Celebrating anniversaries and acknowledging significant milestones in any industry is essential, especially one steeped in tradition.
It’s an opportunity to reflect on the road travelled, whether defined by success or adversity and plan for the future.
This year marks an important milestone for jewellery brand Thomas Sabo. It’s been 40 years since the company’s humble beginnings in Bavaria, Germany, in 1984.
At the time, founder Thomas Sabo was a young entrepreneur with ambitious plans for the silver jewellery market. Starting with his own designs, the jewellery was manufactured in Asia and sold to select retailers at trade shows.
His sterling silver jewellery was a steady success, gathering a following among retailers with each passing show.
Sabo wasn’t satisfied, however, because he felt a crucial concept was missing - it wasn’t branded.
A typical jewellery store window would feature watches — which have long benefited from branding associations — and unbranded gold, diamond, and colour gemstone jewellery.
Branding was thought impractical because of the intricate and often small nature of jewellery. Conversely, the watch features the brand name or logo on the face.
It was an understandable stance for jewellery designers; however, it left too many advantages on the table.
Strong branding helps consumers easily recognise products and fosters trust and familiarity.
Consumers are more likely to purchase jewellery from a brand they are confident in.
Effective branding encourages repeat business and customer loyalty. It distinguishes an individual brand from competitors and highlights unique values and characteristics.
Gamble & Glory
While Thomas Sabo was launched as a brand in the late 1980s, it wasn’t until designer Susanne Kölbli joined the company as creative director in the early 1990s that a critical partnership would be formed.
In 1998, the company made another significant step forward – opening its first brand-only store in Frankfurt. Stores in Europe, Asia, and the US would soon follow.
Nearly a decade later, the brand began exploring the opportunity to expand into Australia. A distribution partnership was secured with Duraflex Group Australia, and Thomas Sabo was launched at the International Jewellery Fair in 2006.
It was a significant gamble for Duraflex. While the branded jewellery phenomenon was beginning courtesy of Pandora, a clear distinction between fine and fashion jewellery was ever-present in the minds of retailers.
Jewellers were wary of silver and viewed it as ‘merely’ fashion jewellery and trade for the brand was slow in Australia for the first two years.
It’s not uncommon for brands and distributors to e ‘spooked’ by a lack of initial support in a market such as Australia; however, Thomas Sabo and Duraflex were resilient.
Popularity spiked in 2007 when the Charm Club Collection was launched. It had evolved into a perfect recipe for appeal for consumers and retailers — personalised and collectible jewellery with an established international presence that didn’t break the bank.
This move would result in the product being held by more than 300 stockists across Australia and New Zealand within seven years.
This expansion would prove crucial for Duraflex, evolving the company into a multi-branded distributor for branded jewellery as an emerging category.
Reflecting on the evolution of this relationship over the past two decades, Edwards says that consistent willingness to innovate and adapt has been critical to the brand’s success.
“We are extremely proud of our very strong partnership with the brand Thomas Sabo and specifically our direct personal connection with the owner, Mr Sabo,” he tells Jeweller.
“It has evolved by continuing to strengthen and build on our very strong foundation and constant connection with the head office team in Germany.
“It is a true partnership in every sense of the word and will continue to be so for many more years to come.”
Experiment & Evolve
The success of the Charm Club Collection was undoubtedly a turning point, vindicating the long-held belief that branded jewellery was a successful proposition.
With that said, Thomas Sabo did not rest on its laurels. The brand expanded into its first line of watches in 2009, featuring distinctive designs such as skulls and snakes.
In 2014, the first line of fine jewellery was launched and has continued to experiment in the years since.
THOMAS SABO x HARIBO was recently launched – a new jewellery collection showcasing the iconic ‘Goldbears’ fruit gummies in colourful designs.
It’s a collaboration between two well-known German companies, with HARIBO beginning in 1920. Crafted from lightly frosted crystal glass that mimics the characteristics of confectionery, these creations are available in red, yellow, green, orange, white, and blue.
This willingness to adapt to changing market trends has led to an evolving target audience for the brand.
“The consumer demographic for Thomas Sabo has indeed significantly expanded over the years,” Edwards explains.
“While now a very broad audience, the brand continues gathering younger customers while retaining the original core customer. The key to the success of this strategy is product design, development and collaboration.
“The iconic and historic designs are reinterpreted seasonally but still remain true to the brand DNA.”
The Rebellious Glam Collection was recently unveiled to mark the brand's 40th anniversary. Select design codes represent significant milestones.
There are more than 60 pieces, including newly designed crosses and silver chains, chokers, earrings, bracelets, and rings with tarnished silver and elaborate facet-cut gemstones.
Sabo says every piece of jewellery from the collection is designed to tell a personal story and create an emotional connection with consumers.
“It reflects true connection and embodies the DNA of our Rebel At Heart line,” he explains.
“Designs such as crosses, dragons, snakes, hearts and floral design codes are faithful companions in the history of our brand.”
With persistent concerns about cost-of-living pressures, inflation, and reduced discretionary spending causing headaches for Australian retailers, expanding the market presence of a jewellery brand in 2024 is daunting.
That said, Edwards says Thomas Sabo has shown no signs of slowing down and remains committed to the benefits of design experimentation's trial-and-error nature.
“Consumer purchasing trends are constantly evolving, now more than ever, and the brand is well aware it needs to evolve with them,” he explains.
“As is the case for many brands, growth strategy is a challenge partly because of the current economic conditions. This highlights the need to modify and diversify our distribution continually.”
Past & Present
The meteoric rise of branded jewellery as a new category led to the launch of many other brands; however, most failed for various reasons and/or have left Australia.
The international brands that have remained in windows, shelves, and display cases – such as Thomas Sabo - have proven that they are in it for the long run.
“Since Thomas Sabo first launched into the Australian market, we have seen many other jewellery brands come and go,” Edwards recalls.
“We have navigated the highs and lows in the category over many years; the key to navigating this is to provide stability with constant evolution and being nimble while adaptive to change.”
It’s no secret that since the COVID-19 pandemic, the broader retail industry is facing challenges.
As documented in Jeweller’s 2024 State of the Industry Report, Australia's number of jewellery stores fell from 4,225 in 2010 to 3,500 by December 2023.
Despite the decline in overall stores, 33 per cent of independent jewellery retailers report that their business is more profitable today than before the pandemic, painting an optimistic outlook for those who remain.
Despite this decline in total stores, Edwards says the brand remains secure because of its established relationship with Australian consumers.
“With the brand's life cycle, our distribution has reduced and been refined, and our current position in the market is very stable,” he says.
“We have strong relationships with our valued retail partners, and while there simply are not as many jewellery and watch stores open today as there once were, we continue to have strong representation across all states and territories.”
Indeed, Thomas Sabo's success over the past four decades has been due to seemingly opposing factors.
The company has demonstrated a willingness to adapt to rapidly changing consumer trends.
In a competitive landscape, brands must innovate to differentiate. Flexibility allows brands to respond effectively to changes in the market.
At the same time, strong brands constantly evolve and benefit from long-term relationships with consumers as a matter of heritage. Personalised and collectible branded jewellery fosters loyalty among consumers.
It’s a recipe for success that Thomas Sabo has carefully crafted over the past four decades.
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