Economy
The economy has a direct influence on the UK jewellery trade, affecting consumer spending, material costs, and business confidence across the sector. For jewellers, manufacturers, and suppliers, staying informed on economic trends is vital to planning and resilience. Jewellery Focus provides expert coverage of economic developments impacting the trade, including inflation, interest rates, consumer confidence, and supply chain challenges. Our reporting helps jewellery professionals understand the wider market forces shaping their business environment.
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Sep- 2018 -7 SeptemberFeatures
Selling Advice: Call your customers
Why don’t you ring your customers? I have asked this question to thousands of salespeople throughout my 30 years of sales training and these are some of the answers I get: It’s too pushy I don’t like to get rejected How do I know they will come in? I don’t…
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Aug- 2018 -30 AugustQ&A Sessions
Brand Q&A: AG Mounts
How was AG Mounts founded? I established the company in 1996. We manufacture and design jewellery ourselves in our factory. We pretty much do everything from a to z. That includes designing, making, casting, mounting, setting and polishing. We design our own mounts as well, and we take special orders…
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Jul- 2018 -31 JulyFeatures
How pop-up shops are changing perspectives
The retail market is forever expanding and changing and it’s important to stay ahead of the curve. For many years, the simple shop space was enough to gain customers, but as people were hit by tighter budgets as well as an influx of technology, spending habits have changed. As rents…
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30 JulyFeatures
Pop-up shops – Changing perspective
The retail market is forever expanding and changing and it’s important to stay ahead of the curve. For many years, the simple shop space was enough to gain customers, but as people were hit by tighter budgets as well as an influx of technology, spending habits have changed. As rents…
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Jun- 2018 -27 JuneRetailers
Independent jewellers to benefit from new small business funding scheme
Small business minister Andrew Griffiths has unveiled a new £8m fund to boost the productivity and performance of small businesses in the UK. The ‘Business Basics Fund’ will help charities, trade organisations and public sector organisations support small businesses in adopting ‘tried and tested’ technologies and management techniques. Research from…
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May- 2018 -14 MayRetailers
Retail consumer spending sees sharpest drop since 2012
Consumer spending has suffered its sharpest drop in six years, according to Visa’s latest consumer spending index. Spending in-store fell by 5.4% in April when compared to the same period last year, while overall consumer spending fell by 2%, matching March’s year-on-year figures. Online spending was also down by 0.1%.…
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4 MayEconomy
43,000 retailers in ‘financial distress’
Nearly 43,000 retailers ended the first quarter of the year in a state of ‘significant’ financial distress, according to research from insolvency firm Begbies Traynor. Its ‘Red Flag Alert’ research for Q1 2018, which monitors the financial health of UK companies, found the number of firms in the category was…
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Apr- 2018 -3 AprilRetailers
21,000 retail jobs lost or threatened so far this year
Over 21,000 jobs have been axed or put at risk in the first three months of the year as retailers struggle to break even. A Press Association analysis revealed that 21,413 staff members have already been made redundant or had their role threatened, with the majority being from large high-street…
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Mar- 2018 -7 MarchFeatures
Is silversmithing at risk?
“It has become very difficult for many silversmithing workshops to find new staff today”, says silversmith Richard Fox. He says this is because large UK large workshops have closed down, changing the environment and leaving smaller atelier sized firms that “haven’t got enough resources” to take on and train new…
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6 MarchRetailers
Consumer spending on ‘non-essentials’ increases
According to Barclaycard February 2018 saw increased sales of non-essentials, as consumers continued to prioritise their spending on the ‘experience economy’. Data from the group also revealed supermarket spending (3.2%) returned to levels previously seen over the past six months, after a spike of 4.4% in January 2018. Entertainment performed…
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