MONTH IN REVIEW
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www.jewelleryfocus.co.uk
TECHNOLOGY
Everledger
announces deal
with HK Group
to track My
Diamond Story
diamonds
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In the first quarter,
we saw signs of
stabilisation in our
overall sales and once
again achieved double
digit growth in
ecommerce
Virginia Drosos,
CEO, Signet Jewelers
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ECOMMERCE
Watchshop
remains top
of ecommerce
market despite
22% drop in
vis ibility
SALES GROWTH
Signet achieves
81% online sales
growth in Q1
Everledger and Hari Krishna Group (HK
Group) have announced a deal that will
see Hari Krishna’s flagship private label
brand My Diamond Story tracked using
blockchain technology.
With this new development,
Everledger, a global emerging
technology enterprise, and the HK
Group, one of the world’s largest
diamond manufacturers and exporters,
will see the diamonds cryptographically-
certified and the information stored
securely at every step of the process on
Everledger’s blockchain-based platform.
As part of My Diamond Story,
consumers will receive the Diamond
Birth Certificate that chronologically
captures six key stages within the
diamonds transformation from rough to
the finished jewellery item: My Rough
Diamond, My Diamond Mapping, My
Diamond Cutting and Polishing, My
Diamond Grading, My Diamond Ring
Design and My Diamond Hand Setting.
Leanne Kemp, Everledger founder and
CEO, said: “Our engineering teams are
focused on providing blockchain, smart
contracts and digital tooling to industry,
enabling the technology to be consumed
within business processes across all
segment of the trade pipeline. We provide
robust chains with security at scale.
“We are delighted to be working
with the HK Group, one of the world’s
largest and most highly regarded
diamond manufacturers within the
industry, to bring the benefits of
blockchain technology at scale.”
July 2018 | jewelleryfocus.co.uk
Jewellery retail group Signet Jewelers,
which owns H Samuel and Ernest
Jones, has reported a 5.5% increase
in total sales for the 13 weeks ending
May 5, 2018.
The company’s total sales for the
quarter reached $1.5bn (£1.1bn), up
4.3% on a constant currency basis, with
the increase in sales partly impacted
by the acquisition of jewellery brand
James Allen.
Virginia Drosos, Signet Jewelers
CEO, said: “In the first quarter, we saw
signs of stabilisation in our overall sales
and once again achieved double digit
growth in ecommerce. Looking ahead,
we expect second quarter revenues to
be impacted by a tougher prior year
same store sales comparison and
calendar shifts.”
She added: “We are maintaining
our full year 2019 guidance and
are intensely focused on laying the
foundation to support improved
performance in the holiday season.
While progress will continue to be
gradual and incremental, we are
confident Signet is on the right path
to achieve long-term sustainable,
profitable growth.”
Despite a 22% decrease in their
visibility over the past year,
Watchshop remains top of the
jewellery and watch ecommerce
market, a new report has revealed.
The Watches E-Commerce Insight
Report, produced by digital marketing
specialists Inside Online, ranks 50
of the leading websites within this
competitive market according to their
online performance.
The annual study reveals the
successes and shortcomings of each
website, highlighting where there is room
for improvement. It found that Watches
of Switzerland (87%) and Bucherer (61%)
recorded the most significant increases
in visibility, while Guess Watches also
saw a 52% increase.
WatchFinder and Jura (both -9%)
saw reductions on their previous year,
and Joma (-48%), and Watches2U
(-25%) saw the largest reductions.
The report also found that TAG
Heuer topped the overall social charts
despite placing third in both the brand
searches per month and owned social
score lists.
The social score considers followers
and engaged conversations on all
major social platforms.
Additionally Watchshop was found
to the the top performer in monthly
searches with 201,000 followed by
WatchFinder (139,000), Olivia Burton
(60,500) and Daniel Wellington (49,500).
JEWELLERY FOCUS
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