By Bart Ware
2025 presents an enormous opportunity for jewellers to reclaim market share from luxury brands.
Throughout 2024 most luxury brands experienced declining sales. This decline was reflected in the companies share prices; with LVMH down 12%, Burberry down 30%, and Kering down 39% since the start of 2024. Ouch!
There are two main factors here.
1. Over saturation – During the last four years brands have increased production and opened more stores. By increasing accessibility, they sacrifice desirability
2. A shift in consumer sentiment – Due to steep price increases across the board, consumers are feeling gouged. It’s hard even for zealots to justify a Chanel classic flap bag, now being double the price it was 4 years ago.
It’s no wonder these luxury giants have taken such a hit, as they have alienated both the aspirational consumers and their loyalists. However, luxury consumers still want to spend money and there is a diamond to be found amongst the rough.
The Richemont group have bucked the trend and are up more than 20%. Considering that their portfolio of brands is mostly in the Jewellery and watch categories this signals the consumers return to perceived safer investments like precious metal and diamonds while steering clear of fashion trends.
There is a huge number of consumers who have finally removed their Gucci goggles and are searching to fill that luxury sized hole. And they have the budget to match.
Here are my top three recommendations to capture these consumers.
1. Elevate your team through training.
Training your team is non-negotiable. There is no excuse for a consumer having more information than your sales team.
If you do not have a sales process and robust new onboarding program in place we should talk (No, a 5-minute store tour, having them shadow a team member on the POS and reading your website “About Us” page doesn’t count).
Training your team not just in technical elements, but in how to properly engage with clients is the biggest difference you can make in your business. If you’re not spending around 2% of revenue as a minimum, you are being left behind.
2. Elevate your client experience.
In luxury, the most successful client advisors (salespeople) are the ones who host the most appointments. It is during these appointments that rapport can be built, and relationships established for future business. A private appointment allows for a true one on one personal experience. Ideally these appointments should be in a private, seated space, where the consumer can be made to feel comfortable while viewing collections.
3. Elevate your space.
Your in-store space needs to feel like a place consumers can comfortably spend time in, and this can be achieved without a full refit. Fresh flowers are one of the quickest ways to make a store feel welcoming and can entice consumers to stay in store longer, leading to higher spends. Flowers also send signals to your consumers that you care about the space and experience – meaning you will likely care about them and their patronage!
Another way to elevate your store is to not over stuff your cabinets with product. Less is more in luxury, and pulling product from a safe or drawer creates the illusion of
discovering something that others might not.
Luxury consumers today, have much higher expectations of the service experience they will receive, and it is up to you to impress them. Now more than ever, the key is in elevating.
