Industry News | Jewellery Focus

Aug- 2015 -

18 August

H&T posts 30% profits jump

H&T Pawnbrokers has reported a 30% increase in pre-tax profit in its financial update for the first half of 2015. In the six months from January to the end of June 2015, profit before tax increased by 30% to £2.6m, up from the £2m reported for the same period last…

18 August

Economy

Tom Davis

UK inflation rate rises to 0.1% in July

The UK inflation rate has crept up from the zero-mark to 0.1% in July, according to the Consumer Prices Index measurement. A smaller fall in clothing prices during the month compared with the same time last year was the main contributor to the rise in inflation, the Office for National…

18 August

E-Commerce

Tom Davis

Online retail sales jump 12% in July

UK online retail sales surged 12% year-on-year in July and were up 15% when excluding travel, according to new data released today. The IMRG Capgemini e-Retail Sales Index also found that sales made via a mobile device, either a smartphone or tablet, saw annual growth of 42%. At 5.1%, July…

17 August

Designers

Tom Davis

Tresor Paris launches new Quantum Cubus collection

Tresor Paris last week unveiled its new ‘Quantum Cubus’ jewellery range for men and women. Quantum Cubus features necklaces, bracelets, rings and cufflinks and aims to give clothing outfits a “modern, yet tasteful twist”. The collection includes the use of a lapis stone, which adds a touch of colour to…

17 August

Q&A Sessions

Michael Northcott

INTERVIEW: Scott Thompson, Carat*

Luxury fashion jewellery brand Carat* spent the latter half of 2014 expanding its footprint both in the UK and overseas. MICHAEL NORTHCOTT caught up with founder and CEO, Scott Thompson. Give us a 60-second roundup of what’s been going on in the last 12 months We’ve expanded our footprint in Hong…

17 August

Economy

Tom Davis

Footfall down 1.1% across the UK in July

Total UK retail footfall in July was 1.1% lower than the same time last year, though this still represented a marginal improvement on the 1.5% fall in June. Data from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and Springboard Footfall and Vacancies Monitor showed footfall on the high street and in shopping…

14 August

Editor's Blog

Michael Northcott

I Don’t Want To Spoil The Party, CMJ

I was reminded of the old adage yesterday – turnover is vanity, profit is sanity. It’s so clichéd as to sound almost like bad advice, but of course anyone in business knows it holds as true today as it did when the first merchants started trying to glean a few…

14 August

Economy

Tom Davis

Hallmarking slumps 10.5% in July

The total number of hallmarked items fell 10.5% in July, a decrease of 91,949 articles when compared with July 2014. This is according to data released today by the UK’s four assay offices, and compiled by the Birmingham Assay Office, which found that during the month there was a total…

14 August

Economy

Tom Davis

Retail footfall growth at 11-year high

UK retail footfall growth has increased at the fastest rate for 11 years, according to figures from Ipsos Retail Performance. The global retail and footfall consultant’s latest Retail Traffic Index, which is derived from the number of individual shoppers entering over 4,000 non-food retail stores across the UK, found that…

13 August

International

Michael Northcott

Endless Jewelry enters 25th market with Switzerland launch

Danish charm bracelet brand Endless Jewelry has announced its entry into the Swiss market, its 25th since it launched two years ago. The brand is teaming up with trade agency Heno SA to manage the launch in Switzerland. Founder Jesper Nielsen said: “When we worked with Pandora CWE, Switzerland was…