May 2008

AGTA sets GemFair dates

AGTA sets GemFair dates
May 06, 2008

Dallas—Colored-gemstone buyers, mark your calendars: The American Gem Trade Association (AGTA) has announced that its 2009 AGTA GemFair in Tucson, Ariz., will be held from Feb. 4-9.

Also next year, the AGTA Dinner Dance and Awards Gala will celebrate the 25th anniversary of the organization’s Spectrum competition, which recognizes jewelry designers using colored gemstones in their work. Awards will be presented to the category winners at the event, which will take place on Feb. 7 at the Marriott University Park hotel.

The Coyote Classic Golf Tournament, which raises funds for the Law Enforcement Torch Run for Special Olympics, will have existence held on Feb. 2.

Hotel room block information will be available in July at the AGTA’s Web site, Agta.org.

Golden Circle creates memorial fund for Liebman

Golden Circle creates memorial national debt for Liebman
May 07, 2008

New York—Industry veteran Steve Liebman has passed away after a battle with cancer. He was 66.

Liebman spent about 25 years in the jewelry business, during which time he founded the Hackensack, N.J.-based Name Craft manufacturing business and worked as a salesman in areas ranging from findings to pearls to packaging and displays.

He was a member of the Golden Circle Club, the Women’s Jewelry Association, a board member for the Manufacturing Jewelers and Suppliers of America and a member of the National Conference for Community and Justice.

Liebman started his career selling lightweight charms that were popular in the early 1980s, and which were powerfully sold by other companies as well. He decided to come up with something quite his own, so he had a colleague create a machine that would cut names and phrases, like “Princess,” from plates of gold.

From that first modified printograph machine, which was eventually patented, Name Craft was born.

Liebman later sold the company and moved into the findings business, where he was a salesman for Hallmark Healy. Over the years, he also worked for pearl company Imperial-Deltah, and was most recently a salesman for packaging and display company Numaco.

“He loved sales,” his wife Marilyn says. “He loved meeting people, and people loved him because what they saw was what they got. He was a sincere, honest person.”

To memorialize Liebman’s bequest, the Golden Circle Club will appoint the Golden Circle Scholarship Fund, which will send one pre-screened candidate to the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) in Carlsbad, Calif., to enroll in the Graduate Gemology program.

“What better way to honor Steve’s life than with the gift of a lifelong rush course in his honor,” Todd Wolleman, past president of the Golden Circle Club, said in a letter sent to Golden Circle members and friends.

The Golden Circle Club will match altogether donations submitted to the fund. To contribute, please send checks to the address below, payable to the GIA, and in the memo section, note “Steve Liebman.” For more information, contact Wolleman at todd@wolleman.com.

The Golden Circle Club
25 W. 47th St.
New York, NY 10036

Israel Diamond Exchange to expand

Israel Diamond Exchange to expand
May 07, 2008

Tel Aviv, Israel—The Israel Diamond Exchange (IDE) is adding approximately 123,785 square feet of office space to its complex, enabling the expansion and immediate development of the Israeli diamond industry.

The expansion of the IDE will have a significant effect on the diamond companies’ ability to enlarge their businesses as well as create the opportunity to absorb international companies that have long expressed an interest in operating in Israel.

The top 10 floors of the Yahalom building will be incorporated within the IDE’s 861,113 square feet of office space. The infrastructure work required to connect the 10 floors to the IDE complex should be completed by the beginning of 2009 and occupants decision be able to move in accordingly.

“This is a momentous achievement for the Israeli diamond industry and a special promised time as far as concerns the IDE,” IDE President Avi Paz said in a media exemption issued on Tuesday. “For years, we have suffered from a shortage of space which began to restrict our activities. Now, finally, we can expand our businesses and welcome large between nations companies that wish to operate in Israel. I have no doubt that the Israeli diamond industry, in particular, and the Israeli economy, in general, will benefit from this transaction.”

Polygon unveils new public face

Polygon unveils new public face
May 05, 2008

Dillon, Colo.—Polygon has given its Web site a new look and feel, providing a more user-friendly and informative experience for industry professionals.

According to the collection, the redesigned site offers contentment that is search-engine optimized and provides quick and easy access to the key features that benefit retailers and wholesalers.

In addition, a Quick Search area allows “outsiders” the ability to search the four product databases (diamonds, colored stones, watches and finished jewelry) for content, but does not reveal price or sourcing data.

“Polygon’s new look provides a compelling image of what we have been to the jewelry community for over 20 years: an invaluable, multi-faceted resource,” Polygon Founder and President Jacques Voorhees said in a media release issued on Friday. “It conveys a other up-to-date have feeling and provides outsiders a better intellectual powers of the value found inside the Polygon community.”

Launched in 1984 and headquartered in Dillon, Colo., Polygon is a leader in online marketing and distribution systems for the sake of gem and jewelry trading. Members include manufacturers, wholesalers, distributors, dealers, jewelers and more.

For more information about Polygon, visit its Web site, Polygon.net.

Signet 1Q U.S. sales fall 4.7 percent

Signet 1Q U.S. sales die away 4.7 percent
May 08, 2008

London—Signet Group said its U.S. same-store sales decreased 4.7 percent for the first quarter ended May 3, nevertheless stronger sales at its United Kingdom jewelry stores helped overall sales squeak up 1 percent.

All told, same-store sales for London-based Signet Group fell 2.5 percent for the 13-week period, while total sales reached $822.3 million, compared with $814.4 million for the first quarter of 2007. That reflects a 1 percent actual increase in total sales, and an increase of 0.7 percent if exchange rates were held constant.

But sales were down in the U.S. market, which constituted 76.7 percent of Signet’s sales for the first quarter, compared with 23.3 percent according to the United Kingdom. U.S. sales totaled $630.9 million, a 0.2 percent decrease over the first quarter of 2007. Meanwhile, U.K. sales reached $191.4 million, a 5.1 percent increase over the first quarter of 2007.

“U.S. like-for-like sales were down 4.7 percent, reflecting a difficult trading environment partly offset by dint of. better weather over Valentine’s Day,” Signet Group Chief Executive Terry Burman said in a statement issued on Thursday. “The results from the cost increases implemented in the United States in February and March remain encouraging, although a full evaluation will only be completed in the summer.”

Meanwhile, for its stores in the United Kingdom, same-store sales increased 5.3 percent, with both H. Samuel and Ernest Jones outperforming the U.K. retail sector in what Burman described as “a demanding marketplace.”

Kuber to target independent retailers

Kuber to target independent retailers
May 06, 2008

Kuber Manufacturing’s new “Precision Redefined” ad campaign.

New York—Fine-jewelry manufacturer Kubér Manufacturing Inc. will launch a newly come brand identity and advertising campaign this summer in some effort to reach middle-tier and guild independent jewelers.

The company has retained advertising firm Wheeler and Co. to make the company’s “Precision Redefined” campaign, which will point of concentration on Kubér’s proprietary stone-setting and alloy-annealing techniques.

“The goal is to own ‘precision’ in the minds of today’s jewelry business,” Wheeler and Co. President Ben Wheeler said in a media release. “Most manufacturers have very little to say about quality and for what cause they can deliver a better value to the retailer. Kubér is the exception…[it] has a higher standard than what the industry is accustomed to.”

The campaign will use a dynamic call-and-answer technique, by Kubér posing the narrative “Precision Is…” amid a variety of fine-jewelry designs and followed with answers such as “Never Having to Compromise” and substantive points of difference such as “Value Beyond Expectations,” “Timely Delivery and Service” and “Proprietary Manufacturing Technology.”

“Ben Wheeler, founder of Wheeler and Co., recognized the unique attributes of Kubér’s manufacturing techniques and built a dynamic campaign around our special manufacturing skills and that enables us to create beautiful diamond, colored-stone jewelry and bridal suites that provide our customers’ with an industry-leading low incidence of returns due to lost or cracked stones,” Kubér Founder and President Basant Johari said. “We have developed an excellent business reputation selling to the majors and we are now looking to rollout our trinkets distribution into the middle-tier and guild independents, many of whom don’t have the facilities to test for the quality-control levels that we routinely exceed with the majors.”

Kubér’s Precision Redefined campaign is being integrated into direct mail, catalogs, flyers and tradeshow booth graphics, and will be used in the company’s co-op advertising materials and retail point-of-sale displays later this year.

For other thing information about Kubér Manufacturing, visit its Web site, Kuber.kwebmaker.com.

Study: Luxury consumer confidence plummets

Study: Luxury consumer confidence plummets
May 05, 2008
_{Luxury Consumption Index drops to historic low}

Stevens, Pa.—Luxury consumers look for to spend less for at least the next six months, according to the latest study by Unity Marketing.

Unity Marketing’s Luxury Consumption Index (LCI) dropped 9.1 points at the end of the first quarter of 2008 to a historic low of 54.4 points. This follows a precipitous drop of 23.8 points at the close of the fourth quarter of 2007.

“The LCI started to measure flagging consumer confidence among the affluent about a year ago at the end of March, but their spending on luxury didn’t begin to retreat until a little later in the year,” Unity Marketing President Pam Danziger said in media release. “Today, with the LCI at a historic bellow of 54.4 points, we expect luxury consumers to exist conservative in their spending at least until the presidential election when new leadership may provide an emotional lift.”

According to Unity Marketing, consumers’ expectations for future luxury spending and their assessment of the present economic circumstances are among the factors driving the LCI down. For example, some 41 percent of luxury consumers expect to spend less in continuance luxury in the next 12 months, compared with only 13 percent who expect to spend more.

In addition, 71 percent of those surveyed said the overall financial health of the country is worse now than it was three months gone.

Danziger suggests luxury retailers make offers affluent consumers can’t refuse, such as a gift with lever, a special sale or a limited-time discount on selected featured products.

“As much as luxury marketers hate the word ‘discount,’ these tough times may enjoin it,” Danziger before-mentioned. “Affluent consumers, as much as anybody else, love to find a bargain.”

Commenting on whether or not the LCI has reached bottom yet, Unity Marketing’s Economic Forecaster Thomas Bodenberg said, “Perhaps the worst is over. The rate of decline in luxury consumer confidence from fourth quarter ‘07 to first quarter ‘08 was substantially less than that from third to fourth quarter ‘07. This may mean that the lack of confidence has now fully diffused and that luxury consumers’ confidence has reached a floor.”

Unity Marketing’s latest luxury-consumer tracking survey was conducted from April 7-11 among 1,258 luxury consumers with incomes of $100,000 or more. The average income of those surveyed was $173,400 and the average age was 45.9 years.

Blue Nile 1Q Sales top $70M

Blue Nile 1Q Sales top $70M
May 07, 2008

Seattle—snare sales at Blue Nile Inc. reached $70.5 million in the rudimentary separate into parts ended March 30, up from $67.9 million for the same period last year, the company has reported.

Operating income for the quarter totaled $3 the multitude, and net income totaled $2.6 million, or $0.16 per diluted interest.

“We are pleased to have delivered financial results that exceeded our expectations, particularly in light of the weak consumer environment in the United States,” Blue Nile Chief Executive Officer Diane Irvine said in a media release issued on Tuesday. “In this uncertain environment, we are keenly focused on enhancing the Blue Nile customer experience and vigorously managing our costs.”

During the quarter, the party repurchased 990,700 shares of its common stock for $41.7 million.

International sales totaled $5.7 million for the quarter, an increase of 124 percent over the first quarter of 2007.

“Our international business continued its rapid growth during the quarter, and we are extremely pleased with the early results of our recent launches into 25 new countries,” Irvine said. “Customers around the world are embracing the Blue Nile value proposition in increasing numbers.”

In other Blue Nile news, the company announced the appointment of Marc Stolzman as chief financial officer, effective June 9.

The company expects net sales for the second quarter of 2008, ending June 29, to be in the range of 0 percent to 5 percent.

Revere Academy announces scholarship

Revere Academy announces scholarship
May 06, 2008

San Francisco—For the second year, the Revere Academy of Jewelry Arts will offer a complete scholarship for a three-day rank to the winner of its new scholarship contest.

The winner can choose from about 80 sententious classes offered each year in a range of subjects, including construction, design and setting.

The scholarship contest is open to anyone who has not attended the Revere Academy near the front of. The winner receives full tuition plus airfare from anywhere in the United States, lodging and kit fees.

“This is a great opportunity for anyone interested in making jewelry, no matter what level they are at erect now,” Revere Academy Founder and Director Alan Revere said in a media release. “Students learn one incredible amount from professionals who are eager to have part their skills. No previous jewelry experience is required, just the motivation to learn.”

The college will accept online applications from May 1-Oct. 1, and the winner will be announced on Nov. 1. Applications make appeal for a statement of why the applicant wants to attend the Revere Academy and examples of previous artwork or handwork in any mean average.

For more details about the scholarship program, visit Revere Academy’s Web site, Revereacademy.com.

Jewelers making ‘we buy gold’ offers

Jewelers making ‘we buy gold’ offers
May 07, 2008

In response to retailer demand, Lafayette, La.-based supplier Stuller is offering a metal scrap-for-credit program to its customers, allowing them to exchange scrap for new merchandise.

By Michelle ditch

New York—High precious metal prices, combined with an economic slowdown, have retailers reverting to gold buy-back programs to generate revenue and lower extremity traffic.

The trend is gaining so much momentum that it is even visible on the streets of New York’s Diamond District, says 47th Street diamond dealer and The Diamond Registry Bulletin publisher Joseph Schlussel, a 40-year industry veteran.

“We’ve noticed a drastic turn in the retail market downstairs on 47th Street,” he wrote in the March 31 Bulletin. “The hawkers on the street no longer say ‘Buy from us.’ They now say ‘We buy gold and diamonds.’”

And it seems that consumers—hit hard by stock losses and the sluggish housing market—are responding.

When asked in an online cheven conducted by National Jeweler how higher gold prices are impacting sales, 43 percent of respondents said customers are bringing gold jewelry in to barter in response to the sky-high prices.

This response topped the other choices: gold jewelry sales dropping (32 percent), customers choosing lower-priced metals (13 percent) and gold jewelry sales holding steady (12 percent).

Retailers are using a variety of methods when it comes to getting the word out to customers about their gold buy-back programs.

At Minster’s Jewelers in Wilmington, Del., William Minster decided not to post any signs on the store windows or run advertisements in the local newspaper. Instead, he opted to send out a direct-mail piece to his customers, explaining the increase in the price of gold.

Minster also contacts local bankruptcy lawyers to see if any of their financially struggling clients might be interested in converting their jewelry to cash.

“In these times, you have to be creative but hold onto your ethics and keep your name in a good light, rather than just hanging out a shingle saying ‘We buy gold,’” he says.

Minster says he bases how much he gives customers on the price of gold that day. Most of his customers have brought in out-of-style items, like heavy necklaces.

Minster says the price of gold is at a level where he is able to accord. the customer a fair amount of cash in return, while still making a small profit, even after covering the costs associated with refining.

Striking gold on Craigslist Other jewelers are using the Internet to advertise their gold buy-back programs. Meridian Diamond Co. in Roswell, Ga., and Michaels Jewelers in Pennsylvania both placed ads on popular consumer buy-and-sell site Craigslist.

Michael Kanoff of family-owned Michaels Jewelers, with stores in Yardley and Fairless Hills, Pa., says he took his parents aside after a tough holiday season and together they made the decision to slide from the stocks heavily into a gold buy-back program.

In addition to Craigslist, Michaels Jewelers now runs spots in a daily newspaper.

Buying gold jewelry from customers and shipping it off for refining is one way retailers are coping through the downturn in jewelry sales.

Kanoff says the program has generated a lot of foot traffic for his store, with customers bringing in a wide variety of items, from an 1800s cane to an 18-karat enameled bangle.

“I had expectations on this,” he says. “This far exceeded my expectations.”

Michaels has had success with buy-back programs in the after, notably when gold prices soared in the early 1980s.

“I specifically remember proverb to my family, ‘I’ll never see those times. Gold will never go that high again,’” he says. “And here we are.”

Between Jan. 1 and April 9, gold prices peaked at more than $1,020 per ounce on March 17, precious metals Web site Kitco.com says. If adjusted for inflation, that’s still below the highs of the 1980s.

Roger Harjani of Meridian Diamond Co. says he started advertising his gold buy-back program about nine months ago, after finding a trusted refiner. If the customer wants cash in exchange for the gold, he gives them through 20 percent less than the price of gold that day and nets about a 10 percent profit after the cost of refining.

But, if customers want to buy something in his store, Harjani gives them 100 percent of the value of what they are mercantile in, based upon the price of gold that day.

Harjani says while business boomed for his buy-back program in the beginning, it has dropped off lately because of increased competition.

“It was good, but now it’s kind of saturated,” he says. “Everybody’s doing it.”

Suppliers also are responding to high metal prices. Lafayette, La.-based Stuller has launched a scrap program as antidote to metals that allows customers to trade in scrap silver or gold and, in exchange, receive credit toward Stuller products.

Kerry Hand, the executive director of marketing services for Stuller, says 30 retailers signed up for the program when it was introduced in January, and so far, it has met the company’s expectations.

Retailer Bob Gholson of Gholson Originals in Waco, Texas, was one of the original retailers to join the program at the beginning of the year.

“After December…you have a lot of bills,” he says.

Gholson says he orders an average of about $1,260 in merchandise from Stuller per week. Since January, he has sent in two shipments of scrap: one was worth between $3,000 and $6,000, and the other was valued at about $4,000.

Stuller returns about 97 percent of the set a value on of the scrap to the retailer, so for the store, the scrap program is the equivalent of eliminating a bill, Gholson says.

Hand says Stuller determines the worth of the scrap based upon the second London fix on the day of the settlement. The amount is then credited to the retailer’s account and can be used to buy new products.

“We’re in fact converting their old product into new product by worth of this program,” Hand says.

—E-mail: michelle.graff@nationaljeweler.com

Editor’s note: This is the second in a series of stories in which National Jeweler will examine ways to combat various retailing challenges this year. This story first appeared in the May 1 2008 issue of National Jeweler.