Archive for March, 2011

The Retailers’ Challenges

Wednesday, March 30th, 2011

There is no doubt Retailers face significant challenges these days. Visiting many of them across the country one hears their concerns, which are certainly diverse. When one analyses how these Retailers encounter their challenges it seemsthere is a dividing line between two camps: those shops forging forward and those that are not. So, what makes the ones going forward successful?

1. Location – Yes, this is one of the ‘oldies’ in retailing and it continues to be true. Location equates to footfall and those outlets in the ‘right’ location will live through a downturn whereas those in secondary or tertiary locations will sorely feel the lower footfall
2. Added Services – Offering the right products at the right price is no longer good enough. If I got one penny for the times I have heard the phrase ‘we look for something that is different’ I’d be a millionaire. The fact is there is ‘nothing new under the sun’. Unless we talk about Technology, the Gift and Jewellery industries are saturated with products which cover every single angle of the market and rather than something new it should be a new way of marketing their current products. Many of the successful retailers have been offering a service related to the products they sell as a way of differentiating themselves, and they are banking on that.
3. Product Cohesion – Ideally there should be a ‘theme’ running across the retail outlet and the products should ‘build’ on this theme. To make the point it is rare to see a successful independent retailer that sells jewellery alongside kitchen utensils. For customers it is much easier to focus on a shop if subliminally know what the shop sells. This also applies to price points. There is a misguided belief that one must have ‘something for everyone’. We have not seen much evidence this route leads to success.

There are a number of other ‘learnings’ which may prove of use and we will be publishing them in this Blog overtime……keep tuned in.

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Is Silver precious once again….?

Thursday, March 3rd, 2011

Up until four years ago, the price of silver (and Gold) had been so low for so very long that many investors never ‘bothered’ with it. In fact, our dear Mr Gordon Brown as Chancellor of the Exchequer decided in 2004 it was time to get rid of the UK gold reserves at record low prices….However, since then the price of both Gold, and particularly Silver, has gone from strength to strength reaching historically record high levels in the last six months.

But this is not an economic review. This change in the price of precious metals will give precious metal jewellery a new lustre that had been missing for a very long time. In the UK silver jewellery had been under-appreciated for a very long time to the point that it was not perceived any better or more valuable than common Costume jewellery made of plastic and other man-made materials. Marjo Jewellery has a very broad range of plain as well as gem-stone jewellery in sterling silver. The classic style of the designs make this jewellery a perennial piece rather than a short term fashion burst. The important point is that as one searches for the proven designs that do sell, Marjo has a number of proven models. With silver being precious again, you will want to get those models right!

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