“Our main focus in 2016 will be our loyal customers. We have tried over the years to be everything to everyone, and it just doesn’t work. Over the past six months we have concentrated on our loyal customer base, and we are reaping the rewards, so we intend to continue that philosophy into 2016.”
– Vanessa Cunliffe, Perfect Pieces Jewellery
“Next year I will do a strong push on a new in-store branded make-your-own range, Sunkissed Play. The aim is to add colour and activity to the store. We will create a fun and creative space for customers to design their own unique piece of jewellery.”
– Melia Borg, Sunkissed Creations Jewellery
“My approach to the next 12 months will be to pay very close attention to repair costs. This relates to both watch and jewellery repair where much money is lost without realising. Updating findings prices is crucial as they change rapidly with currency shifts and metal prices. Understanding what is happening with the upmarket watch repair market is also paramount; they are trimming the retailers’ margin; be aware. We are now charging $10 for all watch quotations.”
– Gordon Edwards, Raymonds Jewellers
“As a company we are moving in a fresh new design direction whilst respecting the heritage of the brand and its high standards of quality and customer service. We are focused on researching and forecasting trends and presenting our clients with sought-after products their customers will love. We will also be concentrating on expanding our marketing reach, especially across social media platforms, to grow brand awareness.”
– Amy Bradley, Pastiche
“I will engage more with our existing clients and really emphasise the whole Metal Urges story – we are a true mine-to-market business, which is rare! There is also a lot of ‘do not change’ as things are going really well ... the biggest of these would be, ‘Don’t change my awesome staff.’”
– Chris Hood, Metal Urges Fine Jewellery and Diamonds
“In 2016, we will refine our existing member resources. We have had unprecedented growth in 2014 and 2015 and implemented many new systems, including new staff training platforms, e-commerce solutions ... The retail landscape will not be drastically different in 2016. We all need to work together to do it more efficiently and more cost-effectively for our members.”
– Joshua Zarb, Leading Edge Group
“We will be concentrating on taking care of our staff as best as
possible regarding security. There were a few security scares and incidences for the industry in 2015 so we want to ensure that our team is equipped with as much knowledge as possible to make them feel safe
and to prevent any issues.”
– Laura Sawade, Peter W Beck
“We plan to increase our advertising and branding and concentrate on our exclusive brands such as Pandora, Thomas Sabo, Astralis Diamonds and others. We will be improving our digital website merchandising, and special attention will be given to our repairs and remake side as well as increasing our promotional events at night time for our valued clients.”
– Mazin Kaddoura, Mazin's Diamond Jewellers
“In 2015, Pallion focused on our core values: streamlined production and excellence in customer service and value. For 2016, it is not so much a question of ‘What will you do differently?’ but more of the same! We will continue to strive to improve and better service our clients by utilising new technology, supporting our staff and clients and providing superior quality and value.”
– Andrew Cochineas, Pallion
“We are not planning any significant changes in 2016. We will continue to source exclusive merchandise and create successful promotions for the 500 jewellery shops in our group. In 2016, we will be celebrating 25 years in business, with the main celebrations taking place at our International Members Dinner at the Sydney International Jewellery Fair.”
– Colin Pocklington, Nationwide Jewellers
“In the office we have recently installed a new customer relationship management program that we hope will provide our retailers with better, quicker access to our team. Being more customer-focused is our goal for every staff member in 2016. Personally, I plan to meditate more and be always open to new ideas!”
– Nerida Harris, Pearl Perfection
“For Pandora, 2016 is the year dedicated to the customer experience. We will intensify our effort to provide our customers with a wonderful, seamless experience. Our retail partners have done a very good job of providing great customer service. In 2016, we want to move from great service to an exceptional experience for every customer, every time.”
– Brien Winther, Pandora
“We will be selling more fancy shaped diamonds. We’re getting better at finding nice ones.”
– Garry Holloway, Holloway Diamonds
"Not so much different but certainly more focused on digital – the trend is not slowing down and we can’t either. Encouraging our members and supporting them by providing useful tools for the digital landscape will be a big focus for us in 2016. We will also continue to live by the motto, ‘Make a difference to the things you can.’”
– Carson Webb, Showcase Jewellers
“Stop worrying. Every year it’s the same and every year I worry; I am Jewish I was born to worry. I will look at the costs of running my business. From staff to paperclips, I will look at ways to reduce costs (I say this every year).”
– Ronnie Bauer, Klepner's Fine Antique Jewellery & Valuers
“We feel that we are on the right track with Endless Jewelry and we will continue the same course in 2016. There will be minor adjustments along the way but there will be no changes to our core fundamental values.”
– Peter Jakobson, Nordic Jewellery
“We will spend more time in retail stores with our valued retail partners across New Zealand, Australia and our European and US customers, as well as invest more in our team with training, up-skilling and culture development.”
– Helen Thompson-Carter, Fabuleux Vous
“Our focus for 2016 is to maximise stockists’ margins by increasing overall wedding ring sales. We will introduce elegant window display and promotional material with creative and fresh ideas. There will also be a release of intricate and distinctive new designs to create stylish collections that will expand on our Australian-made rings.”
– Victor Donovic, Twin Plaza Metals
"We have been focusing a lot on Australian origin with our products. With the close of the Ellendale mine we will feature yellows based on quality of colour rather than the origin, as the Australian goods are drying up. I will personally hand over more of the day-to-day operations to Julie and Troy Reany and focus on customer relations and educational talks on coloured diamonds.”
– Jim Lehman, Lost River Diamonds
“The changes we make next year will be focused on advertising dollars. We have traditionally split our spend between television, local radio, catalogue deliveries and monthly promotions. However, 2016 will see us focus on direct SMS (this improved our January sale by 47 per cent) sponsored Facebook and Instagram, plus Google and YouTube advertising. At this stage we will probably halve our traditional means of advertising spend to make way for the new way.”
– Judy Cameron, Cameron's Fine Jewellers
“I think what I need to do in 2016 is be more active in trying to drive sales and attract people to our door, instead of relying on people turning up. I would also like to address our stock to buy better and maximise our margins. If we are going to have less customers in this tough economy then we need to maximise our margins from the sales we are getting. Not sure if this would mean buying less branded stock as the margins are poorer and buying more generic stock.”
– Shaun Davidson, Milhinch Hourglass Jewellers
“Spend more time in shops. Staff training, Dora presentation and POS marketing are very important factors to increasing wedding ring sales. We’ve always recognised the need to regularly visit our clients but we’ve made a few in-house changes that will allow more flexibility and lead to stronger business relationships.”
– Chris Scanlan, RJ Scanlan & Co
“Increase the size and capacity of our already talented team.”
– Ken Abbott, Timesupply
“Work smarter by focusing on those retailers with a natural affinity and passion for the Julie Sandlau brand and action marketing activities specifically targeting their customers. Oh, and take a holiday, drive less kms, win Oz Lotto ...”
– Helen Martin, Julie Sandlau