Not that long ago, I escorted a bunch of American jewelers to the awsome 80,000 square ft. Hong Kong Convention and Exibition Center. It was September and the jewelry ‘fair’ was in town.
The Fair, thanks – in part — to the beautiful Centre, has grown to be the largest jewelry show in the world (so they say). This was my 15th trip and it was obvious – to me anyway — that the extravaganza gets bigger and better every year.
I had been guiding a group of American jewelers around the Fair — and Hong Kong — on a “Sourcing Mission” — as I do from time to time. Their first impression of Hong Kong was shock enough, but nothing compared to their ‘wide-eyed’ astonishment of the Fair.
I even arranged for several jewelers to meet with manufacturers, outside
the Centre, in an effort for them to develop a few long-term vendor/supplier relationships.
It was time to fly home. We picked up our custom made suits and shirts — and other oriental “souvenirs” — and headed for the airport. The Hong Kong Airport Express, by the way, is one of the best and, hold on to your hat, fastest in the world.
I was in my American Airlines seat, not particularly happy to sit — in one place — for 22+ hours during the flight home. Fortunately, I was sitting next to Bill, a second-generation jeweler from northern Michigan. We had an airline meal (tasted like a Brillo pad), saw a movie, read a magazine and had – sigh — only 19 hours to go.
Bill took out his laptop and started writing a Trip-Report to his Dad. When he finished, he let me read it. I thought you may find it interesting too.
INTEROFFICE MEMO
To: Bill, Sr.
From: Bill, Jr.
Subject: Hong Kong Trip, Sept: 17-21
Date: Sept: 22
Our first effort in buying direct form overseas was, I think, quite successful, (but very tiring). I will email you this Memo during my stopover in LA. I’ll go into detail when I get to the office next week.
Here are the some points.
1. The jewelry styling was wonderful. I never realized that each geographic region has a different design look. I thought Bali, Middle Eastern and Indian styling was especially noteworthy.
2. I spent a good deal of time with seventeen manufacturers. I bought 42 samples which will be FEDEX’d within 2 weeks. Of those 17, I had lunch with five, who could fit into our future.
3. The prices here are generally terrific — not surprising since these are manufactures’ prices. I saw several styles that we carry and, as far as I can tell, are about 45% below what we now pay.
“The prices ..I saw…here are generally teriffic….about 45% below what we now pay”
4. I also met with six smaller factories who were not exhibiting at the Fair. They seemed more innovative and eager.
5. I gave the fifteen drawings and ideas, that Sue developed and gave me before I left, to several factories. The designs will be a great nucleus for our new Brand. The factories will design them from scratch via their CAD system as soon as possible. They will be ours exclusively.
6. I know you expressed concern about their quality. I gave them our Quality Control Standards Manual. They also showed me their customer list and even some of the styles they were about to ship to the States. I don’t think quality will be a problem.
I’ll fill you in on their invoicing, payment and delivery schedules when I get back. Now that I know my way around here, this should be quicker and cheaper next year.
Bill.
Take Tiffany & Co., for example. Over the years, Tiffany has become a retail channel by itself. Their skilled management team pioneered silver styling, (i.e. remember the 3-pronged Tiffany setting), merchandising, branding, (i.e. Elsa Peretti, Paloma Picasso) and pricing. Silver jewelry has become a strong – if not major — part of their product mix. How big a part is, of course, a carefully guarded trade secret? They’ve been doing their silver jewelry homework for decades.
