The signs are actually everywhere. Branding, for jewelry manufacturers and their retailers, is the single most important business strategy for future success. But proof for even the ardent skeptics came at 6:21pm, E.D.T. just before the Super Bowl. Did you catch it? 
In a bold and brilliant move, Kay Jewelers ran a 30-second commercial in the 20 minutes before the Super Bowl this past Sunday that should alert the rest of the jewelry world. At the very end of the commercial, the viewer saw Kay's attempt to dominate the industry's latest hot consumer concept, Journey Diamond Jewelry. "From $90 to $900" the copy said. Can you make money on JDJ at these price points?
Now to make this discussion more interesting, I'd like to point out another observation that I noticed just a few hours before. About 1:00pm on Sunday, my wife and I visited our local Sam's Club. If you haven't seen it yet, you may want to check out their newly remodeled jewelry section (since Christmas by the way). The showcases in our Sam's Club now rivals some of the most beautiful jewelry stores in the country. Their diamond department has a great offering of merchandise from bridal to fashion with a large percentage of the jewelry set in 18k gold and using SI goods. Don't believe me? Check this out. The scary part to me is that their prices are less than what most manufacturers can sell it for let alone have the retailer make a decent mark with it!
My message here is that if you're not part of the branding revolution yet, you better be. For it's the only way to separate yourself and compete. With tough competitors like Kay's and Sam's, you are going to have to convey why the consumer should buy your products, what emotions you want them to feel and what makes you different. That's what branding is all about.
Like I said before, the signs are everywhere. If you want to get to the Super Bowl of the jewelry world, branding by both the jeweler and the manufacturer is going to be the only way to get a ticket to get into the game.
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