The retailer’s Westfield Fountain Gate store was recently relocated to another site within the shopping centre to accommodate the conversion to a new “smaller, smarter, jewellery and watch-only format”.
The store’s official opening was marked with a launch event on Saturday 9 August that included a host of activities and promotions such as social media competitions and in-store discounts.
The move was part of a major business restructure first announced in October 2013 that involved the creation of smaller stores and the phasing out of the traditional giftware products the company had been known for in favour of an increased focus on jewellery and watches.
While Bevilles Jewellers had already converted its existing Highpoint and Airport West stores in Victoria as well as one in Liverpool, NSW to its new format, proceedings were drawn to a halt when the jewellery chain entered voluntary administration in April this year.
The business was forced to close 11 stores as a result. At the time, CEO Michelle Beville stated that it had been “constrained by external factors that have not allowed us to move to the new formats as quickly as planned”.
However, one month later, the Beville family was successful in reacquiring the retail chain, and reiterated its plans to move towards new format outlets that would be approximately half the size of previous stores and backed by new systems and processes to streamline operations, improve efficiencies and reduce costs.
Beville told Jeweller the business intended to move two to three other existing stores over to the new format by the end of 2014, although the exact locations had not been determined at the time of publication.
She explained the decision on which sites would be converted would be based on a number of factors, including timing and availability of resources.
“The new store formats are proving to be the correct move for the brand with overwhelming positive feedback from our customers,” Beville added.
Bevilles Jewellers has had three generations of the Bevilles family at its helm since it was founded in 1934. It now operates 16 stores across Victoria, NSW and South Australia.
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