 14 | <strong>July</strong> <strong>2022</strong>
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