The Plus 50: Retail

There is the Virtual Room and the Virtual Show, the Pop-Up Shop and Remote Bidding for on-line auctions, all aimed at involving the customers and directing them towards “Click & Pay”. And then there is the largest b2b data-exchange platform in the luxury, fashion, beauty and home sectors, that pulls the strings of a network of thousands of brands worldwide. Welcome to the “stores” of the future. 

Qudini, Agency Connect, Joor, Clientbook, House of Luxury, Amanqi, Sothebys

The Agency Connect

Who Nina Dzhokhadze, Co-founder
Where London
Why During the first virtual jewelry show as an agency, it showcased the work of 10 jewelry designers to an elite list of clients, stockiests and media globally
Web theagencyconnect.com

Originally a physical store in Paris, aiming to connect jewelry designers with global retailers and store buyers, showcasing twice a year during the Paris Fashion Week. In September/ October 2020, it gave birth to Connect Virtual Showroom. «Lot of hard work went in to buil this virtual platform immersing the audience into a jewelry atmosphere from the comfort of their office or home, finalize the selections, view the pieces and meet the designers. With my 12 years in jewelry industry, in global wholesale background, I have seen it all. But this digital week of exhibiting - what an experience it has been! We managed to connect and fulfill our mission successfully,» says Dzhokhadze. 

Joor

Who Kristin Savilia, Ceo
Where New York
Why Integrating virtual showrooms into the online trade show experience
Web joor.com

 The largest b2b platform for data exchange in the luxury, fashion, beauty and home, with over 8,600 brands and 200,000 retailers across 144 countries. Joor digitizes the entire sales and purchasing experience, creating a collaborative ecosystem to access metrics that drive their business in real time.

Clientbook 

Who Brandon Wright, Founder and Ceo
Where Lehi, Utah, Usa
Why Hundreds of retailers have improved sales conversion rates and increased average dollar sales
Web clientbook.com

 A mobile first solution that personalizes the client-retailer experience and can increase client engagement by fivefold, thus building personal relations without wasting time on futile actions. The time spent in micro-management is thus eliminated and the sales team’s efforts undergo an increase in efficiency and effectiveness. Numerous jewelry brands have already adopted Clientbook, including Wilson Diamonds from Utah whose Vice President, Jeff Corrigan, said: «We were unsure how to collect useful information about our clients during their first visit without appearing invasive. Before Clientbook, we only received 2-5% of the contact information. Now, however, the sales team can acquire up to 90% of potential clients’ phone numbers and immediately send them a text message. This process has led to a 98% message reading rate and a reply rate of more than 71%.»

The House of Luxury 

Who Elio d'Anna, Founder
Where London
Why An actual way of bringing people back in the shop, even if virtually
Web thehouseofluxury.com

 A new digital project inaugurated during lockdown. It's called V-Showroom and is the spin-off of the London agency The House of Luxury. A "virtual" room to present the new collections of the jewelry designers represented by them. Objective of the project: to keep the reality of trunk shows alive also for the future. Among the most recent initiatives, a pop up store on the first floor of Harrods in London. These jewels are also visible in the V-Showroom, designed after the Harrods first floor jewelry room.

Amanqi

Who Manal Waqi, Founder
Where Dubai, Uae
Why Helping emerging brands and businesses develop and thrive to reach their maximum potential
Web amanqi.co

 The Amanqi Edit is a platform established in 2016 to support, nurture and incubate emerging jewelry brands. In order to adapt to the "new normal", Amanqi launched The Digital Showroom transitioning the brands to a digital alternative to the pop ups.

Sotheby's

Who Kristian Spofforth, Head of London Jewellery Department
Where London
Why Taking a leading role in organisation of Sotheby’s online fine jewelry auctions in Europe during and after lockdown
Web sothebys.com

Auction houses such as Sotheby’s and Christie’s have moved into increasingly online sales platforms during the pandemic, and have achieved strong results. «I think there will continue to be a strong demand online, with clients adapting to ‘remote’ bidding. Diamonds with GIA reports have been well received online as people can get the details without seeing the stone,» said Kristian Spofforth. Sotheby’s has been developing its online platform for a couple of years and the transition into digital sales during lockdown was smooth with high quality images, cataloguing and an app. «People trust our specialist knowledge: clients will see something they like and call us and trust our opinion.»