Markets may change, consumer spending will rise and fall, and competition can intensify. Those forces are largely beyond the control of individual business owners. However, remembering who your customer is, and making every decision with that customer in mind, should never change.
Peter Drucker, the world-renowned management consultant, put it simply: A business exists to create and keep a customer. That is the lesson the Australian jewellery industry should remember following the collapse of Leading Edge Group.
If you missed the news, Leading Edge Group (LEG), the parent company of Leading Edge Group Jewellers (Leading Edge), has entered voluntary administration after failing to meet debt obligations, with reported liabilities exceeding $28 million.
Henry McKenna from Vincents, an insolvency and restructuring firm, has been appointed as the administrator, halting trading while managing operations and debts owed to creditors and suppliers. The company issued a letter to suppliers confirming the collapse.
According to this letter, the administration was exacerbated by cash flow issues, with some suppliers placing the company on credit hold. The company’s appliance and consumer electronics lost significant sales to a breakaway group formed by former LEG franchisees called Independent Business Group.
LEG management admitted that some members had fallen behind on payments, placing ‘significant strain’ on the business and delaying supplier payments. Despite efforts to stabilise the business, including a new payment model aimed at improving cash flow, the group was unable to recover.
The collapse has left numerous creditors, including major suppliers and financial institutions, facing substantial losses. The future of the business remains uncertain, and unsecured creditors are unlikely to recover their debts in full.
LEG is owned by Riverwise Pty Limited, and according to media reports, it reported consolidated revenue of $94.98 million for the 2025 financial year, down from $97.9 million the previous year.
Net profit after tax stood at $1.37 million. Financial disclosures revealed liabilities of $28.26 million as of June 30, 2025, including borrowings of $5.05 million. The company is also managing a $570,000 tax liability and has entered into a tax funding arrangement with the Australian Taxation Office.
Beyond the raw numbers, the jewellery division at Leading Edge had been showing signs of significant strain for many years.
In 2023, the jewellery division reported losses of $9.9 million while simultaneously its membership base was declining. There appeared to be plenty of ‘smoke and mirrors’ in play, and it was increasingly difficult to identify how many members remained.
Around that time, Jeweller informed Leading Edge management that the business would no longer be defined or described as a ‘buying group’ – and it’s a decision that has been repeatedly vindicated.
With the benefit of hindsight, it's worth asking whether the company’s recent collapse was exclusively the result of external pressures alone, or if deeper strategic issues were a sign of significant internal turmoil.
Buying group in name only
The decision to ‘reclassify’ Leading Edge was reached based on several factors.
At the time, membership had fallen by more than 80 per cent over the previous five years, leaving as few as 20 members. Additionally, its broader ‘influence’ within the local jewellery industry was at an all-time low.
It wasn’t always this way. The buying group was established in the 1980s by independent Australian jewellery retailers based in regional communities. Its website still offers an almost ‘mythical re-telling’ of the company’s origin story.
In light of the company’s recent collapse, it appears to underline how far Leading Edge had drifted from the factors which made it an initial success.
“In 1980, a group of regional jewellers wanted to solve a problem that many small businesses faced and continue to face - lack of power to negotiate rates, discounts, and benefits from suppliers,” the website reads.
“From one meeting, a mission was born: to unite and improve their purchasing power, improved merchant fees, simplified invoicing and online web services to purchasing advantages through our large supplier network.”
The company would later expand into other retail categories, such as books, music, homewares, and computers – becoming the all-encompassing Leading Edge Group in the late 1990s.
Leading Edge was consistently the smallest of the three buying groups because of this key difference. Industry stalwarts - Nationwide Jewellers and Showcase Jewellers - deal exclusively with jewellery retailers, and the same is true for relative newcomer Independent Jewellers Collective (IJC). At its peak, LEG accepted members from seven retail categories.
Speculation about the future of the jewellery division ran rampant around 2020 when IJC was launched as a fourth jewellery industry buying group. IJC was, and remains, spearheaded by Joshua Zarb, a former long-time employee of Leading Edge – which under his leadership reached its peak in 2018.
Behind the scenes, many industry figures questioned whether the Australian jewellery industry needed, or could sustain, four buying groups. For many reasons, retailers and suppliers alike identified Leading Edge as the most vulnerable group.
Despite IJC launching in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, it has risen to more than 100 members, and given the eventual collapse of LEG, it would seem these predictions were warranted.
Furthermore, given some of the decisions made by Leading Edge after 2020, which angered suppliers and retailers alike - and are detailed below - it may be fair to assume that internally, management was asking similar questions about the company’s prospects in an increasingly competitive market.
Market competition aside, a buying group’s strength is commonly measured by two factors: the number of retailers it represents and the value it creates for those members. For Leading Edge, by the early 2020s, questions were emerging about both.
Musical chairs
In terms of management, it has been something of a revolving door for the company in recent years. In fact, it’s somewhat difficult to determine who LEG’s current leader is.
According to one report, Charlie Davey resigned as CEO in April 2026 and was replaced by Scott Lindsay. Davey was appointed CEO in December 2023 after the resignation of Lee Scott.
Around this time, it was announced that LEG had established an executive committee to assist Davey in his transition – which, remarkably, included three former CEOs, including Simon Lane, Graham Dear, and Lee Scott.
It was around this time that, behind the scenes, the jewellery division began obfuscating its falling numbers in a bid to mask an almost non-existent membership base – a pattern of behaviour over which this publication confronted Davey.
Jeweller’s most recent State of the Industry Report was published in 2024. For more than two decades, each buying group would freely volunteer its latest membership and store count for publication; however, Leading Edge began reporting figures which included something it called ‘subscribers’.
Traditionally, Leading Edge members would pay a monthly buying group fee of $89, whereas ‘subscribers’ was a descriptor for stores that had purchased products from the company’s wholesaling division but were not paid members of the buying group.
Jeweller disagreed with this newly invented terminology for many reasons. It was similar to claiming a store that stocked Pandora jewellery or Seiko watches was a ‘subscriber’ to Pandora or Seiko. Such stores are correctly described as ‘customers’ or ‘stockists’ of the brand, not ‘members’ or ‘subscribers’.
Membership numbers are more than marketing figures for buying groups. They are a measure of influence, negotiating power, and commercial relevance. For that reason, accurately reporting membership to the broader industry is crucial.
When questioned, Leading Edge management claimed they could not separate the two types of businesses to accurately reflect the paid membership to the buying group. Extraordinarily, when confronted about this claim, Davey suggested that staff could not easily distinguish between a paid buying group member and a retailer that had purchased a product.
Furthermore, he dismissed Jeweller's method of defining members as “complex”, even though it had been unchanged for more than two decades. At another time, Davey claimed the company had as many as 400 members – and suggested that figure was even increasing.
He was asked to rethink his policy and accurately and openly report Leading Edge’s paid membership numbers as the company had always done. He refused, so this publication sought the information from other sources.
It wasn’t a difficult task and proved embarrassing for Davey. A membership list was quickly acquired, which revealed that the jewellery division had a mere 21 members. Davey was presented with this finding and asked to confirm it; however, he did not reply, instead directing the email to then CEO Lee Scott.
At that time, it was also noted that the Facebook page for ‘Leading Edge Group Jewellers’ had not been updated since December 2020 and at the time of publication, this social media account remains 'live’ but abandoned.
Millions and millions lost
More disagreements would follow in early 2024. The next issue arose after an article was published in December 2023, revealing that Riverwise Pty. Limited – the parent company of Leading Edge – had reported a consolidated loss of more than $5 million for the financial year.
The report also detailed a loss of nearly $4 million in the 2022 financial year. This meant that in just two years, Leading Edge had lost just shy of $10 million.
Additionally, financial reports lodged with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) indicated a stock level of $1.77 million – at cost, down from $2.08 million in 2022.
If the majority of this ‘inventory’ was jewellery - and the previous year’s sales equate to $380,000 - then Leading Edge held more than four years’ of stock.
In March of the following year, Davey was contacted with some questions about the outlook for his group.
“I am not sure what controversial matters you refer to. However we remain disappointed with the reporting expressed by you last year and do not agree with many aspects. Many points were simply incorrect. We move on,” he replied on 18 March 2024.
He added: “Looking forward into 2025, we have some very exciting plans which we will continue to work on over the next few months. I am sorry, but these commercially sensitive plans can not be shared for your publication.”
Davey was pressed to specifically identify which aspects of this reporting were ‘simply incorrect’. In a subsequent reply, he refused to elaborate further.
“I can assure you we advised to those who needed to know on the many points that were simply incorrect, and highlighted to them the issues around your article. As I advised we moved on,” he replied on 20 March 2024.
Jeweller contacted Davey on two further occasions across the following week, encouraging him to identify which aspects of the reporting were inaccurate.
Davey was informed that he would be remiss in his duties as CEO if he was aware of inaccurate information being published about his company and did not take appropriate actions to ensure that it was corrected. He ignored both emails.
Evolution or degeneration?
Beyond these futile attempts at obfuscation, Leading Edge’s business model had seemingly undergone several dramatic transformations that were difficult to reconcile.
Historically, the relationship between buying group and supplier was straightforward: Suppliers provided products and commercial support; the buying group delivered access to independent retailers. Leading Edge abandoned that balance; however, the transformation didn't occur overnight.
For decades, the buying group had existed to serve independent jewellery retailers through a member-based business model. That changed with the launch of two wholesale businesses, Troy Australia in 2021 and Diamond Republic in 2023, which supplied product to retailers beyond the group's own members.
Troy Australia’s tenure in the jewellery industry was relatively short-lived. It was formed in 2021 and was headed by former Showcase Jewellers managing director Carson Webb.
Webb had previously worked at Leading Edge, leaving in 2015 to join Showcase. Following his departure from Showcase, Webb rejoined Leading Edge to launch Troy Australia. It claimed to offer exclusive jewellery collections, CAD services, and business assistance.
It was said that Leading Edge members would have access to Troy Australia’s jewellery ranges, and it was named a preferred supplier shortly after launch.
According to ASIC records, Troy Australia was the business name of another entity called Australian Jewellery Warehouse with the registered address of 72 Archer St, Chatswood - the same address as Leading Edge.
Australian Jewellery Warehouse was registered in May 2020, and the director and secretary were recorded as Simon Lane, a former Leading Edge CEO. This meant that Leading Edge had appointed its own company as a ‘preferred supplier’.
Industry suppliers were being asked to financially support a buying group that was using their income to create a business that effectively competed against them. They were not happy.
More morphing
The launch of Diamond Republic in February 2023 followed, another attempt to morph the retail group into a wholesale operation, spearheaded by Lane.
At this time, the Troy Australia website (troyaustralia.com) was non-functioning and, instead, diverted to the Diamond Republic website (thediamondrepublic.com.au) without explanation.
Despite the company launching in 2023, the website offered the following description: “We are an Australian wholesale jewellery supplier with a long and proud history of supporting jewellery retailers. We have partnered with some of the largest international suppliers and manufacturers to provide quality products at competitive prices.”
Through Troy Australia and then Diamond Republic, Leading Edge had started competing directly with the preferred suppliers that, in turn, were expected to support the buying group's members through discounted pricing and commercial partnerships.
Interestingly, Diamond Republic has been glowingly promoted in trade publication Jewellery World several times – and each time the material appears to raise more questions than answers.
The most recent appearance was as recently as April of this year, just months before Leading Edge Group collapsed and entered administration. This specific article – ‘The Diamond Republic Helping Independent Jewellers Stand Out, Sell More, and Stay Profitable’ – appears to be an ‘advertisement’; however, it is not identified as such.
For example, the article does not have an author, nor does it directly reference any specific employee or representative of Diamond Republic as the contributor of the information, even though it is written in the first person.
“Our vision is straightforward. We want to continue supporting Australian jewellery retailers by providing exciting product, strong commercial opportunities, and meaningful partnership,” it reads.
"As the industry evolves, we will keep investing in sourcing, design, and marketing support so that our retail partners remain competitive and profitable. At the end of the day, our success is measured by the success of the stores we work with.”
Whether this was a paid advertisement disguised as independent journalism is difficult to determine; however, it must be said that a professional reporter would not write an article in the first person unashamedly promoting a specific company.
At the time of being placed into administration, Diamond Republic had two social media accounts. The Facebook account has not been updated since January 2023, the year the company was launched. The company also has an Instagram account, which has never posted any content.
More mystery, more vindication
The decision to stop describing Leading Edge as a jewellery buying group was further justified last year. Jeweller completed an investigation into a mysterious direct-to-consumer website, The Dream Collection, which uncovered various links to Leading Edge that were not publicly disclosed.
The launch of a direct-to-consumer online jewellery retailer represented yet another attempt to evolve the company's strategy. Leading Edge had formed two businesses (Troy Australia and Diamond Republic) which openly competed with other industry wholesalers, including its own preferred suppliers.
Now it had entered into competition with jewellery retailers across Australia, including the independent businesses that had historically formed the backbone of the buying group.
“Introducing The Dream Collection Jewellery — Australia's freshest online jewellery store, designed exclusively for the bold, adventurous shopper,” the website explained.
Confusingly, the website featured no company name, phone number, email address, or Australian Business/Company Number (ABN/ACN).
The About Us page stated: “The Dream Collection is a proud division of the [sic] The Dream Collection Group Ltd.”
Unfamiliar with this company name, it was established that the website was registered by Leading Edge Group Limited. Additional research also confirmed that, at the time, The Dream Collection Group Ltd was not listed on the Australian Business Register (ABN) website.
Further, a search with ASIC also revealed no record of any registered company or business name under that title. It was only after Jeweller published an article on the matter that ‘Dream Collection Jewellery’ was registered with ASIC under Leading Edge Group.
The Dream Collection has several social media accounts. The Facebook page was established in October 2024; however, it has not posted since April 2025. The Instagram account has not been active since December 2025.
Perhaps the most shocking detail in the original news report was that the overwhelming majority of the company's social media followers appeared to be Leading Edge employees. Further investigation confirmed that the company was behind this new business, a fact that Leading Edge later publicly acknowledged – but only after intense questioning.
Jeweller contacted Davey, in his capacity as CEO, on 9 January 2025 with questions about the appearance of The Dream Collection. Davey ignored that email, along with follow-up correspondence on 13 January and 21 January.
The day after that second email concerning The Dream Collection was sent to Davey, something interesting happened. An article was published on the Jewellery World website, titled ‘Diamond Republic Launches Dream Collection: A Game-Changer for Gem Z and Trade Brands’. The article was dated 13 January 2025.
The article included commentary from Claire Packett as a spokesperson for Diamond Republic. It described The Dream Collection as a brand under the Diamond Republic business.
These statements were particularly bewildering, as The Dream Collection website did not – and still does not – include any reference to Leading Edge or Diamond Republic whatsoever. It still refers to The Dream Collection Group Ltd – a company that appears not to exist!.
“Diamond Republic has taken a bold step forward with the launch of Dream Collection, a new online jewellery brand designed to captivate “Gem Z” consumers—those aged 18-25 with a flair for fresh and contemporary styles,” the article explained.
"The move highlights Diamond Republic’s commitment to innovation and adaptability, paving the way for greater consumer engagement and significant benefits for its trade partners.
“Dream Collection represents a bright future for Diamond Republic and its partners. By blending cutting-edge design, consumer insights, and trade support, the brand is poised to redefine what success looks like in the jewellery industry.
“With a strong start, proven profitability, and an eye toward innovation, Dream Collection is not just a new product line — it’s a bold vision for the future of jewellery.”
Should you be saying that?
Beyond the mysterious timing of this glowing article – and the sudden revelation that Dream Collection was a part of the Diamond Republic umbrella – the article also included financial information which captured industry attention.
The article reads: “The launch of Dream Collection is the latest milestone in Diamond Republic’s impressive turnaround story. Guided by its parent company, Leading Edge, the business has restructured to achieve consistent profitability, reporting a +$2 million profit last year and recording monthly profits ever since.” [Emphasis added]
Davey and Packett were contacted specifically about these claims. It was noted that Diamond Republic began operation in 2023 and that if the above statement was accurately reported in Jewellery World, this would suggest that Diamond Republic has been unsuccessful for its first two years.
Said another way, if Diamond Republic was successful during that period, there would be no need for a ‘turnaround’. Assuming that information was accurate, it painted an interesting picture of LEG, which had reported a $1.4 million profit across the entire group as at 30 June 2024.
These statements would suggest that without Diamond Republic’s claimed $2 million profit, LEG would have posted a loss of more than -$600,000 in 2024. That follows LEG’s previously reported losses for the past eight years, which amounted to more than -$15.7 million, and greater if adjusted.
Jeweller raised these matters with Davey and Packett on 28 January 2025. They ignored the request for clarification.
Those details aside, over four years, Leading Edge had repositioned itself as a competitor to both the suppliers and retailers that had previously supported its business.
Against that backdrop, it is perhaps easy to understand why The Dream Collection's website offered such scarce information about its ownership.
So, where did it all go wrong?
Revisiting these events is certainly not about dancing on anyone’s grave or saying ‘I told you so’.
The collapse of Leading Edge Group has left jewellery suppliers, financial institutions, and other creditors, including staff, facing substantial losses. Behind every corporate collapse are real people whose livelihoods are affected.
One former employee summed up those mixed emotions after the announcement. They spoke fondly of their time with the company and the relationships they built there. Although they disagreed with many of the decisions the company made, they were nevertheless saddened to see a long-standing figure in the Australian jewellery industry reach this point.
With that said, difficult circumstances should not prevent honest reflection. When a prominent business fails, the broader industry benefits from asking why.
In a letter, LEG chairman Peter Knock pointed to the difficult retail environment in recent years. This included higher interest rates, ongoing cost-of-living pressures, weaker discretionary spending, rising operating costs, and increasing competition from large retailers and online businesses.
Those same pressures, he argued, reduced member participation, weakened revenue, and ultimately contributed to the group's current financial predicament. These facts are difficult to dispute.
Even so, when it comes to the collapse of Leading Edge, this is only half the story, and it should not be sugar-coated, because there are critical lessons for other organisations and businesses in the Australian jewellery industry.
Buying groups exist for a simple reason, and that is to create value for members. Suppliers participate because they gain access to group buying from independent retailers. Retailers join because they receive stronger buying power, better commercial terms, and broader business support.
By clashing with suppliers and launching wholesale operations, and later competing with retail stores via a direct-to-consumer business, Leading Edge steadily moved further away from the role that had originally made it relevant to the industry: To create customers and keep them.
Economic headwinds may have accelerated the outcome; however, abandoning the interests of the customers who built the business made this destination increasingly difficult to avoid.
Warren Buffett once famously attributed most business failures to A.B.C. That is, Arrogance, Bureaucracy, and Complacency, alongside poor fundamental economics and bad management.
For any business, regardless of industry, the lesson here is simple. If you forget who your customers are, don't be surprised when they eventually forget you.
More reading
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More confusion surrounds Leading Edge’s shapeshifting jewellery business model
Mystery surrounds new jewellery website
Leading Edge’s shambles: $9.9 million in losses as membership plummets
Jewellery Buying Groups: Musical Chairs
2023 Buying Groups Report: Numbers Rule the Jewellery Universe