In Venice, Jewelers Try to Revive Their Businesses

In Venice, Jewelers Try to Revive Their Businesses

Venice has endured war, plague and conquest in its 1,200 years as Queen of the Adriatic, but after the last two years, many of its jewelers are struggling to stay open.

On Nov. 12, 2019, more than 85 percent of the 120 islands that make up the city were inundated with as much as six feet of water, a result of high tides and a storm surge driven by strong winds.

Leslie Ann Genninger, a glass jewelry artisan whose studio is in the Dorsoduro neighborhood, said her display tables were submerged. “The glass was broken so I had to redo about 80 or 90 percent of the pieces,” which took eight months, she said. Water was knee-deep in St. Mark’s Square, forcing the Nardi jewelry shop there to close for two months.

On March 9, 2020, the city’s first coronavirus lockdown was ordered. Since then the Veneto region, of which Venice is the capital, has been Italy’s second hardest hit region in the pandemic (following Lombardy), with more than 439,800 cases reported as of early this month.

Woman makes pearl jewellery in bid to raise money for Royal British Legion

A WOMAN is raising money for the Royal British Legion (RBL) by appealing for people to donate pearls which are made into jewellery which she sells at auction.

Anne Kings, of Gillingham, launched an appeal last year asking for people to send in their loose pearls in memory of someone so that they could be used to make into items of jewellery to auction and raise funds for the RBL Poppy Appeal.

Before the Poppy became the symbol of remembrance one hundred years ago in 1921, pearls were the symbol of remembrance and Ms King says each pearl she has been kindly given symbolises a life lost.

She said: “Even though I have spent most of my life in the jewellery trade, I only discovered a couple of years ago, after reading the book ‘Pearls before Poppies’, that the pearl was a symbol of remembrance before the poppy. The book tells the story about the Pearl Appeal in 1918, which then followed the Poppy becoming the symbol in 1921, exactly 100 years ago."

Ms Kings said that the book, written by Rachel Trethewey, inspired her to try a unique approach to helping the RBL Poppy Appeal after she had heard it was struggling to get funds during the Covid pandemic.

She added: “I put a simple piece of editorial in a local newspaper and told the story, then told the readers that if they wanted to send me pearls in memory of someone, then I would make up as many pearl necklaces as I could, they would be auctioned, and every penny would go to the RBL Poppy Appeal.

“The response was completely overwhelming, but due to Covid lockdowns, things have been a bit stop and start, with regards to being able to get all the pearls sorted, redesigned, and threaded into necklaces.”

However has said that I have now had the help of local jewellers, Allum & Sidaway, and now working alongside Nicky (the store manager), we have almost finished making up in the region of 50 items of necklaces and bracelets to be sold by Charterhouse auctioneers in Sherborne.”

Charterhouse Auctioneers in Sherborne are selling these items as a special collection in their Christmas Jewellery auction, with all their usual charges donated to the Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal, on Thursday November 4.

The charity was formed in the aftermath of the First World War to fight for the rights of those who had given so much and come back to so little. Today, the RBL continues to provide life-changing help and support to the Armed Forces community and challenge injustices on their behalf.

We at the Dorset Echo are appealing to our readers to donate to the RBL by visiting dorsetecho.co.uk/RBL or sending a cheque payable to Dorset Echo in an envelope clearly marked ‘RBL donation’ and mailing it to Dorset Echo, Fleet House, Hampshire Road, Weymouth, Dorset, DT4 9XD.

EXCLUSIVE Q&A: Jo Stroud explains decision to transition Fabulous to online-only business

Earlier this week Jo Stroud, owner and founder of both Fabulous and Mantra Jewellery, announced via her LinkedIn page that the last of the Fabulous jewellery stores would be closing its doors.

Mantra is Stroud’s jewellery brand, while Fabulous stocked her jewellery and other brands. Due to changes in retail accelerated by the pandemic, Stroud revealed that she would begin operating both businesses entirely online.

Here PJ speaks to the owner and founder to find out more about what went into that decision and where Fabulous is heading in the near future.

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Even if it is for the best it must have been a difficult decision to close this chapter on Fabulous and shut the final brick-and-mortar store after 16 years. How did you know it was time?

Footfall on the high street and in shopping centres has been declining for many years, with the growth and convenience of online shopping.

The shutdowns during this last 18 months have simply exacerbated what was happening already. I feel that many people have simply found a new way to shop, and see no need to go back to visiting physical shops with the same frequency as they used to.

Since re-opening in April, we have simply not seen the level of business return to anywhere close to pre-pandemic levels.

Some weeks we have still been trading at 50% below 2019 levels, so closing the store was not a difficult decision to make as we are a business first and foremost, and a business has to make money. For me, it’s simply a new chapter in our Fabulous story.

And can you talk a bit about the changes to the high street and customer behaviour you referenced in your LinkedIn post?

I think the frequency of visiting is the main change. A few years ago, we would see our good customers every month or two. They would be in town for other things, maybe, and would pop in to say hi and take a look around.

That was changing even before the pandemic, with people coming to our events, such as our garden party or our Christmas launch, but just not visiting the store so often.

I would say that going out shopping for the day used to be a hobby for many people, women in particular, myself included – but that simply isn’t the case any more. We tend to see people coming in for a specific reason, but that relaxed, browsing type of shopping is a thing of the past. I don’t see that coming back, to be honest.

Can you give me a brief timeline of when the other shops closed? And what was the maximum number of shops you had at one time?

Over the 16 years, we went from having one shop in Leamington Spa, to adding a second in Solihull; a third in Milton Keynes, and a fourth in Bath. We also opened a Pandora Franchise Store in Bath, in 2012.

“We are very lucky that there will be no redundancies within the team”

Working with the big brands has always been exciting, but you have very little control as a retailer, as there are so many requirements in terms of furniture, stock-holding, and promotions.

“The big change for us was when we launched our own brand of jewellery – Mantra Jewellery – in 2016 with its own website. We don’t wholesale Mantra – it is a direct-to-consumer model – and has given us much more control over our own destiny.

Are you able to offer your in-store staff the chance to transition into roles at your office? Or are you reducing your workforce?

We are very lucky that there will be no redundancies within the team. Some of our part-time staff were already about to head to university, and our deputy manager will simply transition over to the online team.

The management team – Anna, Sinade, Pallavi and myself – already work between Fabulous and Mantra, so there is no change there.

Fabulous is becoming a solely e-commerce retailer now. Are there any other outward changes expected as part of this shift?

I guess the main thing will be a change in our own priorities, as Mantra will become a bigger part of our business and a bigger focus for us.

We are still based in Leamington with the same team, so the only real change is that we won’t have the shop.

But many of our customers already shop with us online anyway, so we will still see their names popping up on our screens. And we may well continue to do pop-up events, which is a lovely way to see our favourite customers.

Are your costs as a business significantly reduced now, allowing for a greater profit margin?

Of course, the rent, service charge and business rates will go away, which makes a big difference. And also, the need to staff a store seven days a week is very different to an office.

How did your brand partners react to the news?

We have been delighted by how many of our brands are still keen to work with us, as an online-only business. Our plan is to simplify our website and slim down our online offering, working with those brands which sit happily alongside Mantra.

We will focus for the next couple of months on an orderly closing down sale, as the store doesn’t close until early October – and then we will re-launch the online business with a new focus.

What challenges do you foresee in the transition to being an online-only business?

I think the pandemic has helped with the transition as we have already had nearly eight months of the last 18 as an online-only business when we’ve had to close the store.

That has helped get us ready for the change, to be honest, so I don’t think it will be such a jolt.

I know the team will miss chatting to our lovely customers face-to-face, but many phoned us up during the lockdowns and we hand-delivered many orders to local Leamington customers, so I can see that continuing.

Do you have any ideas as to how you’d like to grow the business in the future, now that you only have online to focus on?

With our own-brand, Mantra, we are looking at new segments that we aren’t yet in, such as men’s jewellery and children’s jewellery. We are increasing our investment in social media advertising as we have found it to be hugely successful for us and it is one of the most effective ways of growing our awareness and customer base.

With Fabulous, our core focus will remain jewellery with meaning. This is what we have specialised in for 16 years, and what we will continue to champion. For me, jewellery which is purely decorative certainly has a place in life, but it is jewellery with a meaning that excites me the most.

Read more below on the closure of the final Fabulous site: