LustreMag.com |

The biggest variation among the retailers we talked to is the amount of branded merchandise they carry in their stores. The number of jewelry brands carried ranged from 8 to 70, with most between 20 and 30. That’s in addition to watch brands, which ranged from 1 to 25. Why the difference? We noticed that retailers use the word “brand” differently. Some consider any designer-type line a brand, others don’t consider a line to be branded unless consumers recognize the name.

In any case, luxury retailers today are juggling a lot of brands in their stores and many of the retailers we talked to plan to narrow their vendor structure so they can better represent their stronger lines.

There is a lot of talk today about the performance of brands and vendors, with retailers assessing their relationships much more quantitatively than in the past. Top stores are tracking turns and margins and vendor performance much better than in the past. Many stores now automatically reorder: “It allows us a much higher turn on a significant part of our inventory which really boosts our bottom line,” one says.

The type of POS and inventory software used varies. The provider mentioned most often is Applications Systems Corporation.

SHOPPING STRATEGIES

For the luxury retailers we interviewed, the top resource for new styles and new vendors is Baselworld. Retailers say Basel is the number one opportunity to meet new and exciting vendors, as important today for jewelry as it is for watches.