Alike other consumer goods, the raw materials used at manufacturing of jewels (especially precious metals), have got up. According to mass-media, the Sterling company possessing Kay Jewelers, Jarad and other jewellery marks, has declared that right after the Saint Valentine's Day it plans to set new prices for all models of its collections, including base models. Ken Gassman, the head of the research department of IDEX Online, is confident that other jewellers will follow Sterling, as they will have to raise their prices to get some profit.
Within some time the well-to-do consumers considered themselves to be above the economic ailments and created favorable conditions for luxury retail sellers such as Neiman Marcus Group Inc. and Tiffany & Co.
This time has passed, states the Chicago Tribune.
With the start of 2008 one has the impression that the luxury goods market began to lose its shine.
While an average consumer undergoes a threefold press of the crisis in the housing market, severe crediting terms and of the growing prices for energy, the environment causes "apathy" to a consumer of a luxury goods, starts to affect his consumer behavior as well. This is according to data of Unity Marketing, a company specializing in studying of luxury goods consumers.
After a number of years of the fast growth, it is expected that this year sellers of luxury goods will undergo not easy trials. It especially concerns those retailers which relied upon so-called preferable buyers, that is consumers which "are involved" in the territory of designers only when they got money.
Many luxury brands still have to learn, to what extent they depend on preferences of a consumer, Pam Danziger, a foundress of Unity Marketing, believes. In her opinion, the market of luxury goods has already reached its peak.
The average sum spent by solvent consumers for luxury goods, decreased within a quarter by 21%, from 15283 dollars in the second quarter to 12142 in the third one. This is a most dramatic decrease since the fourth quarter of 2004, Unity Marketing asserts.
Certainly, the richest consumers still spend money, analytics say. But the simply solvent consumers – this is another pair of shoes. They feel to be rich when their workplaces are in safety, and their investments grow, but they can change the mind, if affairs at the labor market or at stock exchange go badly.
“The brands for rich people will have to answer the challenges of 2008”, - Milton Pedraza, the head of Luxury Institute says. “It is no doubt, that hard times give a good momentum for innovations. During these holidays there were no must-have purchased goods. The brands have to show all their ingenuity”.
Pedraza predicts, that luxury shops have to adopt experience of their colleagues from department stores, and to pay more attention to various ways to show up. It means a more targeted address to consumers by e-mail with invitations to special sales, attraction of new designers for exclusive cooperation and improvement of work with already available clients.
From publications of December and January it is possible to draw a conclusion on the emphasis which shall be made for promotion of jewellery goods in the nearest future.
Products for men take the increasing place in the jewellery trade. According to mass-media, among a large number of brands which noticed the new trend and have started developing and sale of jewels of the class lux for men, there are such famous names as David Yurman, Chris Aire, Tiffany and Co., Gordon's Jewelers, John Hardy, Nick Blum and King Jewelers.
According to data of the industry, jewelry for men makes not less than the tenth of the market (in the USA - 10 %, in Great Britain - 11 %).
Modern designers and sellers highlight that jewellery can make a man to be Man, and it is not necessary to be a frick character like RuPaul to wear them. Besides now Kolin Farrel and Brad Pitt entered the list of superstars wearing jewellery.Allan Steinmetz, the founder and the head of Inward Strategic Consulting explains the growing interest to the man's jewellery by orientation of the consumer to the screen and scenic "icons", and by the stresses situation in the modern society when the purchase of jewels becomes for the consumer one of the ways of self-encouragement.
“The main problem of jewellers is to make so that the word-combination "a jewel good" is not associated any more only with women”, - Amanda Gizzi from Jewelry Information Center says.
Designers of jewels for men, Gizzi further says, prefer to use alternative metals, such as stainless steel or wolfram, with accentuation by diamonds. Jewellery from titan is being also actively offered. As she said, pendants and bracelets are well sold as well. Products for wedding also provide opportunities for self-expression.
Cuff links, watches, wedding rings maintain their positions, at the same time the demand for jewels of new type is growing, and in many respects it depends on the offer of designers.
Jewellers, as a matter of experience, state, and sociologists with results of public inquiries confirm their thesis that the basic role in relations of a man with jewellery is played by a woman.
An inquiry conducted in the USA Harris Interactive under request of SHR/Simmons Jewelry Group, helps to understand better the attitude of the adult population of the USA towards those men’s jewels, which do not enter into the traditional set, i.e. wedding rings, watches and cuff links.
The online inquiry with participation of 1052 men and 1275 women took place within two days in November. It was found out, that although now less than a half of men (41%) wear jewellery, 60% of men have declared, that they admit wearing jewels not only from the traditional set.
Rings are the most admissible kind of jewels for men (45%), on the second place are chains (31%), and then - pendants (20%) and bracelets (16%).
Overwhelming majority of men (86%) declared that, probably, they would wear those jewels, which have been recommended by their women. 50% of men declared it unequivocally or with a high degree of probability.
Obviously in this context jewellery tastes of women are of a great importance. 40% of them would like to see more men wearing jewels (24% gave their preference to rings, 15% - to chains, 13% - to bracelets, 10% - to pendants)
Among men who are not going to wear jewels, 42% have explained with the fact, that they do not call on places where such items are sold, and 37% have declared, that they would feel uncomfortable at carrying such products. 23% have declared, that they are not satisfied with the range of products being offered now, 21% dislike their appearance at wearing jewellery.
