Part 2 Brand Disaster: Hearts on Fire

Comments for this topic are now closed. While acknowledging this
discussion has been both interesting and controversial, JCK
believes it especially has emphasized the need to address the issue
of brand-retailer relationships in a broader editorial forum,
rather continue to debate what did or didn’t happen in this
particular instance. We therefore will be addressing the
brand/retailer issue in print shortly, and request that both
everyone who has posted on here as well as all retailers and brands
who have dealt with a similar situation, to please contact us
offline. Please contact me directly: Hedda Schupak, JCK
editor-in-chief, hschupak@reedbusiness.com, or (646) 746-6440.

Marc--I totally agree--even though HOF verbally agreed to take back
the line and is now choosing not too--I have chosen my path and
will continue to discount the merchandise to turn the line and make
room for items that are continuously selling.

(continuing) The manufacturer would be happy to take back the
merchandise if he could turn to his advertiser and get back the
advertising dollars, and if he could turn to the banks and get back
the interest expense for financing the business. The element of
risk is in every transaction. You are now turning to alternate
plans, which will give your name two brands, a rebel and a
discounter. (Once you discount a Brand..the reputation is in place,
not the explanation) You are at the crossroads, you must pick your
path. Marc@eyeson.biz

Imagine if every Jeweler that had a poor performance asked the
Mfgr. to take all the remaining back and refund the $$ that were
paid ! When you buy a branded line, you are buying into a
merchandising program. You knew this from the start. You were
buying not just the product but the Natinal Advertising &

AMEN @ Scottt

Anyone who is interested in chatting offline about the pros and
cons of selling branded lines should email Jennifer Heebner, Senior
Editor, JCK, at JHeebner@reedbusiness.com. I am interested in
learning more about the topic and passing on useful info to our
print readers.

Not every one is a designer or creative. We do need brands because
of their appeal, advertisment dollars and designs.I carry alot of
brands and that gets me a variety of customers. I will have a
easier time going thru this economy because of the support from my
brand

Good job. Brand yourself. Why bust your hump and take all the risk
for another. "Jewelers" that depend on brands are simply the
convenience stores of our industry. More stores need to man up and
take the bull by the horns. Simply becoming a store that sells
everyone elses brands shows how lazy and uncreative you are. Make
your store strong and a shining star with your designs and your
creativity.

Shanu, I give you credit for being bold. Not only are you doing
what you think is in your interest despite what the vendor wants
but you're making a very public announcement about it. Yes, I agree
your bridges are burned now but next time you want a brand let's
hope you actually get the brand. Its a big industry but its not
that big. If going branded means you have to go thru what you just
did, maybe you want to rethink the very concept of branding in your
store. I wonder, did the vendor offer you any help at all when you
told them the line is not performing?

Is that Atlanta burning? Oh, no, your just burning bridges!

Fundamentally, it is unethical to offer two prices for the same
item in the same transaction. If a shrewd person asks and gets a
discount while a nice old lady doesn't and pays full price, you
have taken advantage of her and it is unethical. This is a
centuries old business issue, going to grain sellers carrying a
false set of weights to sell their grain-- a false price is no
different than a false scale. A price should mean something and the
"mystery" value behind what we sell only hurts us. How much is this
ring? It is 10,000...(now, I'm looking at it and thinking to my
self, is it worth 10- do I like it that much? when the employee
interrupts my thought and adds "but today, I'll give it to you for
6. Wait a minute, maybe I can do better, how about 5? 4? As a
customer, i now have no earthy idea how much the ring is worth
because I couldn't get a price. Maybe I would have purchased it at
10, but now I won't buy it at 3 because I now have no confidence in
the pricing at all. Brands lend them selves to price comparisons.
Take the style number and go to any number of dealers for the best
price, because all of them are the same. Discounted HoF gives you
an up on the sale, especially if you cannot get special order
product. Go for it!

From what I have seen, jewelery salespeople will discount anything
they can unless forced not to (such as through brand bans on
discounts, and thus threats by Rolex, Yurman, or Mikimoto that they
will repossess their lines). Branded items are special in that
they're identical and thus very easy to price compare across
various stores (or on the brand's official website or online
store). I saw this at two AGS-type/guild jewelry stores, where one
proclaimed that a certain "

"prestige" watch brand could not be discounted from retail, and
then right across the street from them the salesperson could take
10% off retail. I know of one upper-market chain that used to carry
HoF, and it sold well for them. But then they discovered they could
brand and market their own ideal cut and get the same if not better
margins, without dealing with HoF's policies. Your post has been up
for awhile on one of the most popular industry websites...I would
think HoF would be swooping in to avoid "brand erosion". At the
very least you'll have a nice ideal-cut range to offer at clearance
prices for your holiday sales? Once you liquidate enough to break
even with cost, you'll feel better.