UK retail sales increase by 4.7% in August

UK retail sales in August have increased by 4.7% on a like-for-like basis from August 2019, according to figures released in BRC-KPMG’s Retail Sales Monitor report for the month. Overall sales increased by 3.9% in the period, in comparison to a decline of 0.4% in August 2019. This is above…

Read More »

Yorkshire jewellers hit with armed robbery

A West Yorkshire jeweller has been robbed by three men who were reportedly armed with sledgehammers. According to local reports, the crime occurred at Wetherby-based store Kendall’s Jewellers shop last Saturday (5 September). The Yorkshire Evening Post reported that officers were called to the scene at about 1.18pm to reports…

Read More »

Second NAJ Live takes place

The second digital NAJ Live took place last week (27 August) with more than 100 attendees signing up to hear from Patricia Law FIRV, Lucy Cripps and Jill Newman under the theme of ‘trending’. In the latest edition of the industry show, Jill Newman, editor at large for the Natural…

Read More »

Auree launches earrings in aid of Little Village

British jewellery brand Auree has launched a new hoop earring in aid of charity.  Its Rowfant Rainbow Charity Hoop earrings will support the charity Little Village, a baby bank based in London which offers clothes to toys for children up to the age of five. The charity also provides a…

Read More »

Redundancies planned by 60% of mid-sized firms

More than half (60%) of the UK’s medium-sized businesses are planning redundancies as a result of the Government’s Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme coming to an end in October, according to new research from accountancy and business advisory firm, BDO. BDO’s monthly Rethinking the Economy survey of 500 medium-sized businesses across…

Read More »

GDP to contract £15.3bn each year if home working persists

Lower consumer spending and a decrease in economic clustering if pandemic levels of home working persist would reduce UK GDP by £15.3bn every year, according to new research published by PwC. The ‘Big Four’ accountancy firm said the hit to consumption is a result of office workers spending fewer days…

Read More »

Signet Jewellers swings to loss in Q2

Signet Jewellers, the parent company of H.Samuel and Ernest Jones, swung to a loss of $81.7m (£62m) in its second quarter of trading, down from a loss of $36.1 (£27.4m) the year before.  Total sales also fell by 34.9% to $888m (£623m) in the quarter ended August 1, 2020. Meanwhile,…

Read More »

Hublot partners with Soccer Aid for Unicef 2020

Hublot will partner with Soccer Aid for Unicef, the world’s biggest charity football live event, for its 2020 match that is set to take place this week.  Soccer Aid for Unicef, which was created as a way of raising money for at risk children around the world, has raised over…

Read More »

GemGenève cancels November show

GemGenève has announced the decision to cancel its November 2020 show “after careful consideration”.  It comes as its organisers said the current pandemic, travel restrictions and increased sanitary precautions make it “impossible for GemGenève to be the interactive experience that we intend it to be”. In a “show of understanding…

Read More »

Building platinum jewellery sales in a post-pandemic world

The COVID-19 crisis has profoundly affected the fine jewellery market in 2020, but recovery is already underway. While it is too soon to say when the industry will fully recover, there is no question that consumers are willing to make fine jewellery purchases post pandemic, and fine jewellery buyers tend…

Read More »