A number of wide ranging subjects were discussed between jewellery retailers, buying groups and retail organisations at a meeting hosted by the JAA on Monday 23 March.
While a similar meeting was held in January last year, this was said to be the first time all major jewellery chains had been involved. Combined, the retailers represented more than 1,700 stores.
Those involved included Wallace Bishop and Hardy Brothers; Bevilles; Shiels and Grahams Jewellers; Hoskings Jewellers; Prouds The Jewellers, Angus & Coote and Goldmark; Salera’s Jewellmasters; Michael Hill Jewellers; Zamel’s; Pandora; and Swarovski.
All three buying groups – Nationwide Jewellers, Leading Edge Jewellers and Showcase Jewellers – also participated, along with the Australian Retailers Association (ARA) and the Shopping Centre Council of Australia (SCCA).
JAA executive director Amanda Hunter and JAA board director Colin Pocklington began the proceedings by informing attendees about the new JAA accreditation program and how it would benefit the industry.
This was followed by a presentation from the JAA board on the National Retailer Tenancy Database, a JAA initiative designed to help jewellers negotiate rental costs by providing more information about industry retail leases.
ARA executive director Russell Zimmerman and SCCA executive director Angus Nardi also delivered presentations that covered topics including the GST threshold, rental negotiations and their forecasts for future trends.
Another topic raised at the meeting was jewellery robberies – in particular trends in jewellery thefts and the JAA online armed robbery prevention course. The meeting concluded with further discussion on how attending parties could collaborate to further the growth of the jewellery industry.
Hunter said the meeting had been “very worthwhile” and “valuable for all involved”.
“We hope this is the beginning of a great information exchange as the access the JAA has to industry and government contacts provides valuable channels to raise industry issues,” she said, adding, “Of course, the retailers have great intelligence through their consumer contact so it makes absolute sense to share ideas and jointly find solutions to emerging challenges and to leverage any opportunities for industry-wide benefit where possible.”
Due to its success, the JAA was considering holding the meeting once every six months instead of on an annual basis.
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