Covid-19
Covid-19 brought unprecedented challenges to the UK jewellery trade, reshaping retail, supply chains, and consumer behaviour. For jewellers, manufacturers, and suppliers, understanding the pandemic’s lasting impact is essential to building resilience and adapting strategies. Jewellery Focus offers in-depth coverage of Covid-19’s effects on the industry, including market analysis, recovery efforts, e-commerce growth, and insights into how businesses are navigating a post-pandemic landscape.
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Jun- 2020 -23 JuneFeatures
Coronavirus: The jewellery industry’s story
At the time of writing, the UK’s embattled high street has been given a glimmer of hope, after prime minister Boris Johnson announced plans on 25 May to allow non-essential retailers to open by mid-June. The announcement will be welcome news for many jewellers who have struggled over the past…
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23 JuneRetailers
Government rethink on longer Sunday trading welcomed by Usdaw
Shopworkers trade union Usdaw has welcomed reports that the government will not be pressing ahead with plans to deregulate Sunday trading hours having listened to the arguments. The news comes as Usdaw titled government plans for Sunday trading deregulation as a “slap in the face” for key workers and calls…
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19 JuneRetailers
92% of shopworkers oppose longer Sunday working hours, says Usdaw
Some 92% of retail staff in England have opposed large shops opening for more than six hours on a Sunday, as the government considers deregulating Sunday trading. According to a survey by shopworkers trade union Usdaw, 66% of the 11,000 retail staff said they feel they are pressured to work…
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18 JuneFeatures
An open letter to the jewellery industry re racism
Dear fellow human beings, A lot of you feel strongly about the recent events in the US, as the protests following George Floyd’s death have raised much deeper issues of inherent racism, and people of all races have started to speak out in support of the Black Lives Matter movement.…
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18 JuneCoronavirus
The Birmingham Assay Office launches Rainbow Logo mark to raise funds for the NHS
The Birmingham Assay Office has launched its rainbow logo mark to be applied as an optional mark alongside the hallmark and date letter for 2020 to raise money for the NHS. The rainbow logo mark will be available for a limited period from the 1 July until December 2020. The…
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17 JuneRetailers
Bira vows to ‘fight’ for retailers who missed out on Covid-19 support
The British Independent Retailers Association (Bira) has vowed to continue to “fight for retailers” who have missed out on government support. The pledge follows the findings of the treasury select committee that one million people had missed out on receiving any financial support during the pandemic. The committee’s report is…
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17 JuneRetailers
Lockdown has led to a 95% increase in social e-commerce, research reveals
Lockdown has led to a 95% increase in social ecommerce, according to new research by Parcelhero. The home delivery firm has predicted that a fifth of Brits have become “social shoppers” during the Covid-19 pandemic as many consumers have been using social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and Google…
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17 JuneAdvice
11 ways to encourage the high street to remain Covid-secure
This week marks a big shift for the retail sector as many non-essential stores in England reopen their doors to the public. Boris Johnson has announced that as of the 15th June, non-essential stores can reopen in England, providing stringent health and safety guidelines are set in place to protect…
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16 JuneE-Commerce
Covid-19 to add £5.3bn to UK e-commerce in 2020
The surge in online shopping caused by the Covid-19 pandemic is expected to add £5.3bn to UK e-commerce sales this year, to reach a total of £78.9bn. This is according to analysts at Edge Retail Insight, the global trend forecasting arm of retail insights firm Edge by Ascential, which have…
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16 JuneCoronavirus
Business secretary welcomes NAJ StoreSafe scheme
NAJ member Jacobs the Jewellers was visited by the business secretary, the Rt Hon Alok Sharma MP, to show the MP how the jewellery industry could reopen safely. Ahead of the Reading shop’s reopening, owner Adam Jacobs and his colleagues explained more about the NAJ’s StoreSafe scheme during the visit…
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