Attire Accessories - Mar/Apr 2020 (Issue 81)

PROFILE 77 CME JEWELLERY T: +44 (0)116 283 2240 W: cmejewellery.co.uk customers, and promote our products. We will be adding customer account management functions shortly after the launch of the main website. How has the product offering changed since you started and how would you describe your current collection? We have, in the past, supplied gold, diamonds, cameos, etc. but have honed our skills to specialise in high quality, well designed, ‘affordable luxury’ in sterling silver and 9ct jewellery. People appreciate great design and we believe it should be available to everyone. Our jewellery ranges from timeless classics to contemporary or fashionable and fun. We offer silver bangles, bracelets, pendants, earrings, rings, necklaces and gifts for any style, look or fashion statement you want to make. How often do you launch new lines? We release about 300 new lines per year. Until recently we have tended to launch new products to coincide with the trade shows. Following the launch of our new website we are planning to release products monthly to allow customers to add something fresh and exciting to their stock regularly. What trade shows do you attend and why? This year we will exhibit at Spring Fair at the NEC, and International Jewellery, London. We love trade shows, despite the hard work. They are a great way to showcase all of our jewellery, meet our existing customers and attract new audiences who may not have seen the breadth of our business just from our advertising. It is also a great time to listen and get feedback about our products or service or on how we can improve things. What are your current best-selling designs? Over 2019 we continued to see interest in animals, flowers, bees, butterflies and Tree of Life products. Our sloth pendant was the unexpected star of our natural animal range – he does have a particularly friendly face. Ever-popular earrings dominated sales with interest in micro-huggies from the fashion-conscious buyers but our 20 mm hoops complete with charms emerged as the best-selling size. How do you view the current market and what trends, both in business and product, do you see emerging over the coming months? For 2020 we predict that the eye-catching variety of chain link styles emerging in earrings, bracelets, rings etc. will shine. Attractive features added a pendant chain, such as satellite chain with its tiny beads, changes a pendant into something special. Customers are starting to catch on to the catwalk trend of layering with yellow gold-plated items overtaking rose gold sales. The popularity of ear adornment is set to continue with a revival of the ear cuff for which no piercing is required. What have been the key milestones in the business? It’s a bit of an historical timeline really. Moving into wholesale, opening a showroom, printing catalogues, exhibiting at shows, launching a website. Do you have any thoughts on how Brexit will affect your business? We are keeping a close eye on the situation and have worked to ensure that our tariff codes are updated for the import and export of goods as well as hallmarking requirements. We have increased our stock holding of products over the past 12 months to cover any supply chain issues. We continue to be committed to our overseas customers and will take every care to keep up to date with this developing situation. What are your future plans for the business? We see the future as exciting – we have a unique place in the market but would always seek to improve our service, especially delivery times during our busy periods. We also see a rise in customers concerned about the planet and want to know that their jewellery is ethical and sustainably sourced. We are looking to promote UK manufacture and use of recyclable metal in producing a range to benefit a national charity. We are very proud that we have just achieved three-year certification from the Responsible Jewellery Council (RJC). The RJC is a not-for-profit organisation that has been established to promote responsible ethical, social and environmental practices, which respect human rights, throughout the diamond, gold, silver supply chain, from mine to retail. What are your greatest achievements so far? We are still in business after 40 years by adapting to a changing marketplace. We are proud that many of our loyal staff have worked for us for many years, only leaving to retire!