High-end jewelry Chanel, Cartier are “transforming” to attract customers

There is no denying the upheaval that the world is going through in the past two years, due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine. However, in a way, the jewelry market is a lot of fun. When people can’t travel, they find other ways to spend money, with gifts and valuable jewelry.

Jewelry designers and brands have proven resilient despite the limitations of the lockdown. They use technology to stay in touch with customers via social media to showcase new designs, and before the face-to-face meetings take place, they use Zoom to launch the collection. For a while, it was a way to maintain dialogue, interact with customers more than sell.

The jewelry market boomed during the pandemic. Photo: Van Cleef & Arpels

A recent report from Shanghai shows that luxury brands have gotten creative by sending gourmet meals and food parcels to customers especially when the city is closed, to maintain relationships. In the last few years, the focus on high-end jewelry and watches has been increasingly tilted towards Asia, especially Chinese consumers. According to global management and consultant McKinsey & Company, the region represents 45% of total luxury sales by brands. Before the restrictions in Shanghai and Beijing, Cartier and a number of firms held lavish product launches and exhibitions in China instead of Paris.

Similarly, Chanel will launch a high-jewelry collection inspired by 1932 designs later this month in Taiwan, not in the “light capital”. This has evolved, and is coming, at least for VIP customers when precious items can be delivered to their homes for them to try on in private. There could be a conversion factor if customers can try on jewelry in their dressing rooms, a move that has led many in the industry to believe that the future of high jewelry is privacy and selectivity. .

The pandemic has allowed jewelry brands to innovate and offer unique customer experiences. Bvlgari’s online platform has become the number 1 sales channel globally, both in person and online, increasing by more than 100%. In China, this may depend on the localization of the brand.

This result helps propel Bvlgari’s high-end jewelry business into 2021, exceeding even the brand’s own expectations. The highlight is the success of the Magnifica collection with 350 items launched last June in Milan, then London. This encourages Bvlgari to continue investing in its high-end jewelry sets.

Chanel necklace. Photo: Chanel

In 2019, high-end jewelry sales were estimated at US$280 billion by McKinsey & Company, but due to the global pandemic, business activity has declined by 10-15% due to retail store closures during this period. long time. Some brands have been slow to move into the digital realm, but the pandemic has fundamentally reset expectations for both buyers and sellers.

Jewelry makers quickly entered a new world where terms like metaverse, NFT became commonplace. However, the metaverse is a huge space and luxury brands are still trying to understand and work within it. The NFT is potentially a useful tool for proving the authenticity and ownership of luxury items – be it high-end jewelry, watches, artwork or even musical instruments. This is particularly welcome at a time when companies are being challenged by customers in establishing transparency and traceability in their gem supply chains.

Proof of authenticity will ultimately benefit customers who love high-end jewelry with diamond necklaces, ruby ​​earrings, emerald bracelets and the like. Because the ambition is that blockchain technology will eventually provide a reliable digital record of the gem’s journey from producer to retailer and then to customer.

Despite the pandemic, Graff — with 50 stores worldwide — reported nearly $473.6 million in sales in 2020. Richemont’s prestigious brands Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels and Buccellati helped to make it possible. The luxury industry will increase profits in the jewelry sector from $7.73 billion in 2020 to $7.99 in 2021. In which, sales in Asia-Pacific and especially China play a significant role. make a big contribution.

Van Cleef & Arpels opened a bunch of new stores in China between 2020 and 2021, with more to come this year. It will also renovate its flagship store in Hong Kong.

As the world slowly emerges from the pandemic, there is another potential challenge for luxury jewelry brands: Western sanctions on Russian diamonds, which account for a third of the world’s supply. gender. These measures will not have an immediate impact as many places already have stock of gems but no diamonds currently being mined that could appear in future designs, until the sanctions. penalty is removed.

Source: Compilation