EDITOR’S LETTER
CONTRIBUTORS
Business rates boon
CONTRIBUTORS
JACK
SCHPEKTOR
Jack is a diamond
specialist from
Antwerp, Belgium
who focuses on
natural fancy
colour diamonds.
He has worked in
the business for 40
years.
VICTORIA
DAHMS
Victoria is
an renowned
jewellery expert
and antique
jeweller who has
worked in the
trade for 25 years.
She is the founder
of Friar House.
HEIDI MARTIN
Heidi is the
founder of
jewellery
collaborative,
Heidi and Co. She
is an alumni of the
London College
of Fashion and
University of the
Arts London
LEONARD ZELL
Leonard has
been training fine
jewellers for 25
years. His monthly
column gives
some top tips on
sales training and
improving your
bottom line
ON THE
COVER
FEATURE
December 2017 | www.jewelleryfocus.co.uk £5.95 | ISSN 2046-7265
TIMETELLERS
How BCU’s horologist
students impact our
daily lives
GETi
SNAPSHOT
A quick look at the
manufacturer’s back story
INDEPENDENCE
DAY
SUPPLIER FOCUS
Meet the goldsmith trying to
bring independence to the
forefront of the industry
Putting a spotlight on CAD/CAM
services and men’s jewellery
Image courtesy of
Shutterstock
37 15 33
SELLING SMILE TECH UPDATE COMPANY Q&A
How a quick attitude change
can improve sales
What have you done
to be more tech-savvy?
December 2017 | jewelleryfocus.co.uk
Monnickendam Diamonds
discusses this year’s highlights
No matter what your political persuasion might
be, the news that the Chancellor is moving from
RPI to CPI indexation two years earlier than
expected is huge for the retail world: it means
business rates can be revalued at last. Helen
Dickinson OBE, chief executive of the BRC, said:
“This is a hugely welcome and positive move.
“From being caught in a web of competing
pressures from all parts of the economy,
limiting the scope for action, it’s clear that the Chancellor has listened
to the retail industry and the growing chorus from across business and
commercial life who have spoken up in favour of action to mitigate
rising rates bills.”
Phillip Hammond also decided to keep the threshold for VAT
registration at £85,000, described as a “sigh of relief for retailers” by the
NFU Mutual’s Mark Easy.
None of this solves the problems that the high street faces, but
I came across some interesting statistics recently. The proportion
of retail sales made online is only 12% - meaning the lion’s share of
retailing in the UK is still done by brick-and-mortar premises. Or, to put
it another way, £315 billion a year of retail trade is done in shops rather
than on the internet, and that’s just the UK.
I think it is important to highlight facts like this, because against the
shrill sound of doomsday reporting about the future of the high street
in our national newspapers, that statistic provides some perspective.
One last observation comes from Colliers International, the
commercial real estate firm, which this month reported a significant
rise in the number of online-only retailers beginning to open
‘showroom’ premises because of a slowdown in the growth of
ecommerce. Even the zeroes and ones want a piece of the high street, it
would seem.
We in business all face tough competition, always – that is the nature
of capitalism. But let’s not overstate the severity of retail’s headwinds.
I hope you enjoy the issue and have a very prosperous Christmas
trading period indeed.
MICHAEL NORTHCOTT
Editor, Jewellery Focus
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