Retailers

Signet achieves 81% online sales growth in Q1

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…

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Smaller shopping centres worst hit by closures

Smaller shopping centres were the worst affected by the number of store closures last year, a new study has shown. Data compiled by retail and leisure researchers, the Local Data Company, showed shopping centres which were given a LDC Health Index Score ranking of 300 or lower saw vacancy rates…

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Shoplifting incidents increase 4% in a year

An OnBuy investigation which used data from the UK Police has revealed a 4% increase in shoplifting offences in this financial year. The figures were compared with previous years’ figures for England and Wales. The investigation showed a total of 378,725 shoplifting incidents reported to 42 police forces in England…

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Over 10,000 stores predicted to close in 2018, analysts say

A new report from the Centre for Retail Research (CRR) has predicted that 2018 will be the worst year on record for store closures, with more than 10,000 outlets disappearing from the high street. The ‘Retail At Bay 2018’ study also argues that the developing crisis in the retail sector…

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Everledger announces deal with HK Group to track My Diamond Story diamonds

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,…

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Average online order value rises for 14th consecutive month

The average order value for online purchases has increased for 14 months in a row, according to new data. Figures from the IMRG MetaPack UK Delivery Index showed UK shoppers fuelled most of the increase, with the value for each month increasing compared with the same month the previous year.…

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Diamnet trading platform officially launches following 12-month development

A new diamond trading platform has been launched by the former managing director of Chalfen of London, Howard Levine. The platform – designed for the wholesale market – aims to connect retailers with a wider number of dealers and manufacturers as well as helping them to sell more bridal jewellery…

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Chow Tai Fook and GIA to bring blockchain diamond grading reports to consumers

Jewellery brand Chow Tai Fook and the Gemological Institute of America (GIA), a diamond grading authority, will use blockchain technology to deliver digital diamond grading reports to consumers for the first time. Clients of Chow Tai Fook’s diamond brand will receive a permanent and immutable blockchain record of their diamond’s…

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Signet jewellers joins De Beers blockchain platform Tracr

Signet Jewelers will be the first retailer to join Tracr, an end-to-end diamond blockchain being developed by the De Beers group in collaboration with the diamond industry. A project team at Signet will work alongside the Tracr team to ensure the platform meets the needs of the jewellery manufacture and…

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Forevermark unveils Millennial focused retail store in China

Forevermark, a diamond brand owned by De Beers, has launched Libert’aime, a new Millennial focused store at HKRI Taikoo Hui in Shanghai, China. The group said the store has been created to “celebrate the spirit of a new generation of women who are strong, unique, and authentic”, and offers diamond…

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