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Cover
Retail Rap
By Phyllis Schiller
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| Jade Trau |
The 4Cs are not the only things that make a piece of diamond jewelry a sales winner. In an ongoing series, Rapaport Magazine explores the “3Ws” — what’s selling, what’s not and why — by going straight to the people who really know — jewelry retailers. Each month, we ask a sampling of retailers to comment on the important issues that are facing the industry today. Here is what they had to say when asked: “Are you expecting a good holiday season? What have you stocked that you think will be the “hot” item this year?”
“You have to start by knowing that it’s going to be your best season ever. And then you’ve got to greet each day as if it’s going to be your best day ever. I think it’s going to be fun. And I think it’s going to be a challenge because it’s going to be a little shorter season, with Thanksgiving coming so late. But I do think people want to gift things to people who mean a lot to them and a lot of times that means jewelry. For us this year, diamond earrings and diamond bracelets have been really strong categories. We have beefed up our inventory of bracelets and diamonds as well as our inventory of loose diamonds, so we’re ready when people come in.
“Every single year, we hope to do better. And we work to do better. If you set your goals too low, you’re always going to reach them and you’ll never know what you could have done.”
“It’s a little early to tell; in our experience, it really hits the last couple of weeks before Christmas. We’re a very last-minute destination for our customers. We have a nice selection across the board; we’re definitely stocked and ready. We have maybe a few more fancy colored diamond pieces in stock this year and diamond jewelry across the board — earrings and necklaces, things like that. Some are very fashion oriented and some more classic styles. We’re hoping for a nice engagement ring season, which is a trend we’ve been seeing throughout the year, so we have some more complete rings in stock.
“Of course, we always hope to do better. We are coming off of a very good year. Last year was our best year ever in sales and we’re just trying to keep up at this point.”
“I think Americans are going to spend a lot of money. I think they’re going to buy a lot of jewelry. They’ve been holding back for a few years and this is the year that they’re going to let go. It’s still going to be diamond jewelry, like the two-stone rings, which are popular now, and line diamond jewelry rings with small diamonds and not heavy in gold. And we always do real well with previously owned Rolex watches; that market is very popular right now. Bridal is still a big deal; there are a lot of engagements during Christmas.”
“If you’d asked me in the beginning of November, I would have said ‘great.’ But then, we hit a soft period, so I don’t know what to expect. We sell a lot of high-end watches, new and preowned. I’m also selling a lot of diamonds, too, and larger goods. My typical engagement ring customer is over 30 years old. Sometimes, it’s an upgrade or second marriage. During the holiday season, we have more people looking for engagement rings.
“We put in some new things for the holidays. I made up diamond halo pendants, nice quality, and they’re going to do very well for us. I put in an inexpensive watch line called 40Nine — each watch is $49 — and that’s done very well for us. It has created activity and I’m looking at the bigger picture. I think we’ll do as well as or better than 2014, for sure.”
“Early indications are that it’s going to be a great season. Diamond engagement rings are selling and diamond jewelry in particular — mostly rings and earrings. You never know what will be the best seller. We just try to keep well stocked across the board, so whatever is hot, we’ll have it. I have every expectation that we will surpass last year, which was a record year.”
“There seems to be a little less activity than last year. I’m not sure if it’s because the news is having a psychological effect on people, but I think it’s a little quieter than 2014. Studs and tennis bracelets seem to be picking up a little. And of course, our biggest business is engagement rings. That’s still strong. I think we will meet last year’s figures but you never know. Call me December 25th!”
“It’s been a very slow beginning of the year. We have had a little bit of an uptick but it’s not on a steady incline. It’s very unpredictable. The diamond category does pretty well here but not bridal. We took on Gurhan this year and people seem to like it. Monica Rich Kosann has been our best-selling line in the past few months. For the past few years, people haven’t come in and asked for one hot item. It’s across the board.”
“Early indications for us are that the holidays are going to be great. But we’ve been diligently working to keep the whole year great. We are optimistic for an increase over last year, which was an increase over the year before, which was an increase over the year before that. We’ve been running pretty solid. We’ve added two new brands in diamond fashion and doubled our Hearts On Fire commitment this year. I think the engagement rings will be consistent with 2014.”Article from the Rapaport Magazine - December 2015. To subscribe click here.
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