Forevermark Plans to Expand in India

De Beers brand Forevermark plans to expand into more Indian cities and across the U.S. by the end of 2011 as it continues to enforce the message that it sells ethically sourced diamonds. “Consumers today are definitely more aware of, and take greater interest in, ethical issues related to the products that they purchase,” said Jonathan Kendall, the operations director of Forevermark.

De Beers expects India to account for 11 percent of the global consumer market for diamonds by 2016, up from 7 percent in 2009. The next phase of expansion will include launching Forevermark in Chennai, Hyderabad and Kolkata by the end of 2011.

Forevermark is also planning to expand in the U.S. in the second half of the year, where it currently partners with a small number of stores. The brand will drive growth in its core retail markets of China, Hong Kong and Japan as well. At the end of 2010, Forevermark was available in about 350 stores, according to its annual report.

Forevermark diamonds are sourced from a small number of carefully selected De Beers mines as well as other mines that meet strict business, social and environmental standards. Kendall explained that each diamond eligible to become a Forevermark diamond is set apart from other rough stones and can be tracked and traced from a responsible source, throughout the cutting and polishing stage, to the point of inscription at the Forevermark Diamond Institute.

Roadmap for Emerging Markets

TJF Group’s partner and chief executive officer (CEO), Paolo Novembri, led an in-depth presentation on luxury marketing and export opportunities in the emerging Brazil, Russian, India, China (BRIC) markets. The event, entitled “New Markets Orientation Conference,” was held in New York City and hosted by the TJF Group, a global research and strategic consulting company, in collaboration with the LUXURY Privé show and in association with the Nancy Robey Partnership Inc., which creates targeted luxury marketing events. Seventy-three U.S. manufacturers attended the conference.

Novembri, the former president of Damiani USA, provided practical information on identifying international priority markets and potential partners and comparing the positive and negative aspects of different types of market-entry distribution strategies. The presentation consisted of an overview of each country, its opportunities and challenges and strategies to get started. Novembri was joined by a panel of experts on opportunities in BRIC markets that included Douglas Gollan, the president of Elite Traveler, Jessica Tu, the CEO of Luxury Marketing Council China and Pooja Johari, the director of strategy at Kubér Inc. A second panel focusing on resources featured Beth Casson, the manager of Reed Exhibitions International Sales Group, Amanda Barlow, the manager of ATA Carnet development at the United States Council for International Business (USCIB/ATA), Shlomo Malca, the global vice president of sales and business development at Malca Amit and Eyal Alon, the East Coast sales manager of Malca Amit.

Of the four emerging markets, the attendees were most interested in China, followed by Russia. Some of the key points that emerged by country include:

China

• Affluent Chinese customers are very knowledgeable about international brands.
• Fifty percent of China's $12 billion luxury purchases are for business gifts to clients or employees.
• High import duties require local production or assembly in Asia.

Russia

• Russian consumers are brand-obsessed “logomaniacs” who will travel to buy brands not sold in Russia.
• Design varies widely — from cosmopolitan and contemporary to “bling-bling.”
• Importers and distributors often become franchisees of the established brands.

India

• By 2015, India is projected to represent 8 percent to 10 percent of the global luxury market.
• Only 30 percent of the 500 leading global brands have a presence in India.
• Complicated distribution channels require local distribution or licensing partner.

Brazil

• A brand does not have to be expensive to attract the wealthy.
• Brazil is a very difficult market to penetrate, with high import duties.
• Many local brands make viable export partners as nonBrazilian products are coveted.

Zale, Vera Wang Launch Bridal Collection

Zale Corporation and Vera Wang announced the launch of a new, exclusive collection of diamond bridal jewelry called “Vera Wang LOVE,” which includes a variety of diamond engagement rings, matching wedding bands and solitaire bridal jewelry. The collection will be available at Zales stores throughout the U.S. and Puerto Rico in October 2011 and in Peoples Jewellers in Canada in early 2012.

Each piece of the Vera Wang LOVE collection will come with a certificate of authenticity, verifying it as an original design by Vera Wang. Each ring will include the Vera Wang LOVE logo engraved on the inside and every engagement ring will include a unique blue sapphire.

“Creating a line of beautiful diamond engagement rings and bridal jewelry is a natural extension of my passion for designing bridal fashion,” said Wang. “I searched for a jewelry retail partner who met my quality and design philosophy and found Zale to be a perfect match.”

Zale’s chief executive officer (CEO), Theo Killion, said, “There are two iconic names associated with bridal engagements and weddings, Vera Wang and Zale. There simply isn’t another designer in the world who matches the Vera Wang name for bridal design. The exclusive Vera Wang LOVE collection will allow us to provide our customers with Vera Wang’s unmatched sense of design and the high quality our customers have grown to expect from Zale.”

Gitanjali Licenses Business Planning Tool

The Gitanjali USA retail division entered into an agreement with Keyline Solutions of Mumbai to license its business intelligence (BI) platform, Keyline Retail Intelligence Tool (KRIT). The solution will allow Gitanjali USA to manage customer and inventory data, vendor management, operations, store performance and more.

“This enables management to make informed data-based decisions regarding all of our business disciplines including, but not limited to, merchandising, operations and finance,” said Dave Dell’Aglio, Gitanjali’s chief strategic officer.

“Effective inventory management is the crucial component of profitability for retailers today. KRIT is a versatile, multidimensional planning tool that enables us to develop optimal, store-specific product assortments even given the demographic diversity of our portfolio,” Dell’Aglio continued.“This has allowed us to maximize our gross margin return on investment, increase sales and improve cash flow by having the right product in the right stores at the right time elevating our position within the market place.”

The Gitanjali USA retail division operates under the trade names Samuels Jewelers, Samuels Diamonds, Rogers Jewelers, Andrews Jewelers and Schubach Jewelers.

Helzberg Selects Salesfloorlive.com

Helzberg Diamonds is deploying SalesFloorLIVE.com business intelligence (BI) technology in its stores across the U.S. to provide greater visibility into store operations and key quantitative data, including store traffic, store conversion, sales per hour and service intensity. This platform will enable Helzberg Diamonds to integrate that information into its marketing decisions.

“Retailers that deal with a broad span of control know that transparency into what is really happening in each of its stores is premium data,” said Mitch Maggart, senior vice president of operations for Helzberg. He added that the company now has the capability to make both real-time and long-term store operations and sales performance improvements based upon what is happening in each store.