Jewelers of America, the national trade association for businesses serving the fine jewelry retail marketplace, and Jewelry Information Center, the non-profit public relations association serving the fine jewelry and watch industries, have joined forces in the US.
Announcing the decision to merge, Jewelers of America president and CEO Matthew Runci said the move was a natural evolution of the two organisations’ longstanding relationship.
“Jewelers of America and JIC play complementary roles in support of the retail fine jewellery industry, in a mutual effort to advance consumer confidence in jewellery purchases,” he said.
“Combining our resources, in the fields of professional development and industry advocacy and promotion, leaves us well-positioned to remain a leader in the advancement of the fine jewelry industry and its professionals in the 21st century.”
The merger is “enthusiastically supported” by each organisation’s boards of directors and their members who voted in favor of the merger at two recent annual meetings.
After New York State finalises the merger, JIC will be the consumer public relations and marketing arm of Jewelers of America, and all JIC retail and supplier members will become Jewelers of America members.
According to Runci, the integration will increase benefits for both Jewelers of America and JIC members as they will receive access to more business-building help.
For example, Jewelers of America retail members, who seek custom marketing resources to promote their businesses, will now have access to JIC’s PR and marketing materials such as customisable print advertisements, Trends Reports and national consumer marketing campaign materials.
“Jewelers of America has always offered resources for professional development to its members,” said member services director David Peters.
“With the addition of JIC’s marketing services, we will provide members with a complete package – the marketing resources to draw customers to their stores or brand and the educational resources to close sales once they have them at the counter.”