Southern Jewelry News
  • Featured
    • All
    • Featured
    • Featured Retailers
    • Retailer Roundtable
    • Sponsored Content
    • Supplier Spotlight
    CG Creations – in a league of their own
    Hubbell Proctor Designs: The Experience Is Key
    C.D. Peacock to open luxury watch and jewelry store next spring
    Hubbell Proctor Designs: The Experience Is Key
    Shefi continues expansion of bridal lines, fashion
    Why do diamond mines close?
    Why do diamond mines close?
  • Latest News
    • All
    • COVID-19
    • Furry Friends
    • Industry Awards
    • Industry Events
    • NRF
    • On The Move
    • Other News
    • Tradeshow News
    • Video
    • What's New
    Gemvision introduces MatrixGold® 3
    Gem-A spotlights gemstone research with latest edition of The Journal of Gemmology
    Artistry, Ltd. celebrating 40th anniversary
    IGI launches new interactive eLearning
  • Podcast
  • Columnists
    Motivating your sales staff
    IAS Training’s Keys to Effective Communication – Part III
    Kate’s star-studded style. What will the next trend be?
    Motivating your sales staff
    IAS Training’s Keys to Effective Communication – Part II
    Retailing in a post-PC world
    Motivating your sales staff
    IAS Training’s Keys to Communication
    The Retailer’s Perspective: With great power comes great fails
    The Retailer’s Perspective: I don’t want to be an expert anymore
    Sales Tips by Aleah: Everything is Sales
    The Retailer’s Perspective: With great power comes great fails
    The Retailer’s Perspective: Doom & Gloom or Boom & Bloom
  • Classifieds
  • Subscriptions
    • Newsletter Signup
    • Print Subscription
No Result
View All Result
Southern Jewelry News
  • Featured
    • All
    • Featured
    • Featured Retailers
    • Retailer Roundtable
    • Sponsored Content
    • Supplier Spotlight
    CG Creations – in a league of their own
    Hubbell Proctor Designs: The Experience Is Key
    C.D. Peacock to open luxury watch and jewelry store next spring
    Hubbell Proctor Designs: The Experience Is Key
    Shefi continues expansion of bridal lines, fashion
    Why do diamond mines close?
    Why do diamond mines close?
  • Latest News
    • All
    • COVID-19
    • Furry Friends
    • Industry Awards
    • Industry Events
    • NRF
    • On The Move
    • Other News
    • Tradeshow News
    • Video
    • What's New
    Gemvision introduces MatrixGold® 3
    Gem-A spotlights gemstone research with latest edition of The Journal of Gemmology
    Artistry, Ltd. celebrating 40th anniversary
    IGI launches new interactive eLearning
  • Podcast
  • Columnists
    Motivating your sales staff
    IAS Training’s Keys to Effective Communication – Part III
    Kate’s star-studded style. What will the next trend be?
    Motivating your sales staff
    IAS Training’s Keys to Effective Communication – Part II
    Retailing in a post-PC world
    Motivating your sales staff
    IAS Training’s Keys to Communication
    The Retailer’s Perspective: With great power comes great fails
    The Retailer’s Perspective: I don’t want to be an expert anymore
    Sales Tips by Aleah: Everything is Sales
    The Retailer’s Perspective: With great power comes great fails
    The Retailer’s Perspective: Doom & Gloom or Boom & Bloom
  • Classifieds
  • Subscriptions
    • Newsletter Signup
    • Print Subscription
No Result
View All Result
Southern Jewelry News
No Result
View All Result
Home Columnists

Beads, Beads, Beads – Part 1

Charles Neugebauer, G.G., A.J.P. and Darla Alvarez, G.J., A.J.P. by Charles Neugebauer, G.G., A.J.P. and Darla Alvarez, G.J., A.J.P.
September 1, 2010
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Let’s face it, there should be no denying the bead craze that has swept through the jewelry industry.  If you’re anything like I was about a year ago, you may find yourself in quite a quandary, asking yourself, “How will my store handle beads?”

Well, like it or not it’s time to cast your lot into this crazy new world of beads.  As a fellow retailer, it’s only right that I share with you some of my experiences and a lot of what I have learned.  The power of this concept is not without merit.  These little beads generate incredible merchandise turns, decent profit margins, and almost fanatic followers.  It’s a craze that we haven’t seen in many, many years and, for some stores, it’s been a savior.

During the JCK Show 2009, the bead mania was unavoidable; I found no less than 16 separate lines offering their version of the “new age charm bracelet.”  I investigated them all and discovered that just like the different jewelry retail stores, the bead companies fall into a few distinct categories.

The Top Tier

These are powerful brands with great market awareness bolstered by impressive marketing campaigns.  They offer huge selections of quality jewelry and fashion forward, image driven merchandise.  These are the premium brands.

But all this wonder comes with a price tag.  Heavy financial investments are required to buy in, and strict adherence to brand rules and regulations might leave you wondering who really runs your store.  Also, continued commitment to new untested merchandise can eat up the profits that can be generated.

The General Tier

There are many lines that fall into this pack.  They are often brands supported by non-bead parent companies.  These general bead brands can make bead selling affordable and easy.  The quality tends to be good and with little or no initial buy in, a relatively small merchandise footprint, and fast stock replenishing, these brands will give you an opportunity to capture some bead sales.  The weakness in the general category is its lack of brand awareness and the mobs of potential buyers.  They also are a fashion step or two behind the premium brands as they tend to be rather copy-cat in nature.

The “Niche” Tier

Made of brands that offer a unique twist on the conventional or a unique angle, these could be a safe starting point and work well in your particular market.  That they fill that niche is their strength, but also their weakness.  If that special niche gets crowded by competitors or demand fades, they will be the first to go and you could be left looking out of touch.

The “Wanna-Be” Tier

This is made up of all sorts of brands that focus mostly on copying the hot look then discounting it.  They tend to have promotions such as “buy 2, get 1 free” or free gifts with every purchase.  However, that low price tag can translate to poor quality and they tend to be gimmick driven.  They will appeal more to the impulse buyer than the true fan.

Now, we’ve managed to boil these various lines down into a few general categories.  Their apparent value to your store seems evident in the popularity and saleability.  That wasn’t so bad, was it?

Well, not so fast – in part two we will examine some major objections you will need to overcome such as, are beads just a trend whose time has almost passed? Do I want to spend an hour to sell one $25 bead? And do these beads even belong in a fine jeweler’s inventory?

Part 2 will follow in next month’s column.

Charles Neugebauer is a second generation master jeweler and owner of The Gilded Artisan, a trade shop and retail store in Colorado Springs, Colorado.  He is also a GIA Graduate Gemologist and GIA Accredited Jewelry Professional. To contact Charles, please e-mail info@southernjewelrynews.com.

Charles Neugebauer, G.G., A.J.P. and Darla Alvarez, G.J., A.J.P.

Charles Neugebauer, G.G., A.J.P. and Darla Alvarez, G.J., A.J.P.

Related Posts

Motivating your sales staff

IAS Training’s Keys to Effective Communication – Part III

June 22, 2022

Kate’s star-studded style. What will the next trend be?

June 20, 2022
Motivating your sales staff

IAS Training’s Keys to Effective Communication – Part II

June 15, 2022

Retailing in a post-PC world

June 6, 2022

Latest News

What's New

Gemvision introduces MatrixGold® 3

June 22, 2022
Columnists

IAS Training’s Keys to Effective Communication – Part III

June 22, 2022
Other News

Gem-A spotlights gemstone research with latest edition of The Journal of Gemmology

June 22, 2022

Other News

Artistry, Ltd. celebrating 40th anniversary

IGI launches new interactive eLearning

Jewelers Mutual Group names Mike Alexander COO

GN Diamond’s Free Marketing Tools Help Retailers All Year Long

Kate’s star-studded style. What will the next trend be?

JCK wraps 30th Anniversary Show in Las Vegas

Southern Jewelry News

© 2022 Southern Jewelry News.

Additional Information

  • About
  • 2022 Trade Shows
  • Media Kit
  • Contact

Get Social with Us

No Result
View All Result
  • Featured Articles
    • Featured
    • Featured Retailers
    • Retailer Roundtable
    • Supplier Spotlight
    • Sponsored Content
  • Latest News
    • What’s New
    • Industry Events
    • Tradeshow News
    • On The Move
    • Other News
    • Furry Friends
  • Columnists
  • Classifieds
  • Subscriptions
    • Newsletter Signup
    • Print Subscription

© 2022 Southern Jewelry News.