The Showroom Strategy
They manage wholesale jewelry sales, but now their vision is even more strategic. Showroom services have increased to include marketing and communications, with targeted trunk shows, store visits and tailor-made merchandising
«We receive buyers from all over the world,» explains Valery Demure, the influential and historic founder of the London showroom of the same name, which now has a location in New York as well. «Departments stores are working hard, they’ve lost contact with the customer, but small boutiques are experiencing great growth. They do their best to meet customers’ needs – they are quite dedicated to this. And today this is what designers and final customers need. We opened in the USA, a well-informed, very dynamic and knowledgeable jewelry market, in search of craftsmanship. It is a market that lives on trunk shows, involving the designer in every step because it knows that sales and marketing go hand in hand,» continued Valery. «The search for originality is always in the forefront, but ‘pricing’ is essential. A niche brand with little visibility must be cautious in defining its price point, otherwise it could get burned.»
For Amy Thomas of The Jewellery Showroom «prices and qualityare the main factors that lead to a buyer’s purchase. They choose five types per designer and buy various pieces per style. They never stop selling during the year. Buyers always come! And while smaller concept stores are willing to spend the minimum per order for a new brand, department stores have budgets as high as 35,000 euros for a new brand,» says Thomas. Once the sales strategy is defined, the communication and marketing factor remains, which must not be underestimated. «Here at Polly King, buyers are looking for stories. I suggest designers that are modern and trendy, but I don’t lose sight of the price, which must be affordable. Because of this, I pair a range of fashion jewels with a ‘demi-fine’ range,» explains Hoda Shahzadeh,International Head of Jewelry. Rachel Baritz and Gabrielle Schein, founders of the Aurum showroom, agree. «In the twenty years we are on the market, the retail scene has changed. The driving force is notso much the budget, but the stories behind the collections. Because of this, we work closely with stores, looking to bring together more designers that are stylistically consistent.»