Hello you can always try non branded designs from manufacturers overseas or lesser known brands, Customers always get attracted to the piece by design then comes quality and cost. Certainly brands do have an advantage but not all brands, the best is to carry lines that compliment their clothes.

I think the name on the front door is the only Brand that matters. You can buy almost any designers styles for much less than the branded product and sometimes even better quality. Offer it to you customers for less and make more margin for yourself. Great concept?

You may make less money on designer goods, but if you are selling more it makes up for it. Little Ceasers is a prime example, undercutting their prices to $5 for a large pizza seemed risky at the time, but now they sell so many it makes sense. There is a way to make money with designers, sell their goods or more money! Sure your competition may be selling it for less but consider the facts: It's a designer so most likely not every Joe will have it. MSRP means just that, SUGGESTED retail price. You can sell it for more, are they really going to say "Sorry, you sold our product for more money, we must pull the line?" If you have good salespeople, price will not be a boundry. Consider this: Store A says this Ritani ring is $1,500. Store B says this Ritani ring is $2,000 on sale for $1,500. Most consumers will fall for the sale price thinking they are getting a better deal.

I work very hard branding my product (Puppy Paws) BUT I also work just as hard helping my retailers. I ask my retailers to Keystone my product BUT I also have an exclusive with them and will not sell to another in their area unless they decide to no longer carry the product. It works out as a partnership.

Shanu, Your problem is universal . . . that it costs more to do business than just keystone costs. This is not a new thing. For years jewelers have had to use 2.25 markup or higher on “blind” goods. Blind goods, if you are not familiar with the term, are those goods that have no direct relation to like items. As one of the comments made, looking to overseas resources as you are doing is a way to do this. Now, this brings up another point. How much are you marking up the jewelry you’re importing from Hong Kong? Can it carry a higher markup than you are using. Most imported goods are blind items and if others on your area are not carrying the same goods hece, addting 5% to 15% more may not hinder sales. Think of it this way: if you were buying these goods from an importer here in the US, what would the price be? If you are buying these goods from the maker in Hong Kong, an importer would get a better price than you get due to the size of orders they place. But, most likely, they have to keystone their cost to come up with their wholesale price which you would keystone. So, if you used a 3X or 3.5 markup on cost, you would, most likely not be out of line. However, there are other sources such as the craft jewelers that are all around the US. Many show at the jewelry show and at the major craft shows. There three keys to profit – turnover by item if reorderable or by category of goods if not reorderable – and markup and lastly, using the 80/20 Rule to your advantage (see article in the Business Articles section of my web site – www.sellingselling.com) As to the brand name giving you ONLY keystone markup versus a longer markup. Well, if having these brands in your store are bring people into you store, then they have done some of your marketing for you. So, instead of giving you a higher markup, they have put that money into their advertising which brings people into your store. Have you thought about that? But, there is also something that your post tells me and that you do not have a business plan or, if you do have one, you are not keeping it up to date. If a 2% commission on keystone goods is going to put you in a negative profit picture, there may be other expenses that are more out of line than this. For example, do you have too much inventory when you don’t need it? Do you track rate of sale or turnover for each category of merchandise in your store? Hope this helps and wishing that your Xmas sales will be very good for you. Alan Alan J. Zell, Ambassador of Selling, Attitudes for Selling azell@aol.com Winner of the Murray Award for Marketing Excellence Member, PNW Sales & Marketing Group Member, Institute of Management Consultants You are invited to learn about programs and services and article on business topics that affect selling at www.sellingselling .com

Both the jeweller and the brand share the task of ensuring lower margin branded product turns at a higher velocity than non branded higher margin merchandise. How does the brand quantify (opinion or facts) to the retailer how much the retailer must spend on inventory and marketing for the privilege of taking up valuable real estate? When margin is low the turn should be higher (low margin\high turn or high margin\low turn) if this is not the case then one must question the current trend for offering branded jewellery. Is the emperor wearing clothes? How will a jeweller recover the lost business when their number one brand opens their own designer retail concept store a few doors away? Jewellers should be cognisant of certain brands whose hidden agenda is to use retailers to establish their clientele then later open up their own retail stores: examples would be Tiffany, Movado and David Yurman. What are the intentions of Aaron Basha and Honora? There are brands that are no more than wholesalers with a marketing strategy who prey on weak retail merchants. In this situation one may be better to buy direct form China and offer a value proposition that drives a stronger GMROI. The onus rests upon good retail merchants to do their homework and not succumb to smoke and mirrors.