Day: June 19, 2012

Celebrity sells

Jenny Berich discovers that celebrities are the best sales people for many watch and jewellery brands.
Posted in News, World News
Tiger Woods’ infamous sex scandal in 2011 highlighted the potential problems with brand ambassadors – unlike the products they promote celebrities (whether they be film, television, pop or sports stars) are humans and thus fundamentally flawed.
 
Yet despite Woods’ rather spectacular fall from grace which saw him lose his TAG Heuer ambassadorship, Rolex signed him up for a new ambassadorship just a few months later.
 
It seems that celebrities – with or without any perceived flaws – sell, and for that simple reason increasing numbers of watch and jewellery brands are appointing them as brand ambassadors.
 
There is no doubt that watch companies have long led the charge on this front. Many A-list celebrities including George Clooney and even Richard Branson have leant their names to promoting prestigious watch brands.
 
Omega is one such watch company renowned for its famous brand ambassadors from the worlds of entertainment (George Clooney, Nicole Kidman, Daniel Craig, Abhishek Bachchan, Zhang Ziyi), sport (Michael Phelps, Greg Norman, Sergio Garcia, Michelle Wie), fashion (Cindy Crawford) as well as science and exploration (Buzz Aldrin, Eugene Cernan, Thomas Stafford) and even fiction (James Bond).
 
Stephen Urquhart, president of Omega, says the company adopts brand ambassadors as they “bring human faces and emotions to the brand”.
 
“We choose individuals who share, and effectively communicate, Omega’s key values of credibility, honesty, substance and a pioneering spirit,” he says.
 
“While they come from diverse professional backgrounds, our ambassadors all have a record of extraordinary personal achievement. They also tend to have distinguished themselves not only in their careers but in their social engagement.”
 
The watch company started working with brand ambassadors in 1995 with the signing of Cindy Crawford as well as Gene Cernan and Tom Stafford. In the same year, the OMEGA Seamaster also made its first appearance on the wrist of James Bond in GoldenEye.
 
Since then the various brand ambassadors have played key roles in product launches, advertisements and events “that are consistent with their profiles and interests”.
 
“It’s natural that people react differently to ambassadors than they do to products so working with George Clooney, Michael Phelps, Nicole Kidman, Buzz Aldrin and the others is an ideal way to communicate the emotional value of the brand,” says Urquhart.
 
“Omega was the first Swiss watch brand to work regularly with brand ambassadors.
 
“In those days we weren’t sure how well it would work out but obviously, the ambassador program has become an important part of our overall marketing strategy.
 
“Then, as now, our primary motivation was to engage individuals who would be able to give a human face to the brand. It has clearly worked out very well.”
 
Frédérique Constant is another upmarket watch brand to adopt a brand ambassador in its marketing strategy – albeit a beauty pageant winner rather than a well-known “Hollywood” celebrity.
 
The Swiss brand appointed Miss Earth 2010 Nicole Faria as its global brand ambassador in July last year.
 
Announcing the partnership as “something daringly different”, Frédérique Constant international sales manager Sebastien Cretegny said it was the first time the company “has associated with a beauty pageant icon anywhere in the world”.
 
“I am proud to announce that this is the first time that Frédérique Constant has associated with a beauty pageant icon anywhere in the world,” he said.
 
“When we met Miss Earth Nicole Faria we felt that there was a sharing of passion, especially when she spoke about her conservation projects.”
 
He said that Faria’s passion for earth-related social causes such as global warming, environment hazards, pollution, etc was similar to most of the company’s target customers who “are involved with such causes and initiatives”.
 
In her role as ambassador, Faria is featured in the brand’s global advertising campaign and is present at all its major events including a press lunch in Sydney last October to launch new watch designs.
 
Georgina Mclean, the sales manager for Avstev Group, (the local distributor of Frédérique Constant, says the watch company saw a “nice fit with Nicole and her involvement with global charities for environmental and humane related and issues”.
 
“Having an internationally recognised person associated with your brands brings more attention to it globally,” she says.
 
“Choosing the right ambassador is key. It enables you to tell a story and highlight your brand’s principles, generate interest in your product and build awareness to your targeted consumer.”
 
Meanwhile TW Steel Australia, the wholly owned subsidiary of Dutch brand may be a newcomer to the watch market (the brand was launched in Europe in 2005 and Australia in 2009) but it has been quick to adopt brand ambassadors as a key marketing strategy.
The brand’s current ambassadors include Mick Doohan (five-time 500c World Moto GP Champion), David Coulthard (former Formula1 racing driver), Dario Franchitti (four-time Indycar champion) and newest recruit Kelly Rowland (singer).
According to TW Steel Australia managing director Scott Patchett, “in most cases” the ambassadors were “fans of the brand and wore TW Steel before any official ambassadorial relationship started”.

 

“They loved the brand and the product before joining the TW Steel family,” he explains.

“They all have been involved in developing their own watches and really personalise the product with what they like which I think is why their special editions end up selling so well.”

 
Indeed Patchett believes that the ambassadors have been critical to the young company’s success.

“The response from consumers we get after holding a launch event with our ambassadors is amazing,” he says.
 
“We get so many enquiries from consumers about the product… it still astonishes me.”
 
For example the company was inundated with queries about the Mick Doohan Special Edition timepiece after the launch in Melbourne during the Formula One last year, the David Coulthard limited edition sold out less than a week after its release in BaselWorld this March; and people are “wanting to know” about Kelly Rowland’s watch before it has been launched.
 
However Patchett is quick to point out that brand ambassadorships must be genuine to gain today’s consumers’ trust.

“Consumers are more fickle these days when it comes to brand relationships with ambassadors,” he says.
 
“The key is that it has to happen naturally.

 

“The person has to love the brand and also have the same values of the company. We are a young family orientated company so we have a very close relationship with all our ambassadors.

“Consumers want to know that the celebrity genuinely loves and wants to support the brand and the company they represent.
 
“It’s not always about just a big paycheck to get an ambassador on board. We like to think that our ambassadors get just as much out of the relationship with TW Steel as the brand does with them. That is why the relationships work so well.”

 

Watching and Learning


More recently the jewellery industry has begun to follow in the footsteps of the watch industry with memorable brand ambassadors such as Kate Perry as the face of Thomas Sabo’s ‘Pop Now’ collection and Danish supermodel Helena Christensen as the face of Ole Lynggaard.
 
Ole Lynggaard Australia & New Zealand country manager Kamilla van der Velde says the company’s head designer Charlotte Lynggaard believes Helena Christensen matches the brand’s ideas and design philosophy.
 
Christensen, who became the company’s brand ambassador in 2011 at the same time as the brand’s Lotus & Dew Drops collections were launched in Australia and New Zealand, is according to van der Velde, “a mature woman in her 40s with power and style, naturally beautiful as she is sexy”.
 
Since her appointment, Christensen has been featured in all of Ole Lynggaard’s advertising campaigns and has been “promoted extensively” through “merchandising and shop-styling initiatives” in all the brand’s high-end retailers.
 
“Helena Christensen has been an incentive for attracting new customers who may not be looking for jewellery but love what they see in our retailers’ window displays and want to experience the Ole Lynggaard Copenhagen universe,” she says.
 
“Helena Christensen’s profile is widely recognised in the Australia and New Zealand markets and this has resulted in significant attention and demand for our brand’s timeless and wearable designs. The feedback from customers has been incredibly well received as she communicates the Ole Lynggaard Copenhagen name to customers around the world.
 
Observing such successful international jewellery brand ambassadorships it is probably not surprising to find that a few local Australian brands are beginning to find their own ambassadors too.
 
For example Kailis Jewellery appointed Australian actress and singer Natalie Imbruglia as its brand ambassador last July.
 
She made her first appearance for the brand in a campaign launched in the same month and then co-designed the Natalie Imbruglia for Kailis collection to raise money for the Oasis Youth Support Network for Christmas
Announcing Imbruglia’s appointment as the face of Kailis Jewellery, general manager Sonia Mackay-Coghill said the campaign is a “defining one for Kailis”.
“After an incredible twelve months internationally we wanted to reconnect with our Australian heritage and capture the breath-taking beauty, warmth, sensuality and freshness of the brand, taking it to the world in a really relevant way, she said.
 
“We knew Nat was a brilliant ‘look’ for the brand but it wasn’t until we met with her and worked with her that we understood the fit went beyond an image. Her energy, generosity and incredible warmth has delighted us beyond any expectations.”
 
Iconic Jewellery, the distributor of Homage jewellery, has also decided to appoint a brand ambassador but perhaps surprisingly rather than selecting a glamorous female celebrity the company chose rugby player Ben Hannet and his family as the ambassadors.
 
Iconic director Bella Kennedy says the company wanted a “celebrity family” to promote the brand from the outset but the partnership with the family wasn’t announced until six months after the brand was launched as “it took us that long to find the celebrity family”.
 
“We felt that Homage was such a strong brand – it was good to cement it with an icon people could identify with,” she says.
 
“And because Homage is all about connecting generations, it was important to have an ambassador who lived the values of the brand.”
 
She says Ben was the perfect fit as his whole philosophy on life is “about embracing family values”.
 
“He is a strong role model for future generations and he is clearly a devoted dad and has a strong connection with his family which is everything the Homage label embodies.”
 
Iconic has done everything to “entwine the celebrity with the brand” since the start of the partnership and now just 12 months on Kennedy believes both parties have gained from it “nicely”.
 
Retail moves
 
While watch and jewellery brand ambassadors on the local front are an almost natural development following the successful strategies of numerous international brands it is a little more unexpected to see a local jewellery retailer appoint its own brand ambassador(s) – but Linneys Jewellers has done so.
 
The Perth-based retailers first appointed actress Melissa George and television personality Ernie Dingo as brand ambassadors several years ago and then, just two years ago, appointed Jessica Marais, another actress, and Jason Dundas, another television personality, as ambassadors.
 
Linneys creative director Alan Linney says Jessica’s classic beauty and spirited grace made her a natural choice as the face of Linneys.
 
“Jewellery doesn’t really come to life until it is worn and Jessica beautifully captures the elegance and dramatic nature of our jewellery,” he says, while “Jason’s undeniable charm and natural style let the Linneys mens’ collection speak for itself”.
 
Marais and Dundas star in Linneys’ catalogues, national advertising, in-store photography, the Linneys’ website and Facebook page as well as attend major Linneys events.
 
Linney says that the company is very proud that both” Jessica, and Melissa before her, were very successful Perth exports who helped showcase Linneys”.
 
He says that all the ambassadors have been amazing spokespeople for the brand.
 
“The careful selection of Jessica and Jason as our new ambassadors has helped give our jewellery a fresh young look that heralds an exciting new era for the company.”
 
Indeed although celebrities have been the faces of numerous brands over the years in a wide variety of industries (although probably more famously in the glamorous worlds of cosmetics, fashion and watches and jewellery) it is not a guaranteed success for any brand – although it does garner a lot of publicity.
 
The fact is that even the most likeable, aka bankable, personalities are as mentioned previously humans and therefore open to all human failings. Equally, or perhaps even more importantly, “celebrity” endorsements can often be an expensive marketing option.
 
Therefore if you think that a brand ambassador might be the key to your store’s success but your budget allow it, then it might be time to consider TW Steel’s Scott Patchett’s thoughts.
 
“At the end of the day anyone that buys a TW Steel watch is an ambassador for TW Steel, he says. “They love it, their friends really notice the watch on their wrist and it goes from there!”
 
Yes your customers might not be celebrities but ultimately they are your best ambassadors. Certainly worth a thought.
 

Further reading:

Men’s fashion and diamond pieces on the red carpet

European invasion – big brand takeover

Jenny Berich finds out why European brands are dominating jewellery retail shelves in Australia and New Zealand.
Posted in World News
European jewellery has always been popular in Australia. In the halcyon days of generic jewellery sales the ‘Made in Italy’, hallprint was a well recognised symbol of quality design and workmanship.
 
Today such a ‘country of origin’ label doesn’t seem to be so prized by consumers purchasing generic jewellery items such as gold and silver chains and other wardrobe basics – it IS however highly-valued on branded jewellery.
 
After all it can’t be coincidental that most, if not all the big jewellery brand names, in Australia hail from Europe rather than the US, Asia, South America, the Middle East or even our own shores.
 
Italy is of course no longer the sole source of Australians’ jewellery dreams: the southern European country has been joined by the likes of France, Germany, Holland, Finland, Sweden, England and Denmark as the most desired homes of quality jewellery designs
.
The reasons may be many and/or nameless but the fact remains European brands do sell and the companies manufacturing and/or distributing them know it – that’s why the country or city of origin is so often featured in the advertising and promotional materials of many of the best-selling European jewellery brands.
 
Out of the box
 
Pandora, established in Copenhagen in 1982 and launched in Australia by Karin Adcock in 2004, is undoubtedly Australia’s best known example of a successful European brand.
 
A designer, manufacturer and marketer of “hand finished, modern jewellery made from gold and silver and offered at affordable prices”, Pandora’s initial success was based on the sales of its charm bracelets but has since expanded to include a jewellery collection featuring over “100 unique designs”.
 
Karin Adcock, the president of Pandora Australia, says she launched the collection in Australia after having “fallen in love” with the charms and bracelets while holidaying in Denmark.
 
Adcock recalls that although she immediately realized Pandora’s potential in Australia many local retailers were initially reluctant to stock the product.
“While retailers thought the bracelet and charms were attractive, some of the first retailers who were approached didn’t think their customers would warm to the concept.
 
“The opposite was true however, and women embraced the bracelet and charms, collecting pieces to commemorate their special moments.”
She believes the brand “enjoys high brand awareness” as “Australian women like to choose jewellery that matches their style”.
 
“They have an independence of spirit that they can celebrate with the jewellery: women often wear the pieces in a way that is unique to them.”
“Although it’s hard to generalise about European brands, we know that Pandora is popular in Australia because it offers attractive designs in gold and silver, a wide range of styles and price levels and high quality craftsmanship.
 
“The jewellery is created to be treasured and to last and this is appreciated by Australian women.”
 
Spinning success
 
Duraflex Group Australia is another Australian distributor which is enjoying the surging popularity of European brands with Danish brand Spinning Jewelry and German brand Thomas Sabo.
 
Founded in 1984, Thomas Sabo is an “innovative” jewellery and watch company that has responded quickly to trends and market demands with its sterling silver collection, Charm Club and watch collection, while Spinning Jewelery, founded just a year later, is “a market leader of combination jewellery” offering sterling silver and nine carat gold rings and earrings set with enamel, pearls, diamonds and semi-precious stones.
 
Duraflex managing director Phil Edwards says the “outstanding success” of Thomas Sabo in the Australian market since its launch in 2004 inspired the company to take on “another European brand”, Spinning Jewelry, in 2011.
 
“Branded jewellery was a relatively new concept in the Australian market in 2004 and was therefore treated with caution by retailers and some were slow to respond but the ease with which the benefits of a brand like Thomas Sabo can be seen created a buzz and excitement very shortly after the initial launch phase,” he recalls.
 
He says Thomas Sabo is now firmly established as a leading luxury fashion jewellery brand in Australia and continues to see growth in all areas while Spinning Jewelry has experienced exceptional growth in its first year in the Australian market with Duraflex.
 
He believes Australia’s long distance from Europe “makes Australians hungry for all things Euro”.
 
“European brands have a reputation for using quality materials in cutting edge designs and trends.
 
“Consumers have established faith in European products which feeds through to the European jewellery brands available now in Australia and the world.”
 
Trolling success
 
Stephen Brown from RJ Scanlan agrees that Europe’s reputation for producing quality products is a key to local success of its brands.
 
“Europe is a mature market that thrives on design and quality, so successful brands in Europe are those that are innovative and produce a quality product,” he says.
 
“I have always thought that in tough times people either purchase cheap products that can be discarded if they break or are no longer fashionable or premium products that will last and are therefore seen a good value…
 
“Europe is generally at the premium end and with the Australian dollar at its current rate, European brands are even better value than they were a couple of years ago.”  
 
RJ Scanlan distributes three European brands: Dora Wedding Rings and TeNo jewellery from Germany and Trollbeads from Denmark.
 
Dora is the “best known branded wedding ring in Australia”, TeNo is a stainless steel range of jewellery featuring materials such as black and white diamonds, enamel, horn, ceramic, rubber, wood and mother of pearl and Trollbeads is “the original ‘bead on bracelet’ designer”.
 
Scanlan, which began distributing Dora in 2001 (although it wasn’t a branded collection until 2006) and TeNo in 2003, added Trollbeads to its brand collection last July.
 
“We had been approached earlier by the Danish embassy export department to see whether we were interested in taking on another brand,” recalls Brown.
 
“Once we saw the quality and the product we were hooked,” he says.
 
“We believe Trollbeads is the premium bead brand in the market.
 
“The quality, quirkiness, diversity and creativity of the brand makes it successful but… it’s also interesting to note the number of Danish global companies that are at the forefront of their industries.
 
“For a small country they certainly punch above their weight.”  
 
Ole Ole Ole
 
Ole Lynggaard Copenhagen is another Danish brand that has captured the imagination of Australian women.

 

 
Established in 1963 to fill a gap in the market for fine jewellery that was “not only for going out but also for everyday wear” today, the brand, which was introduced into Australia in 2008 with “great success”, has evolved into a collection of “personalised and flexible fine jewellery that uses only the highest quality metals and gemstones”.
 
Ole Lynggaard’s Australia and New Zealand Country manager Kamilla van der Velde believes Australians “recognise and love Danish design for being timeless, functional and stylish”.
 
“Thanks to Princess Mary, Australia and Denmark are almost like ‘family’,” she says.
 
“We share the same relaxed, outdoor lifestyle and Australian woman look for designs that she can wear from day to night either dressed up or down which is what makes our collections so special.”
 
“Our family run business has a well established reputation throughout the world as a luxury brand, while still maintaining production in Denmark.”
 
Pod appeal
 
The appeal of Danish design has also attracted the attention of Lily Webber, the managing director of Webber & Tonkin, which has recently introduced a new Danish brand onto the Australian market.
 
Founded in Denmark just two years ago by Charlotte Biehl, the byBiehl jewellery collection is made up of “a large number of pods for bracelets and necklaces, earrings and rings”.
 
Webber says she was attracted to the brand as “it is a unique versatile product that is designed by Charlotte Biehl who takes great pride in innovative and functional jewellery design”.
She says retailers have quickly supported the product because it is high quality original jewellery at an affordable price.
She also believes that the brand’s county of origin is important.
“It is a Danish design of high quality craftsmanship and inimitable styling,” she says.
“The Danish designers in our opinion are attuned to new and progressive jewellery design.  
“European brands have the timeless and traditional craftsmanship that Australians love whilst always developing new and exciting functional design and styles,” she says.
“In this current market, Australians look for quality difference and affordable prices. It is no mistake that the Danes have faired so well in the current European market because of their independence and outgoing culture which is in many ways similar to Australian values.”
Marco!
 
Craig Symons, the director of Osjag, also appreciates the European heritage of the brands he sells – Breuning, Bastian Inverun and Marc O’Polo Jewels from Germany.
 
Established in 1929, Breuning produces sterling silver and gold jewellery while Bastian, which began trading in 1974, offers sterling silver, diamond, semi-precious and pearl jewellery, and Marc O’Polo Jewels, a licensed brand just two-years-old, features designs crafted from “natural materials and gems”. 
 
 
Symons says he began distributing Breuning in 1998 because he was looking for an opportunity to represent an international manufacturer.
 
The launch of Bastian in 2009 and Marc O’Polo last year was then part of the company’s strategy to become “known as a supplier of high quality silver” and that the brands’ European pedigree “makes a significant impact on retailers and consumers”.
 
“We try to offer a genuine quality difference to many brands in the market,” he says.
 
“All our brands are all German in origin which speaks volumes.
 
“Many independent jewellers recognise that fact and are supporting us as part of their own desire to differentiate themselves from the chain stores and cheaper silver shops. In turn, consumers are discovering the quality/value difference too.”
 
He believes that European brands are typically successful in the current market as “European jewellery houses have always been the leaders in design, style and quality.
 
“It was only a small step to begin the branding of those collections (in much the same way as their watch and timepiece cousins) to receive recognition and popularity.”
 
Lady luck
 
Similarly, although only open for business for two years Lady Schmuck has quickly established its credibility with seven jewellery brands brandishing their distinctly French heritage: Kenzo, Lacoste, Paul & Joe, Nina Ricci, GL Paris, XC38 and Valles Dordal.
 
“Our licensed brands of jewellery all have established fashion pedigrees and distinct identities that direct their jewellery offerings,” says Lady Schmuck managing director Maja Karavasilis.
 
She says her launch collection was the Kenzo range as she “fell in love” with the brand’s unique and ever evolving designs as well as “the incredible finish” of the jewellery.
 
“I believed that sometimes it is up to jewellers to grow and educate their market by offering products that reflect values that are important to them – quality, innovation, purity, exclusivity,” she says.
 
“I wanted to offer jewellers options and work with people who share an appreciation of a point of difference.”
 
Fortunately the initial response by retailers and consumers was “really positive”.
 
“The ranges I import (all from one high quality international manufacturer) all stand out in the market place − also importantly, they do not cannibalise between themselves.”
 
 
 
“The designs stand out which can mean it takes a bit longer to ‘wrap a mind around it’ however I consider it a great blessing. In the end, it will mean a market place with a greater appreciation for fine design and playful detail.”
 
Karavasilis believes the popularity of European brands reflect “the heritage of this migrant nation”.
 
“We may be positioned in Asia Pacific and we may watch American TV but our roots are predominantly European and there is a natural affinity for this shared history,” she says.
 
“In addition, European brands take the mantle for world’s premium luxury.
 
“No matter what our background, Europe’s greatest brands are accepted as the benchmark by the world. These brands understand the quality, design and time that it takes to make a brand of significance.
 
“Additionally the Australian jewellery market is very similar to the French industry.  Built on independent family jewellers and with a conservative approach, the Australian market mirrors many European markets.
 
“Change and growth is slow but we are also undergoing the radical shifts that have accepted branding, fashion jewellery and more.”
 
Italian charm
 
Europe’s move to jewellery branding has also benefited local distributor Lindsays, which began distributing Italian brands Morellato in 2003 Sector watches and jewellery in 2009.
 
Morellato, established in 1930 and now Italy’s largest watch and jewellery company, designs and manufactures stainless steel jewelleryfor men and women featuring diamonds, 18 carat gold, freshwater pearls and semi-precious stones while Sector, which was founded in the 1970s, produces “masculine and edgy jewellery” combining stainless steel, leather and black diamonds.
 
Lindsays sales manager Mark NcNeil believes the European heritage of both brands is a key reason behind their success as “we can offer something our competitors cannot”.
 
“We offer a large range of Italian design jewellery featuring precious materials at affordable prices for everyday wear,” he says.
 
“We are backed by Italy’s largest watch and jewellery company, have extensive point of sale material and have many new product releases each year.
 
“We also have an international brand presence and recognition which is important as the market and trends are becoming increasingly more global and we find that Australians now want to be able to be presented the same jewellery offering without having to go overseas to purchase.”
 
He concludes that Europeans are the artisans of fashion and design.
 
“The jewellery industry is a perfect example of this,” he says.
 
“This is why the European trade fairs are the biggest in the world and attract the greatest amount of exhibitors and visitors as everyone wants to see the latest European creations.”
 
International Brand Distributors has experienced similar success with its Ti Sento-Milan and Charming by Ti Sento brands.
 
Company managing director Hannes Coetsee says the brands were conceptualized in 2002 to fill a market gap for “high quality, highly fashionable, flexible trendiness but also very accessible silver fashion jewellery”.
 
He says he launched the brand on the local market as he realised there was an “ever increasing demand for a good quality fashion brand that has a DNA that will ensure a long lifespan rather than a gimmick with a use-by-date”.
 
“What you see on the catwalks in Europe today (colour and textures) are represented in this fashion brand.”
 
However, although he readily acknowledges the brand’s European heritage, Coetsee insists that the quality of the brand’s products are the key to its success.
 
“My belief is that regardless of where it is from, if the brand is well made and designed, well marketed and realistically priced in such a way that it supports and enhances the jewellers’ offer and image to his target market it has to be successful.
 
“The challenge for me as a distributor is to choose the right retailer that understands the values and positioning of the brand and knows how to handle a brand in all aspects to ensure in longevity. Mutually that is what we should strive for.”
 
 
Further reading:
Define launches high-end European brands in Oz

Precious dragons

The winning designs in the 13th annual Hong Kong Jewellery Design Competition were one of the many dazzling highlights at this year's Hong Kong International…
Posted in News, Trade Fairs
The winning designs in the 13th annual Hong Kong Jewellery Design Competition were one of the many dazzling highlights at this year’s Hong Kong International Jewellery Show.

The 29th edition of the HKTDC Hong Kong International Jewellery Show attracted a record-breaking 38,000 buyers from around the world over five days in February.
 
According to HKTDC deputy executive director Benjamin Chau, the show’s attendance, up three percent on 2010 numbers, included an eight percent increase in visitors from BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, the Chinese mainland and South Africa).
 
“Rapid economic development in the emerging markets, especially the Chinese mainland, has resulted in an expanding middle-class, which in turn is creating huge product demand,” he said.
 
“The HKTDC will continue to step up publicity in these emerging markets to help Hong Kong SMEs capitalise on the opportunities.”
 
Hong Kong, which is currently the world’s fifth-largest exporter of fine jewellery, exported HK$47 billion of fine jewellery in 2011 − 35 percent more than in 2010.
 
Held at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, the Show featured more than 3100 exhibitors from 48 countries and regions in a dozen product zones including the Hall of Fame (international brands), the Hall of Extraordinary (luxurious jewellery), the  Hall of Nature (precious loose jewellery), the Designer Galleria (“hip collections”), the  Antique & Vintage Jewellery Galleria, the Hall of Jade Jewellery, the Hall of Time (watches and clocks) and The World of Glamour (fine jewellery from Hong Kong-based exhibitors).
The Show also featured 20 special events included seminars, jewellery parades, Paspaley Pearl and Robert Wan Tahiti Pearl auctions, and the display of the winning designs of the 13th Hong Kong Jewellery Design Competition.
 
The latter, which had the theme of ‘Soaring Dragon’ in recognition of the lunar Year of the Dragon, attracted more than 300 entries.
According to the HKTDC, all the entries were judged on based on creativity and innovation, aesthetics and craftsmanship, marketability, wearability and topic relevance,
 
The main award, Best of Show, was shared between three entries (pictured top to bottom):
 
♦‘Soaring Dragon’ by Cherry Ko (3D-Gold Jewellery (HK),
♦‘Interstellar Dream’ by Yoko Ho Kwan Po (H&F International Jewellery Co), and
♦‘Flying Dragon in Joy’ by Ka Wing Tse (Luk Fook Holdings (International).
 

Bling for him

Men are ready to open their wallets and spend on bling but they can't if retailers don't stock what they want, reports Jenny Berich.
Posted in Fashion

Aaah men. They account for roughly 50 percent of the population but hardly register on the minds, or at the tills, of most Australian jewellery retailers.

The question is why? Are today’s men really that reluctant to buy jewellery for themselves or is it simply the case that most men don’t buy jewellery because most jewellers aren’t ‘selling’ it.
Most marketers would argue the latter. After all most consumers don’t have a genuine want/need for most products they buy until the manufacturers, marketers and retailers join forces and create one – think of smart phones, tablets and Pandora beaded bracelets or even all the ‘stuff’ currently cluttering your wardrobe, cupboards and spare room.
Five years ago most Australians did not even know what any of the first three products were, let alone want them. Now smart phones and tablets are almost a ‘must-have’ ‘for an entire generation while Pandora beaded bracelets were until very recently equally desired by hordes of women.
Clever manufacturing, marketing and retailing were obviously critical to the success of all three – in fact logic dictates that clever manufacturing, marketing and retailing is key to the success of all products.
Even more fundamentally, logic dictates you can’t sell what you don’t have, so now might be the time to reconsider the amount of space your store dedicates to men’s jewellery.
After all the evidence strongly suggests that more men (possibly influenced by trend-setting celebrities and sport-stars like Brad Pitt and David Beckham) are wearing more jewellery – and they have to be buy it somewhere.

Men only

Neil McCammon from Cudworth Enterprises, which has been selling men’s cufflinks since 1918 and a full range of men’s jewellery for around nine years, says the company has seen “tremendous growth” in recent times due to men’s changing attitudes.
“Australian men’s attitude to jewellery is definitely changing: they are definitely buying more for themselves these days.
“For a long time women were buying for their husbands but men are now becoming more comfortable that they can walk into a jewellery shop and make a choice about what they want.
“This is noticeable across all ages. In fact, if anything, some of the older men are actually more comfortable than some younger males who are worried that their sexuality will be questioned if they buy a nice piece of jewellery for themselves.”
Cudworth Enterprises, which only sells men’s jewellery, stocks an extensive collection of stainless steel and sterling silver brands including Stahl, Savage, Cudworth, Smartset, Caseti, Lanvin and Hoxton.
According to McCammon, the collections are designed to appeal to Australian men in the 25+ age group.
“Most Australian men want a silver coloured piece in a fairly modern and simple design.
“We have never really stocked much gold jewellery because most men don’t really want it except for cufflinks and tie-bars.
“We try to design resilient jewellery that will put up with the way Australian men treat things and that’s why stainless steel has been so good for us.”
McCammon is also quick to point out that Australian men’s tastes are intrinsically conservative and that bold designs similar to those favoured “by black American musicians” are simply “too much” for them.
“Australian men would never wear a lot of the jewellery worn by such musicians but they are comfortable wearing something similar that has been toned down.”
 ‘Across the board’
RJ Scanlan & Co is another wholesaler with an extensive collection of jewellery targeting men.
The company sells four jewellery collections aimed primarily at men: Dora wedding rings, Soho men’s rings, Teno stainless steel jewellery and Trollbeads leather range.
 
According to general manager Stephen Brown, there is no doubt that the popularity of men’s jewellery is increasing.
“Men are certainly more comfortable wearing jewellery now. Even 10 years ago the idea of a man wearing jewellery was a little bit sissy or a little bit female as back then Australians still had a bit of in inferiority complex.
“Now that Australian men have become a lot more comfortable within themselves things like tattoos and piercings have become very mainstream, and so has jewellery.
“If you look at the rock stars 10-12 years ago they were all wearing tattoos, piercings and jewellery but it has taken a long time for ordinary men to emulate them. They are really just starting to look like performers did years ago.”
Brown believes this change in attitude is “across the board”.
“It is interesting to note that the driver for the changing attitudes of older men is younger men. They (the older men) look at what younger people are doing and copy it. You only have to look at things like surf culture to see how at first only the young people were running around in Rip Curl shirts but then older men followed and started wearing surf culture clothing as well.
“In some areas younger people emulate older people but in jewellery and fashion it is the other way around.”

Womens roles

Like McCammon and Brown, Steve Lindsay, the owner of Lindsays, which sells Morellato and Sector and men’s jewellery, agrees that men’s attitudes to jewellery is changing.
“Younger guys are definitely wearing more jewellery. If you go out to bars, clubs or wherever you’ll definitely see young fellas wearing jewellery.”
However, despite this visible change, Lindsay believes are women are still the primary purchasers of men’s jewellery as “they like to change men” and that a lot of men still regard watches as jewellery.
“Men are wearing a lot more bracelets, necklaces and rings but I still think the majority of them see watches as their primary piece of jewellery.”
“The men who do buy jewellery tend to like stainless because they like it’s tough factor − they don’t have to clean it, it’s hard to scratch and it’s very durable,” he says, adding that this makes the metal ideal for local men who can be “very clumsy and damaging”.
 Male acceptance
Similarly Phil Edwards, the owner of Duraflex Group Australia which wholesales Thomas Sabo jewellery, says the popularity of men’s jewellery is rising.
 
“The percentage of men’s’ jewellery sales is increasing annually.”
 
Edwards, who introduced Thomas Sabo into the Australian market in 2006 and then launched the unisex ‘Rebel at Heart’ line in 2008, says men’s jewellery now represents between 10-15 percent of the brand’s sales and is on the increase.
 
“Thomas Sabo has helped to make it much more acceptable for men to wear jewellery,” he says, adding that the brand’s ‘Rebel at Heart’ line addresses the needs of a broad target group with a variety of designs that ensures the brand reaches a diverse range of individuals “seeking masculine, uncompromising and sporty style”.
 
“It’s about masculinity and the combination of complementing jewellery pieces and watches.
 
“With Thomas Sabo, all existing collections are harmoniously coordinated with each other and can be combined in a variety of ways which go beyond the limits of the individual collection lines.”

Social values

 
Melissa Gibson, general manager of Buckle, the distributor of Tuskc jewellery, is yet another wholesaler who is adamant that the popularity of men’s jewellery is on the upswing.
“I feel that it has got to do with changes in social values,” she explains.
“As little as 10 years ago, the only piece of jewellery that some men would own was a plain wedding band.”
She says this new acceptance of men purchasing products traditionally targeted at females was now also evident in other categories such as fashion accessories (bags and scarves) and cosmetics.
“Men are not becoming more feminine, it’s just they are caring more about their appearances.
“Times are changing, and if you stand still, you will miss out on opportunities in men’s jewellery sales.”
She says that men’s jewellery currently accounts for 30 percent of Tuskc sales but stressed the beauty of the Tuskc range is that “some of our more masculine pieces do cross gender borders”.
“Pieces such as our double dog tags are also purchased by women for themselves even though they are marketed at men.
“Our target market is very broad. Our primary target market is men and women aged 25-55 years old. They are fashion-forward, proud individuals and want to be noticed by their friends, family and even strangers.”

Dress codes

Similarly Pendants Australia is another jewellery wholesaler capitalising on the growing men’s market – albeit on a smaller scale.
The company, which didn’t begin selling its initial men’s collection of white bronze pendants until the 2011 Brisbane JAA Jewellery Fair, has since expanded its range to 30 pendants with another 30 designs in development.
Founder and owner Duncan Michaelis says the target market for the company’s jewellery is “affluent, fashion conscious men between 18 to 35”.
“Our clients are typically very social, outgoing people who desire unique, quality fashion accessories outside of the mainstream, mass produced market.”
Michaelis is convinced that the men’s jewellery market is growing and will continue to grow.
“There is a greater desire for quality men’s jewellery,” he says.
“We believe one of the contributing factors of this is the greater relaxation of work dress codes. More often than not these days, employers do not require male employees to wear ties and a growing number of companies allow their staff to wear smart casual clothes every day of the week.
“Young males are substituting a smart suit for stylish necklaces, watches and rings. Men are also more relaxed about wearing jewellery as there are more masculine designs being created for them.”
Nonetheless, Michaelis believes Australian men are not interested in “loud” jewellery.
“We don’t see large extremities in the men’s jewellery market occurring.
“Men are not interested in loud pieces making large or colour statements,” although “larger more heavy watches, rings and pendants carrying a good feel in weight” seems to be a key trend.

Moving stock

Irrespective of any difference in stock styles, prices and target markets, McCammon, Brown, Lindsay, Edwards, Gibson, and Michaelis are unanimous in their view that the key to selling men’s jewellery is stocking it – and the key to selling more of it is stocking more of it.
“Retailers need to actually give men’s jeweller a presence,” says Neil McCammon.
“There’s no point to buying one piece here and there. Retailers need to have a display in the front window with maybe a story to tie it all together so that it attracts the attention of men who might them say ‘that looks quite good, I might go in and see what else they’ve got’.”
Similarly Stephen Brown argues that retailers need to display a range rather than “one or two pieces”.
“Retailers sometimes try to reduce risk, and I understand that, but it’s like the ‘old red shoes black shoes’ argument − you need the red shoes to sell the black shoes so retailers need a reasonable range of men’s jewellery to sell any one piece.
“For example, if you put you a nice range of jewellery in the window with nice visuals to make it a bit of a story you might only sell two bracelets but if you only put the two bracelets in the window you probably wouldn’t sell either.”
Steve Lindsay concludes that a “proper range” of jewellery with merchandising material promoting it is critical for success.
“One mistake that a lot of retailers make is that they say ‘yeah I’ll try, give me three or four pieces” but even if they get 10 pieces it’s just not going to work – people need to see a range whether its jewellery or watches.”
“For example, if a customer comes into your store to buy a Seiko diver’s watch and you only have one or two models to show them it’s going to be really hard for them to make a decision because they want a choice so they can make comparisons.”
“Similarly if you have a range of jewellery you are likely to sell more because you’re offering a choice – and you’ve also got a greater chance of upselling because if people come in to see your $99 bracelet you can then show them your $200 bracelets as well…”

Man of Colours – Brendan McCreesh

Hazel Bradley reveals how coloured gemstones can offer a treasure trove of unique opportunities for innovation and profit.
Posted in Supplier Profiles
As a teenager, Brendan McCreesh had no plans to follow his mother Rita van Lieshout into the gemstonebusiness but it was only a matter of time before he found the lure of coloured gemstones irresistible.
 
Since 1979 Rita had been at the helm of O’Neil’s Gems, a coloured gemstone wholesale business started by friends Robert and Jean O’Neil in the early 1950s.
 
The O’Neil’s had run the company from their Brisbane home and after Rita took over she slowly built the business up and moved into an office in the city.
 
“As a 13-year-old I helped out with deliveries and pick-ups, so I had an involvement even then,” Brendan recalls.
 
“When I left school mum asked me to work with her but at that stage I wasn’t ready.
 
“I worked as an AutoCAD draftsman in the 80s and then went backpacking to London and ended up staying six years.
 
“I went to university there, studying English and History. I met my now wife and we knew we didn’t want to raise children in London so I started to think about coming home and joining the family business.”
 
Brendan became his mother’s apprentice and benefited greatly from her “enormous amount of knowledge and experience”.
 
“She has great standing in the trade and a reputation second to none, so I learned from the best.”
 
Today, the company’s product range includes everything from jobbing stones for repair work up to sapphires, rubies and emeralds. Requests for everything from a three carat ruby to matching round amethysts to synthetic stones to amber with an insect in it are all in a day’s work.
 
As well as learning the trade from the ground up, Brendan was able to make full use of his background in graphics.
 
It was the early days of the Internet, and his flair for images took the company into an exciting new direction in terms of sales and marketing.
 
“Australia is a huge country with a lot of distance between towns and we had a long hard think about how we could let people see what we could offer in the most efficient way.
 
“There are many risks and costs involved in having someone on the road with a bag of gemstones.”
 
Brendan’s answer was to photograph all the stones, create new full-colour catalogue and give the company a big online presence.
 
“It made a huge difference in terms of our profile and sales.”
 
In the course of photographing the stones, Brendan became more and more fascinated by their qualities.
 
“When you are photographing something you look at it very closely and the stones were just fabulous.
 
“Most of the people who work in this field will tell you they are seeing utterly beautiful things all the time.”
 
The company was travelling along quite happily, mother and son making a great team, when a few years ago an opportunity came from out of the blue.
 
“We got a phone call from Terry Coldham of Sydney-based Sapphex and Melbourne-based Affiliated Importers to say he was considering retiring and would we be interested in buying his business.
“Really, you could have knocked me down with a feather.”
 
Terry Coldham established Sapphex in 1973 and brought Affiliated in the late 1990s, following a similar offer to the one he made to O’Neil’s. The then owner was retiring and gave him the chance to buy the business.
The concept made sense to Brendan.
 
“Even after they have moved on, people want their business to do well. So much emotion, blood, sweat and tears goes into these things. You want to sell to people with the experience to make it work, not someone with a pile of money who doesn’t have a clue what they are doing.”
 
After weighing up the pros and cons, all involved felt it was the opportunity of a lifetime.
 
“But buying a competitor larger than yourself is not a straightforward process. It took about eight to ten months of back and forth negotiation.”
 
The sale in August 2010 began a new and exciting era for the company. It was decided to combine two of the oldest and most established gemstone business names in Australia and so O’Neil’s Affiliated was born.
 
“It was a huge leap for us, going from about five staff to 21 with offices in different states.
 
“We have kept all the sales staff as they are an absolutely fantastic team. There is a huge amount of combined experience and expertise, far more valuable than any gems.”
 
Perhaps one of the biggest challenges the business now faces is promoting coloured gemstones and educating people in their beauty and fascination.
 
Part of the trouble, says Brendan, is at the retail level people often don’t have the knowledge and confidence to buy coloured stones.
 
To assist, the company provides their retail and manufacturing jewellers with a comprehensive guide so staff can answer queries about rubies or tanzanites with confidence, potentially leading to sales.
 
“Diamonds may be a jeweller’s bread and butter but the market is so competitive,” Brendan points out.
 
“The opportunities for coloured stones are enormous, with bigger profit margins for the retailer, because he isn’t competing with four other jewellers offering the same thing.
 
“For those customers who want something unique, you can guarantee with confidence they will never meet anyone else with a similar stone. It’s all about colour and individuality.
 
“We have gemstones like colour-change stones and star sapphires which are utterly beautiful and produced by nature. Most people have never heard of them.
 
“Star sapphires can be very reasonably priced. They come straight from nature and you have something unique and beautiful to wear that is not out of a factory and repeated 10,000 times over.
 
“There is good and innovative design in Australia but the market is still quite conservative.
 
“There are fantastic young jewellers coming through who are excited about creating designs that out of the ordinary but in my opinion there are not enough of them.”
 
Of course, the Royal family has long favoured coloured gemstones – Sarah Ferguson wore a ruby and Princess Diana a blue sapphire which has now been passed to Kate Middleton –while celebrities, like Angelina Jolie who famously wore large pear-shaped emerald earrings for one event, also dabble in their dazzle.
 
Brendan Brendan concedes says media coverage of such stars creates a huge amount of interest, but there is still a way to go before people realise what is available.
 
“The diamond industry is backed with massive marketing budgets and when people buy an engagement ring, more often than not they choose a diamond.
 
“It was by no means always the case. Prior to World War II it was more traditional to buy a sapphire.
 
“The limitations for us are we are a wholesale business. I would like to see the retail business promoting coloured gemstones more.
 
“But not too many jewellers are going to put an ad in the paper saying come and buy tanzanites or mandarine garnets, it’s nearly always gold and diamonds, the exception rather than the rule.”
 
O’Neil’s Affiliated is certainly doing its bit to promote awareness.
For the past two years the company has supplied videos showcasing gemstones for customers to screen in their shops and it now has a dedicated staff member photographing and uploading gemstones onto their website as well as Youtube.
 
“A photo is good but a 10 second clip of a rotating stone is even better as you see it from every angle.”
 
Brendan says there are plenty of opportunities for jewellers to explore. He cites a Bundaberg jeweller passionate about gemmology who years ago ran courses to educate his customers.
 
“As a result of his efforts Bundaberg became a really good jewellery town as the people there were buying really interesting pieces. Awareness is the first step.”
 
The company is also still working its way through the challenges of having multiple offices.
 
“If you are just working out of one office you have intimate knowledge of your stock and can answer enquiries instantly. That is not the case now. We have literally hundreds of thousands of gemstones and individual product lines spread over three offices.
 
Once again technology is coming to the rescue.
 
“We looked around for a base software package to customise, which is nearly complete.
 
“Once established it will allow staff and eventually our customers to log into our inventory and see what we have at a glance.”
 
O’Neil’s is also developing a gemstone app, due to be launched mid-year, that will allow jewellers to view their stock on an iPad, showing customers instantly what is available.
 
Even as the company adjusts to tripling in size, it is also dealing with the departure of Rita.
 
“My mother has been talking about retiring for a while but she found it hard to stop as she just loves it so much.
 
“But at the beginning of 2012 she decided it was time.
 
We haven’t made an official announcement yet, or even had a retirement party for her. She is still semi-involved, and in a very exciting way. All I can say is that she is currently overseas, the rest will be revealed in the coming months.”
 
Brendan and his mother were equal partners but following the company’s expansion he is now managing director, a very different role to hands-on selling.
 
“I do miss that face-to-face face contact with customers but there is plenty to do,” he laughs, explaining the company’s Melbourne office has just moved to bigger premises.
 
Brendan’s main role now is buying stock. He sources stones from all over the world, allowing his eldest son to accompany him on a three-week buying trip last year to Bangkok, China and India.
 
He has recently returned from the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show, the biggest show of its kind in the world.
 
The object was to come back with something interesting and he has certainly achieved that with three large, unusual geodes, much sought after by jewellery shops wanting an unusual mineral specimen for cabinet displays.
 
Crystal specimens, fossilised ammonite, shark’s teeth and amber were also ticked off his shopping list.
 
He also visited Colombia, where he suffered a hellish eight-hour drive to a remote location for the opportunity of visiting an emerald mine, an experience he describes as ‘absolutely wonderful’.
 
“One of the problems we have had is getting a good, reliable, regular supply of emeralds.
 
“Unfortunately, more often than not, they do not know what will sell on the Australian market. Just because a stone is the size of a duck egg doesn’t mean anyone is going to want it.
 
“We know our customers want a certain quality within a certain price range so I took the opportunity to go there and talk to dealers and cutters.
 
“Colombia is considerably off the beaten track for most gemstones traders considering its violent history but the situation has changed for the better and is much safer now, you just have to be sensible.”
 
Brendan is now immersed in photographing the pieces he has brought back from overseas, finding the process as fascinating as ever.
 
“Every day you are looking at something magnificent and unique, and that is the magic of my work.”
 
While future trends are hard to predict, Brendan has noted a move towards buying a single quality gemstone rather than multiple, less expensive gemstones.
 
“Rather than a medium or low quality, let’s say ruby, people are more and more likely to go for a higher quality stone. It seems the buying public may becoming more discerning, which is wonderful.
 
“I always advise my customers to buy the best you can afford and you can’t go wrong.
 
“Once people are exposed to the world of coloured gemstones their eyes light up and they are very intrigued.
 
“For instance, I constantly have a scattering of new gemstones on my desk and as people pass through there’s one word you’ll here every time, ‘wow’. I love that.”

Cashelle – the ‘one-stop’ supplier

Arthur Pike, the owner of Cashelle Jewellery, reveals the history behind the well-established jewellery supply company.
Posted in Supplier Profiles
After more than 35 years wholesaling and distributing fine jewellery in Australia, Arthur Pike is still constantly changing his company’s jewellery collection to meet the ever changing needs of retailers and their customers.

Arthur, the owner of Cashelle Jewellery in Sydney’s Penrith, believes that jewellery businesses have to be prepared to change if they want to succeed.
“The market changes so the industry has to change too,” he says.
“I’m quite prepared to try different things to see what works and what doesn’t.
“I learned the importance of this attitude from a very good retailer in Melbourne years ago: I used to ask him ‘why are you buying that?’ when he was buying something new and he would say ‘because I think it will sell and if I don’t give it a try I will never know’ whereas other retailers would often just say ‘no’ to buying new jewellery styles just because they didn’t like it. Well they may not like it but the customer who walks in the door in the next five minutes might like it.”
“Business owners have to be prepared to try different things to find out which direction they need to go in.
Arthur concludes that business owners who choose not to change with the changing market are the ones who ultimately fail – and it is a lesson he has learned the hard way.
Father and Son
 
Arthur followed his father, Reg Pike, into the jewellery business in 1958 when he was just a school boy and took on a part-time job running errands for Reg’s employer, fine jewellery importer and manufacturer Magnus Golding.
Reg was the sales director for the company, which sold “very upmarket jewellery” including men’s cufflinks, tie tacks and signet rings as well as sterling silver cigarette boxes and cases.
“During the school holidays I used to go into Magnus Golding to deliver parcels and generally help out,” recalls Arthur.
“When I left school I had various jobs (including sales roles for Pelaco Shirts and Fiat Car Parts) but I wasn’t really happy with any of them so when dad offered me a job as a salesman for Magnus Golding in 1969 I took it.”
Arthur enjoyed working with his father at the company for eight years but was nonetheless eager to establish a business with his father.
“Dad was happy to be the sales director for Magnus but I was more ambitious.
 
“It wasn’t that I thought that I could do better than Magnus Golding but I just wanted to run our own race. I wanted to import what we wanted and manufacture what we wanted.
“I worked on dad for three years before I convinced him that we could do it.”
In 1977 when Arthur was just 28, the father and son team opened their fine jewellery importing and distribution business, R & A Pike Pty Ltd, in the centre of Sydney’s CBD.
“As we had both worked in the jewellery trade for so long (dad for 20 years and me for around 10) we already knew a lot of customers and had a good name in the trade (due primarily to dad’s good reputation).
“This opened a lot of doors for us and helped the business get up and running fairly quickly,” he says. “If we had been starting from scratch it would have taken significant time to earn the trust and credibility of potential customers.”
R & A Pike grew at a steady pace relatively uneventfully until the business had the good fortune to pick a winning trend in late 1978.
Ingot madness
“The biggest thing that ever happened to R & A Pike happened in 1978 when we launched silver and gold ingots and pendants stamped with the Queen’s head, marking her Silver Jubilee, and other hallmarks,” laughs Arthur.
“It’s difficult to believe now but the ingots were a huge hit: we sold thousands and thousands of them in 1978 and 1979.
According to Arthur, Reg discovered the products during a buying trip to England when he was introduced to Johnson Matthey’s silver manager, Ken Gibson, at Hatton Garden.
“Ken introduced dad to jewellery manufacturer Roy Pike, (no relation) of Saffron Hill who was making the new ingot jewellery.
“Dad thought Roy’s ingots and pendants were great and brought back a small range.
“I was a bit sceptical about them but took them to a big wholesaler, Willis and Sons, where the buyer, Ken Perkins, was so impressed with them that he immediately ordered 150 small ones, 100 medium ones and 150 large ones.
“I couldn’t believe it but immediately telexed the order to London.”
Fortunately Willis and Sons wasn’t the only wholesaler impressed by the ingots and pendants.
“The other wholesalers followed with enthusiasm,” says Arthur.
“The ingots and pendants didn’t make us rich but they certainly gave us the funds to grow. In fact if we hadn’t had the ingots and pendants the business would have been struggling for quite a while…”
Yet despite the instant success of the ingots and pendants, R & A Pike’s business faced a number of challenges on the domestic front.
Firstly in 1983/1984, the business’s landlord doubled the rent so the company moved from its premises at the corner of York and King Street to another city office in 280 Pitt Street.
Then in 1987, Reg retired and Arthur took control of the business himself just as the business faced some of its toughest times.
Changing Times
“In the 1990s buying groups started to make a mark on the industry,” says Arthur.
“Australian manufacturers like us used to sell to wholesaler s who would then sell to retailers but the arrival of the buying groups meant that manufacturers began to sell directly to their members.
“This in turn meant that wholesalers, who were our customers, started to close down one by one and we were getting less and less orders until one day I woke up and realised we really only had one major customer left ( The Jewellery Centre in Brisbane)…
“I figured that if we were going survive we would have to change the way we did business – we were going to have to sell directly to retailers.
“We vacated our premises in the city as we could no longer afford to pay rent and moved home to Springwood (at the foot of the Blue Mountains) where we built an office.
“After 20 years in the trade I had to go and knock on doors and introduce myself afresh as the retailers didn’t know who I was. I no longer had a reputation to help me. I had to depend on the products I was selling and the offers I could make.”
Arthur also joined the Chronogem, Nationwide and Showcase buying groups.
“We worked from home for 10 years until we slowly but surely rebuilt the business and eventually outgrew our home office.”
In 1999 Arthur, his wife Lucy and their son Christopher found new premises in Penrith Mall and were once again happily ensconced there adding more staff until 2005 when the option period came up and once again a landlord doubled the business’s rent.
The family business found new premises, 350 square metres including the mezzanine, of office/storage space, in a nearby industrial area.
“Moving to these offices was probably the greatest thing we could have done because it gave us a lot more space and freedom,” he says.
“Lucy and I then had to make a decision in which direction we wanted the business to go as we weren’t getting any younger. We decided we either had to pull back a bit or go for it – we decided to go for it and expand further.”
One-stop shop
Today Arthur views the company, which was renamed Cashelle Jewellery in 1988 after Reg’s retirement, as “a one-stop shop” for jewellery retailers stocking everything from baby jewellery basics to upmarket nine-carat jewellery and “everything in-between”.
The company’s current stock range is made up of a generic collection of “bread and butter” sterling silver and nine carat gold jewellery including baby-, freshwater pearl- and natural coloured stone-jewellery (lockets, crosses, earrings and pendants) as well as several branded collections, Little Charmer babies’ jewellery, Minca sterling silver charm jewellery, Concordia cultured pearl jewellery, Global Heritage, rolled gold jewellery, Urban Metro, sterling silver and stainless steel unisex jewellery, and Cashelle Fine Jewellery nine-carat jewellery).
Despite the company’s obvious move to branding in recent years, Arthur stresses that “Cashelle’s version of branding is different to many others’ on the market”.
“Our customers do not have to place minimum orders – that’s not the sort of branding we’re into,” he says.
“We provide the customer with the products, the POS material, a display and a catalogue but it’s up to them to decide how they present it – where or how they put it in their store.
“We are selling a concept, not telling them how to run their business.”
Indeed, Arthur is more excited about the prospect of continuing to run his own business but concludes that without the support of Lucy, who continues to encourage and advise him, and the help of his six dedicated staff “who often go above and beyond the call of duty” the success of the business would have been difficult.
“Our new sales agents, Jeanette Priestley (NSW), Peter Commandeur (Vic, SA & Tas) and David Mattock (Qld) who have joined us this year are making a great contribution to increasing sales,” he says. “The future for Cashelle looks very bright indeed.
“I wish my dad was alive to see what we are doing now,” he says. “It is exciting to see how much the business has changed over the years and how it will no doubt continue to change.”
 
 
 
 
 
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