JCK 2009

[WinkHPD]

The first session that I went to yesterday was one on Cause Marketing. It had a lady from an International Fund, The Diamond Empowerment fund, Ellen Hadigan, a gentleman from a National fund, Jewelers for Children, David (his last name is not on the handout, sorry) and a local jeweler, Anne Dale from New Orleans. Here is a few minutes from her presentation. In my opinion she was awesome since she was doing it all herself instead of working with a large organization.

Wink

http://www.screencast.com/t/IUhqFqvFOuA

 

[Skippy123]

Date: 5/29/2009 11:08:10 PM
Author: Wink
The first session that I went to yesterday was one on Cause Marketing. It had a lady from an International Fund, The Diamond Empowerment fund, Ellen Hadigan, a gentleman from a National fund, Jewelers for Children, David (his last name is not on the handout, sorry) and a local jeweler, Anne Dale from New Orleans. Here is a few minutes from her presentation. In my opinion she was awesome since she was doing it all herself instead of working with a large organization.

Wink

http://www.screencast.com/t/IUhqFqvFOuA

Wow, that is pretty awesome and thanks for sharing that!!!

 

[loriken214]

Hi Andrey!

Diane Allen, with 23rd Street Jewelers, is there now and she is looking for a white sapphire briolette for a necklace they are making for me. Please say hi to her for me....if you see her!

I''d love to see what the trend in asscher cut gemstones is.....are they popular or rare?

Thank you!

Lori

 

[WinkHPD]

Our own Garry Holloway was a speaker Thursday morning. I have finally gotten time to process the video and upload it to screencast, so here it is and I hope you enjoy it.

Wink

http://www.screencast.com/t/000Yeb9nxnb

 

[Garry H (Cut Nut)]

Thanks Wink, you did a great job.
http://www.jckonline.com/article/CA6661441.html
This is what Rob Bates wrote about the presentations.

I am naughty - that was more than 5 minutes but only half way thru!!!

 

[strmrdr]

Date: 5/31/2009 10:12:24 AM
Author: Garry H (Cut Nut)
Thanks Wink, you did a great job.

http://www.jckonline.com/article/CA6661441.html

This is what Rob Bates wrote about the presentations.


I am naughty - that was more than 5 minutes but only half way thru!!!

What was the trade reaction to next diamond?

Also how was Peter''s talk received?
VF''s are such a complex subject that I am curious if it was greeted with interest or blank looks.

 

[WinkHPD]

Date: 5/31/2009 10:51:05 AM
Author: strmrdr

Date: 5/31/2009 10:12:24 AM
Author: Garry H (Cut Nut)
Thanks Wink, you did a great job.

http://www.jckonline.com/article/CA6661441.html

This is what Rob Bates wrote about the presentations.


I am naughty - that was more than 5 minutes but only half way thru!!!

What was the trade reaction to next diamond?

Also how was Peter''s talk received?
VF''s are such a complex subject that I am curious if it was greeted with interest or blank looks.

Peter''s talk was a shorter version of the video that I posted a few weeks ago after the Infinity Symposium, which is why I did not post it again, the earlier and longer video was much more comprehensive. I think most of the crowd understood a good part of what Peter was saying, although Garry had the crowd more excited than any of the other speakers.

There was mixed reaction among those that I heard talking about Garry''s talk which as always ranged from, no way, not gonna happen, to wow, what an idea. Personally, I think that it will be a hard concept to sell to the public, but at one time I was in the camp that did not believe the public would buy diamonds and gems on the internet.

With this in mind, I am firmly in the camp of, hmmm, let''s sit and watch to see what happens.

Wink

 

[Garry H (Cut Nut)]

I have made one key convert.

A fan of the concept I would say, and he has the right top end contacts to find an investor(s) to establish the logistics company.

 

[strmrdr]

Date: 5/31/2009 11:18:50 AM
Author: Garry H (Cut Nut)

I have made one key convert.

A fan of the concept I would say, and he has the right top end contacts to find an investor(s) to establish the logistics company.

kicken

 

[WinkHPD]

Both John and I felt yesterday that we had not had the time to pay proper attention to this thread and we vowed to each other to spend some time with it when we got home. since I am now home it is time to start honoring my intentions.

(Hope I can find more time when I am in Antwerp later this month to keep the posts flowing!)

This is an experpt from the excellent overview of the economy as it relates to jewelry that was given by Rob Bates from JCK magazine. I try to keep these to around 5 minutes so as not to be too long.

In the full talk he addressed a myriad of issues, from lack of liquidy in the market place, the banks exiting the market place, bankruptcies in the industry and the lack of stock piles now that DeBeers is no longer THE force in the market, only the biggest.

Most of the producers have lowered production, as they can not afford to produce and not have a market to sell into, which does in effect keep prices high, but does not make it easy to find goods at those prices since the diamonds are still in the ground.

Alrosa, one of the biggies, is continuing to produce and stockpile, so this overhang also serves to keep prices from rising too fast into the current shortage of goods from other suppliers.

BHP which mostly sells through tenders actually allowed prices to fall to what the market would pay, which is the first time goods were not simply withdrawn from market rather than to be sold below certain levels. Prices have picked up in May, which may be a result of perceived shortages.

Bankruptcies in the trade:

*Whitehall
*Friedmans
*Fortunoff
*Christian Bernard
*Colibri
Shane
Ultra
Robbins Brothers

*Liquidated

Is Findlay next for liquidation? It was Restructured in Feb and there are serious doubts about its ability to continue which could affect Zales which is on the hook for the leases if Findlay closes.

No longer is being big an automatic advantage!

Bright Spots, recession appears to be ending.
Bridal remains strong and the back bone of the business
People who survive will be much stronger because of changes made during the hard times.

Interesting dilemna to me.

In the Post Cartel world who handles generic advertising and how is it paid for?

DeBeers used to spend 50 million dollars a year, now they feel the trade should step up, how do you organize thousands of independants into a cohisive campaign? (Personal take, it aint gonna happen)

Okay here is the link, http://www.screencast.com/t/5JjMlZUBU1e

Later today and tomorrow I will have interviews with Andre, Peter Yantzer, Vatche Aghjayan from DVatche and Paul Slegers from Infinity.

I know that John Pollard will be checking in with photos of people and things and he and I specifically attended different classes Thursday and Friday so that we could bring you more extensive coverage of what was happening. We both intended to make the time to keep this up during the show, but we started early, usually on the computer by 7 taking care of business as best we could, and then ended late, sometimes after midnight. It was exhausting and exhillerating both.

It is good to be back, and what a wonderful time was had!

Wink

 

[strmrdr]

interesting Thanks Wink.
What was the overall feeling about the economy and sales and the future by people you talked to?

 

[WinkHPD]

Date: 6/2/2009 12:16:45 PM
Author: strmrdr
interesting Thanks Wink.
What was the overall feeling about the economy and sales and the future by people you talked to?

All over the board.

From its already getting better to the sky is falling.

Some of the people I respect were so gloomy about the future that I actually felt like just getting up and leaving the room as the prosect of further devestation is just not a place I want to spend a lot of time getting worked up about. Especially at meal time.

Others were complete Polyannas.

Most are in the camp of the worst is probably over and we are beginning to see some signs of recovery. Their feeling, and mine, is that things are not as bleak as the press would have us believe and that we need to be very careful, but not afraid.

But then we get news of the collapse of GM which was not at all welcome.

In some of the areas where the inexpensive and lower quality lines were being sold I literally had vendors walk the aisle with me trying to get me to stop and look at their products. I felt like I was being chased!

On the other hand, in the Platinum pavilion I saw some booths, like Vatche, that were very busy. I had three appointments with Vatche that were busted before finally getting to spend a few minutes with him for an interview.

So, overall, I can not say. Some like it hot, some like it cold, some like it in a pot...

My personal opinion is that things are beginning to look up and that quality will replace a lot of the cheap crap that the big chains that just went through liquidation were selling. No one seemed to be at those boths when I was in the room, but I was only in the room once. I heard more than one of the presenters talk about cheap poorly made crap vendors going under in a hurry as their primary markets had largely disappeared. Personally I think that is a great thing. People should not be buying junk that will disintegrate within a few months thinking that they are buying something nice.

Wink

 

[WinkHPD]

Okay, here is the start of the Latest Technologies in Diamond Grading Panel that was moderated by Jay Lell of Isee2. You have already seen the first few minutes of Garry''s presentation at this panel, but Jay gives a nice overview to start things out.

http://www.screencast.com/t/E0ovEIys8

Wink

 

[Skippy123]

Date: 6/2/2009 11:18:23 AM
Author: Wink







I know that John Pollard will be checking in with photos of people and things and he and I specifically attended different classes Thursday and Friday so that we could bring you more extensive coverage of what was happening. We both intended to make the time to keep this up during the show, but we started early, usually on the computer by 7 taking care of business as best we could, and then ended late, sometimes after midnight. It was exhausting and exhillerating both.


It is good to be back, and what a wonderful time was had!


Wink

Looking forward to the pics and glad things look like they are turning around for the better.

 

[strmrdr]

Date: 6/2/2009 2:20:18 PM
Author: Wink

Date: 6/2/2009 12:16:45 PM

Author: strmrdr

interesting Thanks Wink.

What was the overall feeling about the economy and sales and the future by people you talked to?

All over the board.


From its already getting better to the sky is falling.


Wink

Pretty much what it is like all over.
Was in the doctors office today and it was the topic of discussion in the waiting room.

 

[Garry H (Cut Nut)]

Date: 6/2/2009 2:20:18 PM
Author: Wink

Date: 6/2/2009 12:16:45 PM
Author: strmrdr
interesting Thanks Wink.
What was the overall feeling about the economy and sales and the future by people you talked to?

All over the board.

From its already getting better to the sky is falling.

Some of the people I respect were so gloomy about the future that I actually felt like just getting up and leaving the room as the prosect of further devestation is just not a place I want to spend a lot of time getting worked up about. Especially at meal time.

Wink

Sorry Wink

 

[Garry H (Cut Nut)]

Two thing''s today.
1. Andrey and I went to AGS lab and had a personally guided tour. Andrey will write it up and I took a few photo''s. Might take a couple of weeks - but you will all enjof it.

2. I was told I should get a club membership and spend $100 gambling. I agreed / told a certain Quixotic black jack Ideal-spurt I would do it if I could stop on - total loss, or doubling money.
Well signed up tonight and he refused to let me put it on 1 hand!
So at $10 a bet I (with SirWhatsHisName direcvting the play) I won the first 6 or 7, lost one, then did a card split and won back the loss and a few more after that, so in 10 hands I won $100, and split with my profit.

I had nothing to loose since the card gets a bigger discount that $100 anyway

(Thanks Mate! You are now oficially an Honorary aussie (and Belgian))

 

[Diamond Explorer]

I just arrived back in Chicago late last night after what I thought to be a very successful JCK show.(my mothers company had its best show ever!) I was also able to attend quite a few conferences, including the one with Garry as a primary speaker. I had the pleasure to go out afterwards with many of the pros here, Garry, Paul, Andrey, John, Dave, Wink and many more people that I look up to on Pricescope. It was a lot of fun to say the least.

I will add more to this thread when I get a bit more time, I have a lot of following up to do!!.

 

[WinkHPD]

Date: 6/3/2009 2:24:03 AM
Author: Garry H (Cut Nut)

Date: 6/2/2009 2:20:18 PM
Author: Wink

Date: 6/2/2009 12:16:45 PM
Author: strmrdr
interesting Thanks Wink.
What was the overall feeling about the economy and sales and the future by people you talked to?

All over the board.

From its already getting better to the sky is falling.

Some of the people I respect were so gloomy about the future that I actually felt like just getting up and leaving the room as the prosect of further devestation is just not a place I want to spend a lot of time getting worked up about. Especially at meal time.

Wink

Sorry Wink

I wasn''t going to name names, but I sincerely hope that you are wrong in your opinions, lest none of my clients will be here and that would not bode well for me or the other retailers here on this forum.

I still love you anyway, as you can tell from your prominent billing... Playing BEFORE the introduction, just cause I thought you did such a great job.

Wink

 

[Lorelei]

Thanks for the updates chaps, I look forward to hearing more about your sparkling adventures in due course!

 

[John P]

Date: 6/3/2009 2:31:17 AM
Author: Garry H (Cut Nut)

2. I was told I should get a club membership and spend $100 gambling. I agreed / told a certain Quixotic black jack Ideal-spurt I would do it if I could stop on - total loss, or doubling money.
Well signed up tonight and he refused to let me put it on 1 hand!
So at $10 a bet I (with SirWhatsHisName direcvting the play) I won the first 6 or 7, lost one, then did a card split and won back the loss and a few more after that, so in 10 hands I won $100, and split with my profit.

I had nothing to loose since the card gets a bigger discount that $100 anyway

Did you see how bug-eyed the people at that table were?

Total Rewards Card: FREE
Cocktails at the table: FREE
Doubling your Benjamin in 5 mins rolling table-minimum... PRICELESS

Nice run of cards Garry.

(Thanks Mate! You are now oficially an Honorary aussie (and Belgian))

Thanks Garry... But isn''t that like matter and antimatter? (no problem, it suits my schizophrenia)

Good times this week. Always a pleasure, gents and ladies. I''m at the Vegas airport now...plenty of photos and notes to share after I''m wheels-down and decompressed at home.

To all: Safe travels.

 

[WinkHPD]

Finally getting the time to process more of the videos that I took in vegas.

Here is a very short one of our Jewelry Show President. Some VERY INTERESTING people were at the show!

http://www.screencast.com/t/HkAXUqJ3

Wink

 

[WinkHPD]

This is another very short video of the constant flow of people entering the show at 10 AM Sunday morning.

http://www.screencast.com/t/JkyjH0Zz75d


Wink

P.S. Coming soon to a computer near you, Andrey from Pricescope grants a short interview.

 

[WinkHPD]

As promised, Andrey.

http://www.screencast.com/t/8i13BxekXZe

Wink

 

[John P]

Date: 6/2/2009 12:16:45 PM
Author: strmrdr

What was the overall feeling about the economy and sales and the future by people you talked to?

The industry uses the JCK show as a barometer for US demand. A Rapaport newsletter just prior to the show reported “All eyes on Vegas with high hopes…” and with the economic climate high hopes paired with conservative expectations were the attitude of the week.
There are definitely stories from this year’s show which reflect the crisis. Last Saturday, the first day the floor was open, we were told that someone managed to enter the show, grab a large diamond and made a break for the exit. The dealers gave chase, shouting for help, and a large group of people either interfered-with or prevented the perp’s exit strategy. Security arrived and forced a search of his bag, where the diamond was found. That grab and dash was foiled but the next morning a jeweler had a bag taken from him at gunpoint right in front of the Venetian (!)

Such stories notwithstanding, many sources are reporting that the show, overall, was a good one with buying meeting or exceeding those conservative expectations.

 

[John P]

Some of my peers have talked about the valuable Thursday and Friday education sessions. I see that Wink is giving a through-the-eyes view with his videos. I know those things are time-consuming to organize and especially to edit, and wanted to say "thanks!" to him and the participants. I took some notes and photos and have a few synopses to add as time permits.

 

[John P]

A JCK “tradition” for some of us with Pricescope ties is to gather in the Venetian Food Court for breakfast before departing to our separate compass points.

 

[John P]

Mark Moeller, President of AGS, presented a session called “Steps to Recession-Proof Your Business.”

Mr. Moeller gave strategies in the areas of planning, inventory, advertising/promotion, servicing clients and minimizing mistakes in administration and execution. Some of the key points delivered: Deal with facts and not dreams when planning…own your own inventory…build strong strategic alliances with suppliers…focus on customers…use unique sales propositions to differentiate yourself. A couple of quotes I liked: “Service your clients until it hurts!” and “Differentiate (what you do) in such a powerful way that buying from anyone else would strike your prospect as dumb.”

Some of the tried and true suggestions Mr. Moeller offered were to “Plan what you can do, not what you want to do…under-promise over-deliver… and exceed expectations.” Mr. Moeller also touched on some unpopular but necessary truths. In terms of marketing he suggests that normal advertising is dead (print ads, radio, yellow pages etc). To make the point he employed the “purple cow” analogy (from Seth Godin’s outstanding book) where a couple driving through the country passes normal cows taking no notice, but upon spotting a purple cow they stop to check it out, as do many people. Eventually they get back in their car. Before long they see another purple cow…and another…and another and soon the uniqueness is lost on them and they’re paying no attention now. Conclusion; as a society we have become so saturated with conventional ads that we are little-impacted by anything unless it’s a purple cow…and we are running out of new colors. Personally I tend to agree with this, as in my own life I rarely respond to ads but turn to trusted friends and family (and online discussion boards) for recommendations (and research) on important goods and services. This was a key jumping-off point for Moeller’s emphasis on differentiation as a means of securing repeat business and referrals.

In a “common mistakes” section Mr. Moeller discussed the need to better communicate the difference between price and value. As a practical example he pointed out that a Google keyword search of “loose diamonds” turns up 4,470,000 results and “cheap diamonds” returns 4,240,000 results… The logical conclusion is that 98.4% of the diamonds on the internet are cheap. Value, however, is a matter of individual perception. This makes it important for professionals to be educated and communicate distinctions in product quality and services offered beyond data points - allowing each client to make an educated and individual decision about degrees of value.

Mr. Moeller closed with the new sales model: Instead of focusing on transactions (as in the past) businesses must now focus on relationships. Further, given today’s level of communication about good and bad, the goal can no longer be “customer satisfaction.” It must be to “exceed expectations.”

 

[John P]

Dave Atlas with an interesting innovation: A fluorescence grading master-set.

 

[John P]

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