SupplierNews

Staff -- JCK Online, 8/1/1999 2:00:00 AM

JOINT ASIAN-AMERICAN COMPANY FORMED

Super Bell of Los Angeles and Top Ten of New York have partnered with five Hong Kong suppliers to form a new company that will make and distribute an exclusive line of moderately priced jewelry in the United States.

Called Zeep, the new company will specialize in 10k, 14k, and 18k gold and platinum diamond and gemstone jewelry retailing from $99 to $999. The marketing target is the country’s top 40 jewelry retailers.

Zeep’s headquarters will be in Los Angeles. Peter Artzt, who worked for 12 years with the Zale Corp. in Asia, will head up sales and marketing. The Hong Kong companies involved in the venture are Able, Henry, KTL, M&M, and Polaris Arts and Jewelry.

ABE ROSENBERG LAUNCHES ZOE B.

After 20 years as a founding partner of Peter Brams Designs Ltd., Abe Rosenberg has formed Zoe B., a company specializing in the design and manufacture of fashion 14k jewelry with pearls and faceted stones. Rosenberg plans to continue the design concepts he is known for in the industry and to develop product lines suitable for mainstream jewelry markets.

The new Zoe B. product line consists of earrings and necklaces at mid-range price points, from $99 to $249 retail. Stones include blue iolite, sky-blue topaz, and pink tourmaline as well as pink and white freshwater pearls.

The company’s factory and showroom are located at 259 W. 30th St., Third Floor, New York, NY 10001; (212) 594-1345, fax (212) 594-7063.

COLIBRI TO DISTRIBUTE S.T. DUPONT PRODUCTS

The Colibri Group of Providence, R.I., has reached a long-term distribution agreement with S.T. Dupont, a Paris luxury-accessories company whose products include writing instruments, lighters, watches, and related items. The Colibri Group has assumed sales, shipment, and after-sales service responsibility for S.T. Dupont products in the United States.

According to Fred Levinger, chairman and CEO of the Colibri Group, Colibri will retain the S.T. Dupont sales organization; the company’s products will be sold and serviced in the field by S.T. Dupont sales representatives. S.T. Dupont president Alain de Charetts will continue to oversee the company’s marketing strategy.

I.B. GOODMAN TIES KNOT WITH JOHN CHRISTIAN

The I.B. Goodman Co. of Cincinnati and the John Christian Co. of Austin, Texas, have formed a partnership to introduce a new line of personalized bridal products.

I.B. Goodman will become the exclusive distributor for a line of personalized bridal and anniversary jewelry manufactured by John Christian. Bride and groom names, wedding dates, and Shakespearean verse are wrought into the custom-crafted 14k and 18k rings and wedding crosses.

I.B. Goodman Co., 314 John St., Cincinnati, OH 45202; (800) 543-1945 or (513) 241-1206, fax (513) 721-3833.