The 2015 Las Vegas jewelry shows came to a close one month ago today. On the morning of June 1, 2015, I was on the search for designers who would be willing to work with retail jewelers the way I explained in this pre-Vegas post here..
A quick recap from that Nugget:
- Don't rely on your inventory management software to tell you what to buy.
- Don't trust your own judgment for selecting jewelry that may or may not sell in your store. Ask others who work the sales floor for their opinions too.
- Find jewelry designers that provide photography and nice looking marketing material.
- Ask designers in-depth details about their payment and return policies.
Although I spoke to several jewelry designers who perfectly fit these descriptions, I would like to quickly spotlight one specific designer from the COUTURE Show that I spent some time talking to.
Designer Spotlight
Anzie Accessories & Design, Inc., or just ANZIE for short, has a very wide price point range of styles to equally suit the needs of the smaller retail jewelry store and the luxury retail stores.
The first thing I liked about them is that they have a website and active social media accounts to support customer interest in their brand. Take a look:
Website: http://www.anzie.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/anziejewelry
Twitter: https://twitter.com/anziejewelry
Instagram: https://instagram.com/anziejewelry/
Although the catalog page of their website is out of date, I picked up a current copy of their printed lookbook that you see here:
This is a high quality lookbook for use as a sales tool on your counter. Take notice of the photo on the cover of the book, that photo, and many others like it are available for you to use in your own ads. Anzie shoots all their jewelry on white backgrounds and a select number of items on artistic backgrounds. They are all available from their marketing team.
The Aztec Collection is one of Anzie's most popular designs. They've used the starburst shape in many different styles. Here's my photo of three of their necklaces:
Anzie's website does offer e-commerce for the customer that likes to buy online. You can see the above item here. The photos you see on the website would also be available to you for your website and marketing.
In this situation, don't let that scare you because your local target customer would rather purchase from you than order direct from Anzie's headquarters in Canada. With a little SEO magic on your website, you should be able to outrank Anzie's own website for searches in your local region.
They also have a dedicated website page with name and links to all the retail jewelers that carry their line. This type of page is another one of my criteria for retailer-designer relations. People who find the Anzie website might also prefer to purchase locally instead of direct.
Anzie herself travels around for trunk shows. You can see their current trunk show schedule here. If you're interested in their trunk shows then you have to ask them about a special trunk show where Anzie will custom create some items right in the store while customers watch.
Trade Show Tips
Finding designers like this is easy when you take the time to explore the trade shows.
Trade shows can be very boring at times, but that's no excuse for a trade show salesperson to slack off. Salespeople who don't make eye contact, say hello, or attempt to initiate a conversation with you as you walk by are probably not worth your business.
Less established designers usually always put forth that extra effort to make a sale. I've also found that the personality and salesmanship of the reps in the trade show booths often time reflect the customer service you'll receive when you carry their line.
Don't be afraid to talk to random designers at shows, it could be the start of a beautiful relationship.
ANZIE Contact Info:
www.anzie.com/
5490 Royalmount Ave.
Suite 200
Montreal, QC
H4P 1H7
1.888.341.2604
Oh, and just to be clear, this Daily Golden Nugget was not sponsored or endorsed by Anzie in any way. Of all the designers I spoke to at the JCK Show and COUTURE Show, they were the lucky ones I chose to write about because I felt their services, marketing, product, and overall attitude was a great example of the types of designers I'd like to see more retailers working with.
