BYMR, the local supplier of Bering watches, has announced it will distribute the Tom Hope unisex bracelet collection in Australia and New Zealand.
BYMR managing director Nils Rasmussen said he had been searching for another range to add to his stable for some time but it needed to fit strict criteria.
“We have been looking for a while for a new brand to add to our portfolio, and with the watch market more competitive than ever, the brief has been to seek out a brand that could co-exist alongside watch brands in stores, but was not a watch brand per se,” Rasmussen explained.
“It should also allow our jewellery and lifestyle retailers to diversify their offering and attract new, possibly younger customers,” he said, adding the distribution deal was secured after being approached by a former colleague.
The Tom Hope collection of nautical-inspired handmade bracelets feature whipping twine in various colours that are secured with an anchor made from sterling silver, IP plated stainless steel or solid brass.
Rasmussen said the bracelets were often paired with watches, which indicated a strong selling opportunity for jewellery and watch retailers.
“Consumers are posting a lot of imagery on social media where they are pairing these bracelets with watches. They work particularly well with the Nato strap and coloured leather band trend,” he explained. “It makes sense from our point of view that our new offering fits in with watch retailers and allows a watch retailer to diversify and generate add-on sales with this concept.”
Robust foundation
Rasmussen said Australia was only one of four countries where the range had been made available to bricks-and-mortar retailers, adding that Tom Hope’s online sales and social media analytics indicated the range would perform well in the market.
He explained that of the more than 130 countries that made up online sales, Australia was the 11th largest market.
“Australia has now become a very active and attractive market for them [Tom Hope] in terms of traditional bricks-and-mortar offline distribution,” Rasmussen said.
He added that the Tom Hope founders launched the range via online marketplace Etsy in mid-2015 – where it became the number one selling item on the platform – were very “switched on” regarding social media.
“The great thing about having two years of digital and social media data is that we’re launching this brand with a rigorous set of figures,” Rasmussen explained. “We know exactly who’s buying the bracelets – they have sold 250,000 of them in the two years since launch – and being online we know exactly who they’re being shipped to, who’s bought them, the age of the customer. We have a very strong and accurate idea of who the target customer is going to be and we can use that insight in offline marketing activities. We feel it offers retailers a great opportunity.”
In addition to Australia, the range is stocked in bricks-and-mortar stores throughout France, Germany and Italy.
Tom Hope will officially be introduced to the local market at the International Jewellery Fair, which will take place from 26 to 28 August.
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