TFG takes American Swiss jewellery brand to Australia

South African retailer TFG (The Foschini Group) has expanded its American Swiss jewellery brand into Australia in the hope of shaking up the jewellery market there, chief executive Anthony Thunström said on Thursday.

The move aims to show whether TFG’s local brands can thrive in more developed markets than Sub-Saharan Africa where weak economies are seen to be limiting their potential.
“We launched an American Swiss Australia. We just opened our first four stores, we’re planning on opening another two so we’ll have six in total by the end of the year,” Thunström told Reuters after the clothing and homeware retailer reported half-year results.

“The stores are quite a big step forward in relation to other jewellery stores in Australia, it’s a 3.5 billion Australian dollar per annum market and we believe we can shake that up and disrupt it a bit.”

Thunström said the six stores were split between Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane and will give the group “enough of the critical mass to gauge the reception and over the next six months we’ll see how they trade.”
TFG, which owns 28 brands in 32 countries, started in Australia in 2017 when it bought menswear chain Retail Apparel Group (RAG), boosting TFG Australia’s sales, up 170.7% in Australian dollars for the six-months ended September.

Group turnover grew by 28.6% to R15.9 billion ($1.14 billion), while headline earnings per share (EPS) rose to 506 cents, up from 467.1 cents a year earlier.

Shares closed up 2.67% at R170.95.

TFG has been making more of its brands available online in a market where trading has shifted rapidly from brick and mortar stores to online retail.

With the recent launch of online selling for two additional TFG Africa brands, Donna and The FIX, online turnover through 22 of the group’s 28 brands now contributes 7.9% of group turnover, the company said.
On Wednesday TFG launched e-commerce platform myTFGworld.com, pitting it against rivals such as Naspers’ Takealot.com online retailer and fashion retailer Superbalist.

Thunström said the group will leverage its 13.4 million customers and omni-channel formula to stay ahead of competitors.

“We’ve had a big push with online from the last couple of years but we’ve upped the ante over the last 12 months. We’re spending an increasingly amount of capex and operating expenditure on our online offering,” Thunström said.

Online shopping’s share of total retail sales in South Africa is still hovering around 1%, but barriers to entry, such as a lack of internet access, are being overcome while the convenience of online shopping is drawing more and more customers.

Source: DCLA

TFG takes American Swiss jewellery brand to Australia

South African retailer TFG (The Foschini Group) has expanded its American Swiss jewellery brand into Australia in the hope of shaking up the jewellery market there, chief executive Anthony Thunström said on Thursday.

The move aims to show whether TFG’s local brands can thrive in more developed markets than Sub-Saharan Africa where weak economies are seen to be limiting their potential.
“We launched an American Swiss Australia. We just opened our first four stores, we’re planning on opening another two so we’ll have six in total by the end of the year,” Thunström told Reuters after the clothing and homeware retailer reported half-year results.

“The stores are quite a big step forward in relation to other jewellery stores in Australia, it’s a 3.5 billion Australian dollar per annum market and we believe we can shake that up and disrupt it a bit.”

Thunström said the six stores were split between Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane and will give the group “enough of the critical mass to gauge the reception and over the next six months we’ll see how they trade.”
TFG, which owns 28 brands in 32 countries, started in Australia in 2017 when it bought menswear chain Retail Apparel Group (RAG), boosting TFG Australia’s sales, up 170.7% in Australian dollars for the six-months ended September.

Group turnover grew by 28.6% to R15.9 billion ($1.14 billion), while headline earnings per share (EPS) rose to 506 cents, up from 467.1 cents a year earlier.

Shares closed up 2.67% at R170.95.

TFG has been making more of its brands available online in a market where trading has shifted rapidly from brick and mortar stores to online retail.

With the recent launch of online selling for two additional TFG Africa brands, Donna and The FIX, online turnover through 22 of the group’s 28 brands now contributes 7.9% of group turnover, the company said.
On Wednesday TFG launched e-commerce platform myTFGworld.com, pitting it against rivals such as Naspers’ Takealot.com online retailer and fashion retailer Superbalist.

Thunström said the group will leverage its 13.4 million customers and omni-channel formula to stay ahead of competitors.

“We’ve had a big push with online from the last couple of years but we’ve upped the ante over the last 12 months. We’re spending an increasingly amount of capex and operating expenditure on our online offering,” Thunström said.

Online shopping’s share of total retail sales in South Africa is still hovering around 1%, but barriers to entry, such as a lack of internet access, are being overcome while the convenience of online shopping is drawing more and more customers.

Source: DCLA

Everything Changes, Some Things Stay the Same

The diamond and jewelry trade tends to be reactive rather than proactive.
That was clear during the recent conference season, with the World Federation of Diamond Bourses (WFDB), the International Diamond Manufacturers Association (IDMA), the World Jewellery Confederation (CIBJO) and the World Diamond Council (WDC) all holding their annual meetings in October.

Much of the discussion, according to reports from the meetings, was centered on how the trade should relate to synthetic diamonds. It’s a difficult question following the recent decision by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to expand the definition of “diamond” to include those grown in a laboratory.

How does that apply to invoicing, advertising or grading reports? Having reached equal footing with mined diamonds in the eyes of the FTC, should lab-grown stones be allowed on the bourse trading floors? Of course not. And the trade restated its position that the use of the word “diamond,” without any qualifiers before it, refers to a natural stone by default.

But language isn’t really the issue. Behind the debate lies a deep concern about the growing acceptance of synthetics — both in retail and within the trade. De Beers’ entry into the market has played a significant role in that development, giving others a green light to follow suit.

Forget De Beers’ claim that it is helping differentiate natural from synthetic diamonds through pricing. The company is encouraging demand for a product that will ultimately eat into the natural-diamond market. We’re seeing that already, with more retailers, such as Macy’s and JCPenney, convinced that consumers will “grow in love” with synthetic-diamond jewelry.

The trade’s leadership claims it was blindsided by De Beers and the FTC. But its efforts at this point to engage with the FTC to revoke the decision will ultimately prove to be a case of too little, too late.

Rather, we must recognize that the industry trade groups that met in Mumbai, along with CIBJO, which met in Colombia, failed their constituents. So did the Diamond Producers Association (DPA), of which De Beers holds the current chairmanship.

Why was the natural-diamond-industry lobby ineffective a year ago — if active at all — while synthetics producers were convincing the FTC to include them in its definition? Where is the outrage from DPA members over their chairman actively working against the group’s mandate to promote natural diamonds as real and rare?

The industry’s reactive approach to the synthetics issue signals a need to update its strategy. Perhaps an initiative to combine the roles of the WFDB and IDMA into one organization would bring them new energy and purpose.

For now, the inability to change leadership at these organizations suggests the rest of the trade sees them as ineffective. As the WFDB and IDMA begin another term with the same leadership and a new committee working to spread the WFDB’s influence, we urge trade groups to be more proactive in dealing with the many challenges facing the natural-diamond market.

Source: diamonds.net

Everything Changes, Some Things Stay the Same

The diamond and jewelry trade tends to be reactive rather than proactive.
That was clear during the recent conference season, with the World Federation of Diamond Bourses (WFDB), the International Diamond Manufacturers Association (IDMA), the World Jewellery Confederation (CIBJO) and the World Diamond Council (WDC) all holding their annual meetings in October.

Much of the discussion, according to reports from the meetings, was centered on how the trade should relate to synthetic diamonds. It’s a difficult question following the recent decision by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to expand the definition of “diamond” to include those grown in a laboratory.

How does that apply to invoicing, advertising or grading reports? Having reached equal footing with mined diamonds in the eyes of the FTC, should lab-grown stones be allowed on the bourse trading floors? Of course not. And the trade restated its position that the use of the word “diamond,” without any qualifiers before it, refers to a natural stone by default.

But language isn’t really the issue. Behind the debate lies a deep concern about the growing acceptance of synthetics — both in retail and within the trade. De Beers’ entry into the market has played a significant role in that development, giving others a green light to follow suit.

Forget De Beers’ claim that it is helping differentiate natural from synthetic diamonds through pricing. The company is encouraging demand for a product that will ultimately eat into the natural-diamond market. We’re seeing that already, with more retailers, such as Macy’s and JCPenney, convinced that consumers will “grow in love” with synthetic-diamond jewelry.

The trade’s leadership claims it was blindsided by De Beers and the FTC. But its efforts at this point to engage with the FTC to revoke the decision will ultimately prove to be a case of too little, too late.

Rather, we must recognize that the industry trade groups that met in Mumbai, along with CIBJO, which met in Colombia, failed their constituents. So did the Diamond Producers Association (DPA), of which De Beers holds the current chairmanship.

Why was the natural-diamond-industry lobby ineffective a year ago — if active at all — while synthetics producers were convincing the FTC to include them in its definition? Where is the outrage from DPA members over their chairman actively working against the group’s mandate to promote natural diamonds as real and rare?

The industry’s reactive approach to the synthetics issue signals a need to update its strategy. Perhaps an initiative to combine the roles of the WFDB and IDMA into one organization would bring them new energy and purpose.

For now, the inability to change leadership at these organizations suggests the rest of the trade sees them as ineffective. As the WFDB and IDMA begin another term with the same leadership and a new committee working to spread the WFDB’s influence, we urge trade groups to be more proactive in dealing with the many challenges facing the natural-diamond market.

Source: diamonds.net

LUCAPA FINDS NEW ALLUVIAL SOURCE FOR LARGE DIAMONDS

Lucapa Diamond Company has found a new alluvial source of “large and premium value diamonds” at its Lulo diamond mine in Angola, according to press release.

Lucapa said that it has been exploring the extensive flood plains along the 50km stretch of Cacuilo River valley within the Lulo diamond concession, and found that they are host “to exceptional alluvial diamonds”.

The tested area yielded 17 Specials larger than 10 carats, including an exceptional 55 carat Type IIa D colour white. A total of 1,502 carats were recovered so far from 11,155 bulk cubic metres processed.

Lucapa said that it will continue testing “other flood plain areas at Lulo in parallel with alluvial mining activities in established areas”.
Source: DCLA

LUCAPA FINDS NEW ALLUVIAL SOURCE FOR LARGE DIAMONDS

Lucapa Diamond Company has found a new alluvial source of “large and premium value diamonds” at its Lulo diamond mine in Angola, according to press release.

Lucapa said that it has been exploring the extensive flood plains along the 50km stretch of Cacuilo River valley within the Lulo diamond concession, and found that they are host “to exceptional alluvial diamonds”.

The tested area yielded 17 Specials larger than 10 carats, including an exceptional 55 carat Type IIa D colour white. A total of 1,502 carats were recovered so far from 11,155 bulk cubic metres processed.

Lucapa said that it will continue testing “other flood plain areas at Lulo in parallel with alluvial mining activities in established areas”.
Source: DCLA

PRICES OF PINK AND BLUE DIAMONDS RISE IN Q3 2018

The recently published Fancy Color Diamond Index shows that in the third quarter of 2018, prices of fancy color blue and pink diamonds rose by 0.7% and 0.4% respectively in all sizes and saturation levels when compared to Q2 2018. When compared to Q3 2017, the index rose 0.4%; blue prices were up 5.9% and yellow and pink prices down by 1.6% and 0.5%, respectively.

According to the Fancy Color Research Foundation (FCRF), “overall fancy color diamond prices showed no significant change and increased by only 0.1%”. The only decrease was in yellow fancy color diamonds (-1%). The biggest increase was for Fancy vivid blue diamonds, which rose 8.5% in the past 12 months and 1.1% in Q3 2018. In the 1-carat category, prices of pink diamonds remained stable, blue diamonds rose 4.7%, yellow diamonds fell by 2.2%, and intense yellow 1 carat diamond prices rose 1.1%.

FCRF Advisory Board member Eden Rachminov said: “In my opinion, the price of fancy yellow is influenced by the general mood of many diamond traders that carry a mixed inventory of colorless and yellows. Due to the slowdown in the colorless business and to compensate in their general turnover, these traders slightly lower the prices of yellows”.

Source: israelidiamond.co.il