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Articles from DIAMOND JEWELLERY (975 Articles), STERLING SILVER JEWELLERY (863 Articles), GOLD JEWELLERY (681 Articles)
Sydney-based Gregory Jewellers saw demand for more traditional jewellery pieces in the lead-up to Mother's Day.
Branded jewellery leads Mother’s Day gifting
 2.5 k views | Posted May 17, 2011 | By Sonia Nair
Jewellers reported high consumer demand for branded jewellery in the week leading up to Mother’s Day, although many conceded that the calendar event did not help increase revenues.
Silver jewellery and earrings in particular performed well, with many jewellers experiencing busy periods up to 10 days before the event, which fell on May 8 this year.
Judy Cameron, owner of Victoria-based Cameron’s Fine Jewellers told Jeweller branded silver such as Thomas Sabo as well as Swarovski Crystal jewellery proved most popular in the lead-up to Mother’s Day.
“Gold struggled, although hoop earrings still proved to be popular. Diamond jewellery was also slow for us. However, we put in a new range of Sybella pearl jewellery and we sold 18 pieces so I was happy with that,” she said.
Cameron believes that in light of the rising gold prices and the switch to silver products, retailers have had to work a lot harder, be more creative and provide excellent consumer service to survive in the flat retailing conditions.
That said, Cameron found this year’s Mother’s Day was more positive than 2010 as she recorded a 10 per cent increase in store traffic and a 28 per cent increase in revenue.
As her shop is located in the flood-affected area of Swan Hill, Cameron attributed the rise in sales to general positive sentiment in her community that regarded Mother’s Day “as a reason to celebrate”.
Kerrie Lander of Fusion Jewellers in Busselton, Western Australia, told Jeweller sales in her store bucked the trend this year.
“As an independent, boutique manufacturing jeweller, Mother’s Day and Valentine’s Day do not [usually] have a large impact on our sales,” Lander said.
“This year however, due to the closure of some Pandora stores, we are now the sole retailer in our area so we did see an increase in Pandora sales,” she added.
Like Cameron, Lander found that “silver outperformed gold jewellery”.
Clint Franklin of Finetime Leading Edge Jewellers in Geraldton, Western Australia, said Pandora’s gold and silver beads performed well for him too.
Andrew Pascoe of high-end jeweller Gregory Jewellers in Sydney saw demand for more traditional jewellery pieces . “Mother’s Day sales were strong with diamond jewellery always a favourite. Naturally white gold performed the best because we have experienced a strong preference for white gold and platinum jewellery over yellow and rose varieties,” he said.
Mother’s Day an ‘average week’
Tony Celik of Victoria-based Jewellers on the Hill told Jeweller new stock that consisted mostly of silver pendants, earrings and chains sold well in the run-up to Mother’s Day. However, he conceded that the event is not a busy period for his store.
“Mother’s Day sales do not represent a sizeable chunk of our annual sales. It was an average week for us,” Celik said.
Daniela Verona, marketing director at Melbourne-based Franco Jewellers, singled out Gucci jewellery has a high performer yet, like Celik, said Mother’s Day does not constitute a large part of annual sales.
“Unfortunately, mothers are not given the credit they deserve for the job they do,” Verona said.
Meanwhile, in Henry Pak’s Sydney-based Costellos Opal Discovery Centre, low Mother’s Day sales were attributed to the core customer market: “Since most of our clients are overseas visitors, Mother’s Day is not a significant event for us,” Pak said.
Times have changed
Derek Forkgen observed the same trend in his New South Wales-based Ballina Jewel Centre, with none of his sales directly attributable to Mother’s Day, but said this was not always the case.
“I remember when Mother’s Day was equivalent to about half of Christmas trading – ah, those were the days,” Forkgen said.
He believes the concept of Mother’s Day has changed a great deal over the years, with most people now preferring to give their mothers the quintessential breakfast in bed, chocolates or flowers as opposed to jewellery.
“I don’t think [my low Mother’s Day sales] this year has anything to do with the current depressed retail environment,” Forkgen added.
More reading:
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Volatile silver prices cause jewellery havoc
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Mum's the word
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