Members of Australia and New Zealand’s second largest jewellery buying group, Showcase Jewellers, faired well in 2011, with its Australian members coming out of what was generally considered a tough year for the jewellery industry with a share of a $2.7million dividend.
Showcase Jewellers director Michael Mishevski said the $2.7million in cash was distributed to members over December and January and the dividends were on top of the 12 per cent return on the member fund earned by all its Australian and New Zealand members.
The figure takes the total returned to Showcase members to around $4.5million in the last three years, which Mishevski said was one of the real advantages of the buying group.
“Being a member owned organisation where all of the profits go back to the membership is one of our key strengths,” Mishevski said.
“Our continued financial strength has been a highlight in the last three years, which is evidenced by the fact we have distributed back to our members $4.5million in that time.”
Now having accrued 30 members in New Zealand, Showcase has continued its expansion across the Tasman and aims to increase its membership to 45 stores within the next 18 months.
“We are satisfied with the direction it’s going in but we do have greater plans for the New Zealand market,” Mishevski said. “We’re looking at expanding the Showcase brand and looking for quality jewellers to join Showcase where we aren’t represented.”
According to Mishevski, Showcase’s Gemtime stores in New Zealand are currently tracking around 50 per cent higher than they were at this time last year, a pleasing result for the buying group after they merged with the group in late 2010.
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