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Jewellery brand Kendra Scott is launching its Spring 18 collection in a coveted spot in one of London’s most high-profile windows today. The American jeweller is launching its new collection with a creative window partnership at Selfridges in London’s Oxford Street. The collection, which is inspired by hot pastels, features geometric shapes and natural textures, such as mother of pearl and shell. The window displays, which are made up of precision cut acrylic with highlights of gold, is designed to reflect the brand’s “fresh and innovative” aesthetic for the Spring 18 jewellery collection . Kendra Scott, the brand’s designer and founder, said: “This spring we explore our most iconic design principle, and use them to inspire a fresh and innovative collection. Taking on a style that is frameless and free, this season is a thoughtful blend of colour and texture that feels beautifully unexpected.” The new Kendra Scott shop-in-shop is located on the lower ground floor of Selfri

International fashion jewellery brand Thomas Sabo has seen its average transaction value rise by double digits in its concept stores around the UK. Proactively looking to boost business amid tough trading conditions, Thomas Sabo has been training its staff to make sure every sale counts. Talking exclusively to Professional Jeweller, the brand’s UK managing director Jon Crossick explains: “Our average transaction value rose by big double digits last year, and we knew that had to happen because we knew the footfall wasn’t going to come to store. “For me it’s about increasing the perceived value of what people want to spend in store. Don’t start at the bottom, don’t go cheap, you’ve got to do aim high because footfall is low.” Looking ahead, Thomas Sabo is hoping to replicate this success with its wholesale partners by encouraging retailer’s that consumers are willing to spend higher than expected amounts on branded goods, and training shop floor staff on how to do this. “Fr

Luxury jeweller Azza Fahmy has announced it is entering the UK’s physical retail market with the launch of a premier store in London’s Mayfair. The Egyptian design house, which is set to open its first UK venue in Mayfair’s historic Burlington Arcade on March 1, has collaborated with Julien Macdonald, Preen by Thornton Bregazzi, Matthew Williamson and created bespoke collections for The British Museum. The concept store forms part of the Egyptian brand’s international retail network expansion plan and will reflect elements of its latest Galleria 40 store in Cairo, which marked the direction of future designs. Fatma Ghaly, managing director of the jewellery brand, explains: “We are delighted to make our retail debut in the UK. We have invested in growing the UK audience and our online boutique has witnessed significant UK revenue. This market has become one of our important growth areas outside the MEA region. “The store strengthens our existing retail presence in London and

Specialist jewellery PR agency Facets PR has announced its plans to empower women within the jewellery sector with a special event. The company, which is an all-female business, is set to host an event on International Women’s Day designed to highlight female entrepreneurs across the world who are making waves in the jeweller sector. The event, which will be taking place on March 8 in London, will be hosted by Facets PR and supported by the Women’s Jewellery Network . The day will include an exhibition of jewellery and talks from inspirational women jewellers . The event’s keynote speaker will be Jennifer Ewah, whose jewellery brand Eden Diodati is designed to empower women who are survivors of the Rwandan genocide who can now earn a fair wage by producing jewellery elements. Other participants from around the globe include jewellery designer and advocate of ethical diamond jewellery, Satta Matturi, who manages a fine jewellery brand based in and inspired by Africa, Sif Jak

Holts Gems has announced the sad passing of its founder and director, Mr Robert Holt, just five days before his 95th birthday . Mr Holt, who founded Holts Gems in 1948 and was the oldest surviving member of the London Diamond Bourse, passed away on January 11 whilst on holidays with his family in Lanzarote. Paying tribute to Mr Holt in a statement, his family and the team at Holts Gems, said: “Five days from his 95th birthday, he was an inspiration to all who knew him. His charming loving nature and quiet humour made him one of the most respected members of the jewellery trade. He was a loving and dedicated family man to his wife Dorothy, two sons Jason and Stuart, and five grandchildren. Whilst reaching a grand age, Mr Holt never grew old. He was young until the final moment.” “We thank all our customers, colleagues and friends for the warmth and loyalty you showed Mr Holt over so many of his 70 years in business.” Holts Gems will be closed today (January 18) to observe a

David Costanzo, owner of 114-year-old Niagara Falls, N.Y., fine jewelry store Yaseen’s Jewelers, is closing his business this month. But not of his own volition. The 75-year-old jewelry retailer and repairman says he was given just over a month’s notice to either move into a smaller space in the plaza—one that wouldn’t accommodate his equipment and showroom—or vacate the premises entirely. “One of the tenants who is a personal trainer expressed to the landlord that he wanted more room,” Costanzo says. “The landlord told me a few months back that this might happen, but it was very iffy. Then two days after Christmas, he came in and told me I had until Jan. 31 to leave the space.” The retailer added that while he appreciated the offer of another space, “that move would cost me $25,000 to $40,000 to set up security and such. I’m not in a position to do that at my age, and the space wouldn’t be big enough anyway.” Costanzo says he’d had “no intention of retiring,” add

The Indian Commodity Exchange (ICEX) is planning to launch three futures contracts for diamonds in March to provide exporters with a hedging tool, the exchange said recently, according to a report published in profit.ndtv.com. India is a global diamond polishing hub where 14 out of every 15 rough diamonds in the world are polished. The exchange has received "in-principle" approval from the market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to start futures trading and the course will initially launch three contracts for stones sized 30 cents, equivalent to 0.3 carats, 50 cents, equivalent to 0.5 carats, and 1 carat, it said. "The futures contract will enhance the global competitiveness of Indian exporters who will be able to create an inventory and hedge against price volatility which will improve price competitiveness," said Sanjit Prasad, managing director of ICEX . The contracts are designed to consider the requirements of market particip

Jewellery giant Pandora has unveiled it's strategic plans for the period starting from now to 2022. Ahead of the company’s ‘Capital Markets Day’ in Copenhagen in January 16, Pandora has outlined its plans for the next five years, which includes an ambition to increase revenue annually in the period 2018-2022 by 7-10% in local currency, while maintaining a solid EBITDA margin of around 35% beginning from this year. During the next five years, the jewellery giant will also address the ample growth opportunities in the jewellery market through: Innovate affordable jewellery Strengthening its charms and bracelet category leadership, while significantly growing other jewellery categories including rings, earrings and necklaces & pendants. Pandora has the ambition to generate around 50% of revenue from the latter categories by 2022. The brand says innovation and continuous product newness will be key components to sparking consumer demand, and therefore Pandora will launch

Ian Tomlinson, founder of RetailStore gives his predications of what will be hot trends for retailers in 2018… 2018 is here and the business outlook for retailers is looking positive despite what people may think. The New Year retail will be driven by technological advances and payment transaction capabilities, small-format shops will be in and ‘big-box’ shops are out, vast amounts of attention will be given to the omni-channel experience making it now a necessity to retailers over a novelty. All of that and the retailtainment in-store experience will be at the forefront of CEO’s minds for long-term survival. Here’s our breakdown of how to build up in 2018: Payment Trend Technology has opened the door to a new age of purchasing and has altered the payment path for transactions, turning it into the ‘Internet of Things’ era. As online purchases soar and purchasing is made easier, payment methods have also been catching up thanks to the advancement in transaction capabilities

Sears Holdings announced Thursday that it will close another 103 stores—both Kmart and Sears units—in 2018. In a press release distributed Thursday, the company said it informed workers at 64 Kmart stores and 39 Sears stores that their locations will be closing between early March and early April 2018. “We will continue to close some unprofitable stores as we transform our business model so that our physical store footprint and our digital capabilities match the needs and preferences of our members,” the company said in the same statement. This language closely echoes the statement issued with their November 2017 announcement of 63 store closings to take place by the end of this month, as well as an earlier list of 43 stores—eight Kmarts and 35 Sears locations—that were to be shuttered by the end of October last year. It wasn’t clear from the release how many employees will lose their jobs in this latest wave of contraction, but it said eligible sales associates at

The Sarine group has announced that it crossed a significant milestone in 2017, with its Galaxy® family of scanning and inclusion mapping systems having scanned 10 million stones worldwide in one single year. The Company said that Galaxy® family of systems have now cumulatively scanned over 30 million stones since they were first introduced in the industry in 2009. It took six years for the Company to complete the first 10 million scanned stones. When that milestone was reached in July 2015, average quarterly throughput was only one million stones. The rate of growth has risen rapidly after that, Sarine reported, adding the 2017 landmark was achieved despite prevailing industry conditions and other impediments, adding that it will continue to aggressively counter illicit infringement of its intellectual property. The Galaxy® family of systems (today encompassing the Galaxy® , Galaxy® XL, Galaxy® Ultra, Solaris® and Meteor® products) has provided automated, accurate, comprehens

Retailers are likely to suffer unless they are able to bolster consumer confidence by convincing them that their individual needs are catered from, a leading retail expert has claimed. New research by the Economist Intelligence Unit has revealed that the UK is set to become the world’s third slowest-growing retail market in 2018, as the fallout of Brexit takes its toll on UK sales. The research also revealed that the UK’s average retail growth forecast is set to decline by 0.4% in 2018, making it one of only three markets in the world to experience negative growth, alongside Egypt and Venezuela Dave Stark, a chief executive officer at Conversely, says: “This research highlights the tough time's retailers are going to face in 2018 and underlines the amount of work that needs to be done to address the issues. “Customers have become used to shopping across a wide variety of different channels, and expect a high level of personalised service. In order to offset the effects o

Hong Kong’s sales of fine jewellery pieces are expected to strengthen in 2018, fueled mainly by items with fine designs and craftsmanship, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) said in its latest export index report. Platinum jewellery is also expected to be highly sought after largely due to the metal’s sluggish price while demand for gold jewellery remains stable, data from the HKTDC Export Index 4Q17 showed. Sales of luxury watches, meanwhile, are seen to stay steady while demand for fashionable watches is on the rise. Smartwatches with functions such as fitness tracking, smart notifications and mobile connectivity are likely to remain popular, HKTDC said. Overall, the council expects Hong Kong exports to increase in value by 6 percent while the volume of exports is anticipated to grow by 4 percent in 2018. HKTDC Director of Research Nicholas Kwan attributed the rise to broad-based expansion in investment, trade and consumption, coupled with strengthening consume