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Asprey & Garrard -- Luxury for a New Millennium
Dec 7, 1998 11:48 AM
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By Amber Michelle
Jewelers to royalty, movie stars and connoisseurs of quality: it was a match meant to be when British royal jeweler Asprey merged with British crown jeweler Garrard, to form Asprey & Garrard earlier this year. Two of the most important luxury brands in Great Britain, the venerable retailers are both known for their unique design, fine craftsmanship and superb quality. The newly merged company — owned by Amadeo Crown Ltd., under the interest of Prince Jefri Balkin of Brunei — offers an expanded resource for fine jewelry and luxury gifts to a growing worldwide clientele and now stands poised on the brink of conquering the international luxury market.
The firm has six stores globally and three boutiques, and thanks to a brand name backed by strong design and a strategic marketing plan, a growing client base.
“Even though we don’t have locations the world over, we attract a lot of travellers. We also travel to our customers. We hold special exhibitions around the world to prospect for business outside store locations,” says Philip Warner, President, U.S. Asprey & Garrard.
A Jeweled Garden
With a style described as “very British,” the firm has grown a garden of jeweled delights, by introducing its themed collection of sunflower jewelry in 1993. The sunflower became immediately identified with Asprey and has been so successful that other flowers — daisy, aster, lotus — have since been added.
“We want to keep the look very British, but with wide appeal, classic with ageless appeal.We have two selections of jewelry, the very fine pieces and the signature collections which are a lower price. We’ve done a lot of flowers — the sunflower, daisy, lotus and aster. That’s very English,” explains Susan Wolff, merchandising and buying director, who notes that the company references its archives for the basis of its design ideas, but strives to develop a new look. “We’re building upon the flowers. It’s very much an Asprey & Garrard look. People know it as Asprey.”
Terry Davidson, head of jewelry, agrees that the firm’s design style reflects a British sensibility. “We’re a very English company. We look for something in design that is quintessentially English. The Edwardian period is very reflective of that style, so we draw on the inspiration of that time. The designs are clean, classic and simple, but identifiable as Asprey & Garrard.”
The merger between Asprey and Garrard provides the company with a larger in-house design team as well as a factory, located above the flagship store on London’s tony Bond Street. “Having a design team and factory in-house makes it easy to do customer specials,” says Wolff, who notes that the firm also works with freelance designers in Europe and the United States to help keep fresh ideas flowing. Design inspiration also comes about through market research, brainstorming sessions and trend forecasts. “We have a classical handwriting, where the design is exciting, but not intricate. It’s simple design using very fine stones.”
When it comes to fine stones, Davidson is the expert. He travels the world on a quest for the optimum diamonds and colored gemstones. Diamonds above a carat are F VVS and up, while anything up to a half-carater is a minimum G VS2 and melee falls into the G/H VS2 range. For colored gems Davidson prefers stones from Kashmir, Burma or Colombia.
According to Wolff, diamonds dominate sales, accounting for about 85 percent of all Asprey & Garrard jewelry purchases. “A diamond is very pure. It’s a lifelong piece when it’s an engagement ring or wedding band. And a diamond doesn’t go out of style.”
Warner notes that customers have become increasingly knowledgeable about buying jewelry, in part because of the way that retailers are marketing their product.
“Baby boomers are a group keen to become experts on any hobby, whether its drinking wine, smoking cigars, or gardening. Retailers have produced guides to purchasing and are trying to educate the purchaser on how to purchase various items through brochures and in-store events,” observes Warner. He notes that as a result of this knowledge, customers are asking more questions about treatments, origins and cut when they make a purchase, especially at the higher-end where the customer is making a large financial commitment to a piece. “People want to know that the piece will hold its value, or have an increased value in the future.”
“We accept the fact that stones are treated. It’s a fact of life. We tell our customers about the treatments,” notes Davidson, who finds that clients purchasing a diamond of a carat or more, want a Gemological Institute of America cert to accompany the stone. “For colored gemstones we use Gubelin and the Gemological Association Gem Testing Laboratory of England,” says Davidson.
High Visibility
With the opening of a store in the Beverly Hills Hotel two years ago, Asprey has become a Hollywood favorite. The firm has supplied jewelry to stars going to the Academy Awards and garnered much publicity with the “Titanic Necklace.” The sapphire and diamond jewel was modeled after the Le Couer de la Mer necklace worn by Kate Winslet in the hit film “Titanic” and was auctioned off for charity at the Princess Ball in Los Angeles. Celine Dion later wore the jewel when she performed during the Oscars last March.
In addition Asprey & Garrard has increased its advertising campaigns and participates in special promotions with other luxury products including Ferrari and Rolls Royce. The jeweler also hosts special fashion and shopping events.
“We’ve done fashion shows with Tomasz Starzewski, a British couture designer, using his clothes and Asprey jewelry,” says Colleen Caslin, senior vice president marketing. “This February when the Museum of the City of New York has its Winter Ball, some of the women will be wearing his gowns with Asprey jewelry.”
The Personal Touch
While Warner cites new branches and a stepped up advertising campaign with ads appearing in fashion and lifestyle magazines as part of why the company has increased its visibility in the U.S., there’s a lot more to it than commerce alone. Asprey & Garrard has also developed personal relationships with its customers to help grow its business.
“We’ve instituted a committee of young, socially aware, affluent New Yorker’s. We meet with them to discuss product and marketing,” reveals Warner. “The committee was set up about a year ago. We felt that there was a benefit to drawing clients into discussions about the business and to establish their needs as a group of people. We ask for their feedback on some marketing ideas, jewelry designs, leather goods and silverware.”
The committee consists of a group of eight. Warner won’t disclose their names, but he does say that they are among the best known social monikers in New York. In addition, the firm loans jewelry to the committee members and has on-site parties for their peers.
“It’s paid dividends,” reports Warner. “We’ve seen an increase in business. It has been a cost effective mechanism of market research and promoting the business to that group.”
Asprey & Garrard also offers its customers very personal service, going so far as to get on an airplane to deliver a piece of jewelry to a client half-way around the world if the client just can’t wait another minute for that precious jewel. Warner admits that sometimes the delivery cost is actually more than the price of the item, but it’s all part of the business of building long-term relationships. The goal is not just to get and keep current clients, but to entice their children into becoming customers as well. To help accomplish this goal Asprey & Garrard looks for very special qualities in its sales associates.
“Our sales staff is very warm. We mentor and coach our staff on the job,” says Warner. “We recruit very carefully. We look for social skills more than expertise — expertise can be learned, where social skills are less easily passed on. We want the associates to be able to build an instant rapport with customers and to be able to communicate effectively.”
Although the world economy has been going through some troubling times and the downturn in the Asian market has affected many luxury houses, Warner believes that Asprey is in a strong position. And over the past three years, the U.S. stores have been progressing well, showing double digit growth.
“Asprey & Garrard is in a good position because our market share is small and we can still expand in a contracting market,” concludes Warner.
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Tags:
Collections, Economy, Exhibitions, Jewelry, Luxury Products, United States
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