The drivers for platinum jewellery business growth in 2019 point the way to a post-Covid-19 recovery, the Platinum Guild International’s (PGI’s) 2020 'Platinum Jewellery Business Review (PJBR)' has found.

The  PJBR surveys more than 1 000 manufacturers and retailers and more than 4 000 consumers, to provide a comprehensive and in-depth analysis of platinum jewellery’s performance.

The 2020 survey also considers the impact of Covid-19 on consumers’ minds and wallets in each of the four key platinum jewellery markets − Japan, China, the US and India.

The PJBR states that initiatives that contributed to growth in the platinum jewellery business in 2019 had tapped into tectonic shifts that will only be accelerated by Covid-19 and are now playing out in real time.

Physical distancing has led to an upsurge in digital shopping, but digitalisation works best when woven into a seamless strategy to engage consumers across multiple touchpoints. Additionally, jewellery needs more products focusing on consumers’ unmet needs that create strong and differentiating brand stories, PGI CEO Huw Daniel elaborates.

In terms of digital consolidation, the report finds it to “no longer be a straight line” but rather a key element in any omni-channel experience. In this regard, brands are now required to be more agile in consolidating how consumers shop to convert consumer engagement into buying in a physically distanced world.

Created through a collaboration between PGI USA and PGI Japan, the Platinum Born fashion jewellery brand was launched in the US to meet an unmet need for luxurious yet accessible everyday jewellery for self-buying.

The brand went online in 2019, leveraging strategic digital marketing, social media, and celebrity endorsement, to take platinum jewellery beyond platinum’s traditional stronghold in bridal, diamonds and high-end jewellery stores.

PGI expanded influencer programmes and analysed online consumer purchasing behaviour to accelerate conversion. Such efforts, combined with expansion in sales channels, including Saks Fifth Avenue’s online platform, drove a 64% year-on-year growth in units and 39% year-on-year growth in value, in 2019. 

In the past six months alone, China has seen an increased rate of digital consolidation, with the addition of livestreams, short videos and social networks.

Working closely with China’s leading retailers, PGI China used those platforms to amplify the power of key opinion leaders (KOLs) and celebrities, and in November 2019, launched a reboot campaign for the platinum jewellery retail business, province by province.

Starting with 252 retail stores and seven manufacturers across five cities in Guangdong province, and targeting 30-million potential consumers for platinum jewellery, the integrated programme worked to combine targeted digital marketing with event-driven omni-channel campaigns, and saw platinum jewellery sales growth of participating stores reaching as high as 119% year-on-year.

This blueprint will now be reapplied as retail gradually reopens in China, the report notes.

In 2019, consumers in key markets showed greatest interest and affinity for platinum jewellery presented in branded collections launched by PGI, such as Hello Me, Platinum, in Japan, and Men of Platinum, in India.

The majority of consumers surveyed for the report expressed their willingness to spend more or the same amount of money on precious jewellery than pre-Covid-19 after things return to normal, and strong brands that tell a compelling story will lead the way to recovery, PGI states.

“Few, if any, jewellery brands explicitly target mature consumers,” the report further notes. However, in Japan, the 60-year and older age group is a heavy jewellery buying demographic, who also own 60% of the country’s private assets, a majority held in liquid assets.

PGI launched Hello Me, Platinum – a collection of platinum jewellery created to showcase the beauty of platinum for sophisticated women with discerning taste – in response. The branded collection celebrates the discovery of a new self in later life and how that life can be lived richly.  Now available in 63 stores across Japan, the collection contributed to a 3.5% year-on-year growth for non-bridal platinum jewellery.

In India, in 2019, the launch of Men of Platinum, saw phase omni-channel marketing from both PGI and retail partners enable 500 stores across 23 cities to be reached within just four months of launching.

Participating retailers reported an 82% year-on-year sales growth during the campaign period.

Riding on the successful launch of Men of Platinum and continuous improvement in conversion of sales and product stock-turn, India remains the fastest-growing platinum jewellery market with a 14% year-on-year increase in partner retail sales, despite falling store traffic caused by rising gold prices and an economic slowdown, according to the PJBR.

As such, finding and owning the right territory with the right business model is becoming a necessity, the report states, “especially in a world that has become more competitive overnight”.

As traffic to stores has declined, driving higher margin sales has become an even greater priority for jewellers, it adds.

The Season of Love campaign, meanwhile, drives conversion to branded platinum within a sea of generic low margin jewellery in India. The programme has a multi-pronged strategy that drives traffic to stores, creates upsell opportunities and rewards high performing stores and sales staff through a sales-linked award programme.

The collection creates an aspirational positioning for platinum in India targeting young couples seeking a more progressive approach to their relationships. The campaign is a platinum category conversion programme expanding to over 1 200 stores across 270 cities in 2019, delivering 40% growth, and will be a cornerstone of PGI India’s business recovery plans after the lockdown is lifted, the report says. 

Overall, however, the global pandemic has disrupted jewellery business globally, but it also provides opportunities, the report says.

It notes that in platinum’s four key markets, the majority of consumers surveyed are re-evaluating their priorities in life and show their willingness to spend the same or more on jewellery than pre-Covid-19, “either to feel good about themselves or to express appreciation for their loved ones after this challenging time”.

Jewellers who are prepared to meet that need will benefit, and platinum, the precious metal most strongly associated with love and meaning, will be an integral part of that message.