2024 State of the Industry Report

State of the 

Industry 

Report 

A PANORAMIC VIEW OF THE 

AUSTRALIAN JEWELLERY INDUSTRY 

Facts, Figures, 

Fallacies & the Future 

Things you wish you had known about the Australian jewellery 

industry, things you thought you knew but are wrong, things 

that you did know about the industry but have changed, and 

things you could never have known about the industry.

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CONTENTS 

2024 STATE OF THE 

INDUSTRY REPORT 

13 

FROM THE PUBLISHER 

You'll never understand 

the universe if you only 

study one planet 

15 

EDITORIAL 

Be interested, 

be curious, and hear 

what's not being said 

16 

AT A GLANCE 

Mapping it out: 

Understand the 

big picture 

25 

SYNOPSIS 

Your questions answered: 

what will you learn 

from this study 

INDEPENDENT JEWELLERS 

Still prospering despite a decline 27 

BUYING GROUPS 

Musical chairs 39 

CHAIN STORES 

Full steam ahead despite an adverse economy 47 

FASHION CHAIN STORES 

Rapid rise and dramatic demise 

52 

BRAND ONLY STORES 

From an experiment to a powerhouse 57 

BIRTHS, DEATHS, & MARRIAGES 

Good night and good luck 63 

SHOPPING CENTRES 

Frontline in the retail war 67 

JAA 

How is the 'industry leader' stacking up? 

73 

SURVEY EXPLAINER 

Hear what the industry has to say 77 

CRYSTAL BALL 

2030: What does the future hold? 80 

PROVENANCE 

Who really cares about proof of origin? 84 

VOICE OF THE AUSTRALIAN JEWELLERY INDUSTRY 

Published by Befindan Media Pty Ltd | ABN 66 638 077 648 

Locked Bag 26, South Melbourne, VIC 3205 AUSTRALIA 

Subscriptions & Enquiries: info@jewellermagazine.com 

Phone: +61 3 9696 7200 

Publisher Angela Han angela.han@jewellermagazine.com 

Editor Samuel Ord samuel.ord@jewellermagazine.com 

Research Assistant Riza Ortiz riza@jewellermagazine.com 

Production Coordinator Learoy Bangis art@befindanmedia.com 

Advertising Toli Podolak toli.podolak@jewellermagazine.com 

Accounts Paul Blewitt finance@befindanmedia.com 

Copyright All material appearing in Jeweller is subject to copyright. 

Reproduction in whole or in part is strictly forbidden without prior written 

consent of the publisher. 

Disclaimer Please note that this study is produced from a consumer’s 

perspective. That is, what a member of the public would reasonably consider 

a ‘jewellery store’, which we have defined on page 16. On this basis, the 

information was accurate at the time of publication, noting that a new 

store can open ‘tomorrow’ or one can close. Despite the best efforts of our 

researchers, store counts and other information provided in this report 

may occasionally differ from our definitions and/or contain omissions. We 

cannot guarantee the accuracy or completeness of this information, given 

the nature and scale of this project, and we reserve the right to correct 

errors, inaccuracies, and/or omissions. Additionally, please note that the 

industry is constantly evolving and/or changing and therefore, the way the 

industry reports the changes or trends must also evolve. For that reason, the 

definitions used in this report aim to make better sense of the data presented 

and nothing more.

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FROM THE PUBLISHER'S DESK 

You'll never understand the universe 

if you only study one planet 

More often than not, the questions are complicated, but the answers are simple. 

Publisher ANGELA HAN reflects on the creation of the State of the Industry Report. 

f you don’t know where you came 

from, then you don’t know where you 

Iare. If you don’t know where you are, then 

you don’t know where you’re going. 

And if you don’t know where you’re going – 

you’re probably lost! 

You’re holding the 2024 State of the Industry 

Report (SOIR), the most extensive study of the 

Australian jewellery industry to date. For a start, 

it records 3,501 jewellery stores, a significant 

decrease since the first report in 2010. 

It also delves into the many reasons for the 

reduction – some insights will put you at ease, 

while others may ring alarm bells. 

To the average consumer, our industry may 

appear straightforward and as simple as 

any other retail industry; however, insiders 

understand that it’s complex and challenging. 

With that in mind, this issue of Jeweller is a 

meticulous examination of the many crucial 

categories within the industry, addressing 

everything from independent stores, fine and 

fashion chains, brand-only stores, buying 

groups, and industry associations. 

Because of the many complexities and ‘grey’ 

areas, chances are the data is not flawless; a 

store could open or close the day after we end 

the data collection. 

However, after a painstaking six-month 

process, I’m confident it’s as accurate as 

anyone could hope to be when assessing a 

constantly changing and evolving industry. 

The purpose of this report is two-fold – it’s a 

historical document offering an in-depth look 

at the state of the industry, and a glimpse of 

the future. 

With that said, what did we learn? 

Check the pulse, stat! 

Firstly, the objective of the SOIR is to establish 

how many jewellery stores operate in Australia 

and compare and contrast this information with 

data from the previous report in 2010, as a way 

to develop an understanding about what the 

future might hold. 

It’s a measurement of jewellery store counts; 

however, ultimately, this is a quantitative 

assessment. While store counts tell us a small 

part about the ‘health’ of the industry; it’s only 

one component of a much larger picture. 

After all, if jewellery stores are in decline, 

surely it would suggest the industry is 

suffering? 

Quite the contrary! 

It's arguable that in measuring a retail 

category's health, revenue matters most, not 

store count. Deeper consideration reveals that 

it’s even more complex than that. 

In 2010, Jeweller recorded 4,225 jewellery 

stores in Australia, while as of November 2023, 

we recorded 3,501. 

That’s a decline of around 700 stores in 13 

years; however, should this decrease be 

worrisome for the industry at large? 

Well, the fact is there were more than 700 

closures, and possibly as many as 1,000; 

however, many new stores opened during the 

same period. The 700 is ‘net’. 

It should also be noted we have re-defined 

a ‘jewellery store’, as explained on Page 27, 

which caused a higher reduction. Some of 

these businesses still operate today but are no 

longer defined as jewellery stores. 

With that said, even if the ‘real’ reduction is 

the decrease of around 500 stores - whether 

because of retirements, lack of profitability, 

end of leases or even the pandemic - does this 

indicate an ‘unhealthy’ industry? 

What if the remaining 3,500 stores are 

enjoying improved sales because of decreased 

competition? 

For example, logic dictates that if consumer 

spending is not in decline, it means there is 

more money for fewer stores, right? 

If a greater percentage of the industry achieves 

improved sales, is it not an argument for a 

healthy industry? 

However, any business person will tell you 

that an increase in revenue does not mean 

increased profit. The responsibility for a 

business’s profitability rests with the owner. 

Searching for answers? 

It’s a timely reminder that everything is a 

matter of perspective, including store closures. 

For the jeweller who closed their business 

because of the pandemic, it was a time of 

anguish, frustration and maybe failure. 

Conversely, for the bench jeweller who lost 

their job, it could inspire them to start a small 

business and launch their first jewellery 

collection; the pandemic forced their long-held 

aspiration! 

It has been said that your perspective is your 

prison or your passport. The choice is yours! 

WORDS TO LIVE BY 

"To lead people, 

walk behind them." 

And the only way to make sense of change is to 

embrace it, move with it, and join the dance. 

This study attempts to explain the changes - or 

evolution - over the past 13 years. Why and how 

did the differences and/or trends come about? 

What is the result? 

It is warts and all; it pulls no punches; however, 

every table, every statistic and every word is 

designed to allow the reader to draw their 

conclusions and, perhaps, apply some of the 

knowledge to their business. 

It doesn't aim to offer solutions, only pathways 

towards them. Each reader can interpret the 

same data differently; therefore, it is up to you 

to assess whether the decline in store counts 

is a 'positive'or 'negative' for your business, as 

opposed to the broader industry. 

Show me the money! 

With that said, and for those hoping to 

learn more about the ‘health’ of the Australian 

jewellery industry in terms of revenue – there’s 

more to come. 

For the first time, Jeweller is undertaking a 

new project - an equally comprehensive and 

exhaustive study - to answer the all-important 

‘money’ question. 

The project aims to provide a detailed analysis 

using a formulaic calculation of the annual retail 

turnover for the entire industry. 

This data will be further divided into the 

average turnover for the categories detailed in 

this report – from the independent jewellery 

stores to the fine and fashion jewellery chain 

stores, large and small. 

The research will also examine and estimate 

average category breakdowns – from gold, silver 

and diamond jewellery to watches and repairs. 

Only then will we be able to begin to assess and 

record the health of the Australian jewellery 

industry. 

The 'money report' should make for a 

fascinating read, and when paired with this 

State of the Industry Report, could finally 

answer the vital question: Is the Australian 

jewellery industry healthy? 

Stay tuned! 

ANGELA HAN 

PUBLISHER 

2024 STATE OF THE INDUSTRY REPORT | 13

EXCLUSIVELY DISTRIBUTED IN AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BY 

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FROM THE EDITOR'S DESK 

Listen to what is not said, 

for there, the true story lies 

Editor SAMUEL ORD explains some of the behind-the-scenes work that went into 

this study and discusses expectations and reality. 

O 

n the first day I joined Jeweller, 

my publisher told me to leave my 

expectations about the industry 

at the door. She said that it was an industry 

you could spend a lifetime studying and still 

retire feeling clueless. 

She was right! In two short years, I’ve learned 

a great deal. At the time, I assumed she was 

referring to the intricacies of gemmology, the 

complexities of retail trade, or perhaps the 

precarious relationship between media and 

business. 

What I realise now – having completed the 

State of the Industry Report – is that the 

advice was also about human nature. 

Philosopher Alan Watts once described the 

hypnotic ‘illusion of time’. He believes the way we 

view things - the present moment - is dominated 

by our obsession with a causative past. 

Indeed, even at the best of times, how often 

do we find ourselves preoccupied with 

the painful memories of yesterday and 

apprehensive expectations for tomorrow? 

Watts says that living life in this manner 

– which most people do – leaves you 

fundamentally ‘out of touch with reality’. 

The past cannot be changed; however, it 

can help determine the future. 

The focus of this State of the Industry Report 

(SOIR) is on reality, to analyse the ‘present 

moment’; a study of the jewellery industry 

as it is today. 

Pleasant surprises 

What I didn’t understand about the friendly 

advice was that it also related to the 

expectations of people and organisations. 

Before joining Jeweller, I worked as a 

newspaper journalist, covering two specific 

rounds – sport and court. 

Contrary to popular opinion, athletes are 

reluctant interviewees at the best of times, 

while the legal system is even worse – the 

police, magistrates, lawyers – few are eager 

to stand in front of a microphone. 

What I never expected was the number 

of people who pride themselves on their 

ever-expanding expertise on any given topic – 

whether it be diamonds, gemstones, precious 

metals, or the intricacies of supply and retail. 

Their knowledge astounds me, as does their 

willingness to assist in my ‘education’ of the 

wider industry. 

Every 15-minute conversation with someone 

about one story inevitably leads to ideas for 

half a dozen more – whether it be a new 

approach to a long-debated topic or profound 

insight into an unexplored area. 

I mention this because many of these people 

have played a vital role in the construction of 

this comprehensive report, and for their time, 

I’m grateful. 

With that said most people do not realise 

that, for a journalist, a story often begins 

with what’s not being said. 

Bitter disappointment 

As a reporter, the search for the deeper truth 

begins when you disregard what you’re being 

told and start paying attention to what is 

being avoided or not being said - as this study 

uncovers. 

Returning to the nature of expectations, 

while I didn’t anticipate that so many people 

would freely offer their time to help me 

better understand the industry, I’ve also been 

shocked by those who have rejected the 

opportunity to contribute to the report. 

As an example, consider the Jewellers 

Association of Australia (JAA) – an organisation 

that claims it’s on a mission to ‘advance and 

represent the industry from manufacturing, 

wholesaling and distribution to retail’. 

The JAA claims to be the peak industry body 

- the industry leader - and it could be argued 

that the onus of producing a study such as this 

should be the responsibility of JAA. 

At the very least, you would think the 

association would assist in every way possible. 

Well, that was my (reasonable) assumption. 

After all, the project benefits the industry. If 

only I had listened to my publisher’s advice 

about ‘expectations’! 

I contacted the JAA on 1 September about 

two simple figures: the number of retailer 

and supplier members. 

After a week without a reply, the request was 

resubmitted, which resulted in a response 

from the JAA’s operation manager, who 

said she had been unable to reply due to 

'‘numerous conflicting priorities in the 

previous months”. 

She said she would endeavour to “look at them" 

- the two figures - "sometime next week". As I 

write this in November, three months after the 

first request, the JAA has been unable to provide 

a membership number. 

WORDS TO LIVE BY 

"No valid plans for the 

future can be made 

by those who have no 

capacity for living now." 

Compare this experience with my exchanges with 

other organisations. For example, James Pascoe 

Group – with 460 stores across three different 

retail chains – provided a comprehensive state-bystate 

count within 24 hours. 

It’s worth noting that the James Pascoe Group 

has more stores than the JAA has members. 

The same could be said for Nationwide Jewellers 

– Australia’s largest jewellery buying group – 

which also quickly provided detailed information. 

In fact, there’s no need to single out Nationwide. 

Showcase Jewellers and Independent Jewellers 

Collective also returned information post-haste, 

as did Pandora, the world’s largest massmarket 

jewellery brand. 

Now consider this - the entire purpose of the 

JAA is to attract members. 

Its website states: “We endeavour to demonstrate 

leadership through our respectful and thoughtful 

communications and actions”. Note that the bold 

‘leadership’ is the JAA’s emphasis, not mine. 

As you will discover, there are many other 

examples of the JAA's failures over the past 

decade, and our industry survey appears 

to reflect this sentiment, even from its own 

members! 

If the so-called peak industry body cannot lead 

through actions, then one must ask: does it 

have any right to claim it represents all sectors 

of the industry, let alone any part of it? 

I didn’t expect to encounter this degree of 

unprofessional management and shocking 

communication while preparing such a valuable 

report; however, based on the retailer responses 

to the industry survey, it appears many would. 

Perhaps there’s truth in that adage – it’s better 

to set your expectations low so that you’ll be 

pleasantly surprised rather than constantly 

disappointed. 

With that said, why dwell on the negative? 

Let’s instead focus on the present moment – 

the State of the Industry Report you’re 

holding is packed with detailed and valuable 

information, and to all those who helped make 

it possible – you have my utmost gratitude. 

SAMUEL ORD 

EDITOR 


Definitions 

JEWELLERY RETAILER 

Any business where the selling of fine or fashion jewellery 

and/or watches to consumers is the predominant revenue 

of the business. 

INDEPENDENT JEWELLER 

A jewellery business that is not part of a chain. More often 

than not, these businesses operate from a single store. 

These stores are often ‘family-owned’ businesses. 

JEWELLERY STORE 

A retail premises is a physical place, not including any area 

intended for use as a residence, and is usually located on 

the high street or in a shopping centre that, under the terms 

of the lease, is used wholly or predominantly for the sale of 

jewellery and watches to consumers. 

The business must be readily available to visit by the public 

during business hours (no appointment is necessary) and 

must carry stock readily available for purchase when a 

customer visits; that is, the item does not subsequently 

need to be made/manufactured. 

SUPPLIER 

A business that sells predominantly fine or fashion jewellery 

and/or watches to jewellery retailers who then sell the 

product to consumers. 

RETAILER- NO STOREFRONT 

A business that sells jewellery and/or watches to consumers 

and does not operate from a jewellery store (see above). 

These include jewellery designers and manufacturing (bench) 

jewellers operating from professional workshops or studios 

(can be home-based) - often in CBD-located buildings - and 

which can be visited by the public, including by appointment. 

Typically, these businesses do not carry stock and often deal 

in niche markets and custom-made products. For this report, 

these are not considered “jewellery stores”. 

Northern Territory 

STATE POPULATION 251,700 

NATIONAL POPULATION % 1% 

INDEPENDENT STORES 14 

FINE CHAIN STORES 12 

FASHION CHAIN STORES 2 

BRAND ONLY STORES 1 

STATE TOTAL 29 

SINCE 2010 -10 

Western Australia 

STATE POPULATION 2,855,600 







SINCE 2010 -61 

SHOWROOM 

A business that promotes itself as a ‘showroom’ in CBD 

locations similar to Retailer - no storefront; however, it 

does not have an onsite workshop or studio. 

Usually, a showroom business will not employ manufacturing 

(bench) jewellers and will have only sales staff. A showroom 

can also operate ‘virtually’ - under a serviced office 

arrangement - without staff or stock. 

They can often be faces to print the business as being larger 

than it is, with showrooms in other capital cities. For this 

report, showrooms are not considered “jewellery stores”. 

CHAIN STORES 

A group of five or more fine or fashion jewellery stores 

trading under a single (brand) name, with one ownership 

entity – either person or company - coordinating buying 

and marketing activities across the group. 

This could include a franchise operation. A chain store usually 

has central management and standardised business methods 

and practices. It will purchase products from local suppliers 

and/or import its products. 

BRAND-ONLY STORE 

One or more fine or fashion jewellery stores that market 

and sell its own brand of jewellery and/or watches. 

Usually a vertical-market operation, these stores 

do not utilise local suppliers and do not distribute to 

third-party stockists on a large scale. 

Brand-only stores are often owned and operated by 

the proprietor of the brand, or they could be 

operated under licence. 

BUYING GROUP 

A member-based organisation created to leverage the 

collective purchasing power of independent jewellery 

retailers to obtain discounts from suppliers and provide 

support services in areas such as marketing, management, 

and accounting. 

3,501 

TOTAL NUMBER OF 

JEWELLERY STORES ACROSS 

ALL CATEGORIES IN 2023 

South Australia 








SINCE 2010 -56 

16 | 2024 STATE OF THE INDUSTRY REPORT 

16

AT A GLANCE 

Australian Jewellery 

Industry Landscape 

Australia-Wide 

NATIONAL POPULATION 26,468,300 

INDEPENDENT STORES 2,010 

Queensland 










NATIONAL TOTAL ALL STORES 3,501 

SINCE 2010 -724 


SINCE 2010 -239 

Australian Capital Territory 


New South Wales 













SINCE 2010 -9 

STATE TOTAL 1,213 

SINCE 2010 -204 

Tasmania 








SINCE 2010 -6 

Victoria 








SINCE 2010 -139 

FLAGSHIP STORE 

One or more fine or fashion jewellery stores owned and 

operated by the brand itself rather than a third party. 

The flagship store is not part of a vertically integrated 

business but embodies the ‘typical’ business model of 

wide-scale distribution to third-party stockists. 

These stores usually stock the most extensive range 

of its merchandise and are regarded as a ‘landmark 

store’ or ‘the face’ of a brand. For this report, these are 

now considered “Brand-only stores”. 

KIOSK 

A retail outlet usually free-standing - often unwalled - 

and semi-permanent in structure or might be a ‘cartstyle’ 

business. These businesses operate exclusively 

within large retail establishments or shopping malls. 

ONLINE JEWELLERY RETAILER 

A business promoting and selling jewellery or watches 

to consumers via its website and/or third-party platforms 

such as Facebook, Instagram, Etsy, and other social 

media channels. For this report, these are not considered 

“jewellery stores”. 

2 

2024 STATE OF THE INDUSTRY REPORT | 17 

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CLEAR NEUTRAL 

W 

hile lab-grown diamonds 

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Cultivating these diamonds in a 

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This has led to more interest in carbon 

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This approach helps build trust with 

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“The way we see it, the journey 

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“With Clear Neutral, we’re striving 

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for both retailers and consumers.” 

The consumer market is growing 

increasingly discerning. Recent 

studies indicate that a staggering 

90%* of global consumers express 

a preference for responsibly sourced 

products. 

Moreover, 83%* are willing to dig a 

little deeper into their pockets for 

ethically produced merchandise. 

When it comes to the jewellery 

sector, the statistics are equally 

revealing. 

An impressive 68% of Millennial and 

Generation Z consumers say that 

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deal-breaker in purchasing diamond 

jewellery, according to a recent Bain 

& Company survey on the global 

diamond industry. 

Embracing sustainable practices isn’t 

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for business. 

A 2023 Deloitte report revealed 

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Ultimately, the journey 

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it offer an incredible 

opportunity for the 

jewellery industry to 

embrace responsible 

practices. 

committed to their current jobs. 

Buyers like Jake Goodwin also 

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chain. “It’s more than just a gem; it’s a 

statement of who I am,” he says. 

The sentiment echoes among 

consumers like Ainsley Caulfield, 

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a diamond that’s not only beautiful 

but also kinder to our planet.” 

Jewellers themselves are taking notice 

of the growing ethical concerns. 

“More and more people are asking 

about lab-grown diamonds. They 

love that they’re more sustainable, 

but they’re also concerned about the 

energy used to produce them,” says 

Jordan Cullen, Managing Director of 

Cullen Jewellery. 

“We need to ensure we’re addressing 

those concerns head-on.” 

Ultimately, the journey towards 

ethical perfection is far from over. 

Clear Neutral and other initiatives 

like it offer an incredible opportunity 

for the jewellery industry to embrace 

responsible practices. 

The opaquely symbiotic relationship 

between jewellers, consumers, and 

the environment will continue to 

evolve. 

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Synopsis 

What will you learn from this report? 

To better understand the findings of the State of the Industry Report, it's important 

to be aware of the changes to the industry and how they affect the methodology. 

3,501 

Number of jewellery stores 

in Australia as of 2023. This 

figure includes independent, 

chain, and brand-only stores. 

KEY FINDINGS: AT A GLANCE 

While there's been a 

significant decline in 

independent jewellery stores 

overall, this can be explained 

and is not a cause for alarm. 

Brand-only stores have 

expanded significantly over 

the past decade, evolving 

from a retail experiment to 

an influential figure with 

jewellery industry. 

28% 

of Australia's total jewellery 

store count are fine 

jewellery chain stores. 

The objective of the State of the Industry Report 

(SOIR) is to establish how many jewellery stores 

operate in Australia and compare this with data 

from previous reports to develop an understanding of 

the evolution and future of the industry. 

Since the release of the landmark report in 2010, 

Jeweller has continued to monitor and measure 

changes in the industry over the past 13 years. 

This included noting expansion and contraction 

within specific categories and the rise and decline 

of industry trends. 

The complexities associated with compiling such 

a report are wide-ranging and varied. To measure 

something, it must first be defined, and in an industry 

as diverse as jewellery retail, creating objective 

criteria is an arduous task. 

Every business documented by this report sells jewellery 

and/or watches, including fine jewellery and fashion 

jewellery stores; however, unsurprisingly, many differ 

in minor but significant ways. 

To develop and collate the data in a consistent 

manner, creating definitions for different categories 

must be clear to guarantee that meaningful 

comparisons and insights can be measured. 

Since the 2010 report, the consumer market and, 

therefore, the industry have evolved dramatically, 

including how people view and define jewellery products. 

There are a few crucial ways this report differs from 

those in the past, which are important to understand. 

‘Flagship stores’ are no longer an important 

consideration in the State of the Industry Report. 

During the research phase, it became clear that 

the criteria associated with a particular store's 

‘flagship’ status are too unclear to be measured. 

Any store can be labelled the ‘flagship’ of the business; 

however, the nature of these stores differs greatly from 

business to business and brand to brand. 

Indeed, many have remained true to the original 

definition – the largest store with the strongest 

marketing presence and the widest range of products. 

Others appear to be described as ‘flagship’ stores 

based on location alone and do not differ significantly 

from other stores. 

While the 2010 report attempted to identify retail 

kiosks separately - mainly because of the large 

number of franchised watch battery and repair 

businesses in shopping centres. Most of those no 

longer exist, and we now include kiosks as retail 

stores, or at least in the store counts. 

An important note impacting any comparison between 

2010 and 2023 data is the reclassification of Pandora 

from a brand-only store in 2010 to a jewellery chain. 

The distinction is vital because Pandora was, and 

remains, both a supplier to the wider jewellery 

market and a prominent retailer of its own brand. 

Brand-only stores are largely vertical market 

operations. 

See definitions on Page 16-17. 

Methodology 

The current study was undertaken by dedicated 

researchers updating the 2010 data by gathering the 

records of all jewellery retail businesses in Australia 

(defined below) using various methods, including online 

search platforms. These records were then compared 

against existing databases to identify closed and new 

businesses, those not previously held in the databases. 

Each business was identified under the categories 

listed over page. Then, the number of jewellery stores 

of each business was counted - noting that one 

jewellery retailer can have many jewellery stores. 

The data collection ended on 31 October 2023. 

In addition, and to complement the research undertaken 

for this report, Jeweller also conducted a survey of 

retailers and suppliers. Two sets of 10 questions were 

provided using Survey Monkey, a digital research platform 

and emailed using Jeweller’s comprehensive database. 

The retailer survey began on 31 October 2023 

and ended on 17 November, with more than 200 

independent retailers responding. This is estimated 

to be around 10 per cent of the market. 

The supplier survey was opened on 9 November 

and closed on 17 November, and 51 responses were 

received, estimated to be between 8-10 per cent of the 

supplier market. 

All the results are published on Page 77. 

TABLE 4: ALL CATEGORIES: 2023 TOTAL STORE COUNT 

Snapshot 2023 NSW VIC QLD WA SA TAS ACT NT TOTAL % 2010 Variance 

All Independents stores 754 499 329 187 136 61 30 14 2,010 57.4% 2,699 -689 

Chain stores - Fine jewellery 297 201 238 137 62 16 24 12 987 28.2% 1,019 -32 

Chain stores - Fashion jewellery 73 71 71 25 15 2 6 2 265 7.6% 378 -113 

Brand Only stores 89 74 42 22 8 - 3 1 239 6.8% 129 110 

Total stores 2023* 1,213 845 680 371 221 79 63 29 3,501 100% 4,225 -724 

Total stores 2010 1,417 984 919 432 277 85 72 39 4,225 - - - 

Variance -204 -139 -239 -61 -56 -6 -9 -10 -724 

* 2023 combined Brand only and Flagship 


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Independent Jewellers: 

Still prospering despite a decline 

It’s been said that one man’s misery is another man’s fortune. 

This philosophy may serve the jewellery industry well in the wake 

of a significant decline in independent retailers. 


2,010 

Number of independent 

jewellery stores in Australia, 

a decline of 26 per cent 

since 2010. 

While the overall decline 

in independent jewellery 

stores since 2010 might be 

startling, it's not a cause 

for panic. 

Retirements have led to 

a significant decline in 

jewellery stores in the past 

decade, and this trend is 

expected to continue. 

754 

Number of independent 

jewellery stores in New South 

Wales - the most of any 

Australian state. 

When Jeweller first conducted the State 

of Industry Report (SOIR) in 2010, Australia 

had 2,699 independent jewellery stores, 

consisting of retailers that sold fine and/or fashion 

jewellery. 

There were a further 1,355 jewellery chain stores and 

a small number (153) of brand-only stores, meaning 

that around 4,225 stores were catering to a population 

of 19.72 million. 

At the time, if you were to ask someone whether the 

number of independent jewellers would increase 

or decrease in the decade ahead, it’s fair to say that 

most people would have considered a decline more 

likely than not. 

There were, and are, many reasons why such a 

prediction would have been reasonable, despite the 

fact the jewellery industry has - and continues to - 

sail against the winds of change that impact most 

other retail categories. 

You only need to consider sports, chemist, and 

hardware stores - to name a few - where national 

chains and big box retailers have overrun independent 

and (mostly) family-run retail businesses. 

It could be worse; consider operating in a category 

that no longer exists (video stores) or has almost 

disappeared (newsagents and music stores). 

Given this background, it is fair to assume that a 

decline in the number of jewellery stores was likely - 

if not guaranteed - but the question is: to what extent 

would that store count decline? 

There are many perfectly logical - and predictable - 

reasons for a slight decline, given that most jewellery 

stores were owned by an ageing population (primarily 

men) approaching retirement. 

And gone are the days where it was a given that the 

children would take over the business; therefore, 

a percentage of store closures was predicted as 

‘natural attrition’. 

This is ‘the known knowns’, to use the term by the 

US Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld. 

Further, as Jeweller’s recent survey of more than 

200 jewellers demonstrates, retirement is still a 

significant issue. The accompanying chart indicates 

that 45 per cent of respondents intend to retire or sell 

their business in the next five years. 

But as you will see, some issues would also create 

decline, which perhaps were not as apparent 13 years 

ago - but now are! They were the known unknowns. 

And, of course, the elephant in the room must not be 

ignored – the unknown unknown! 

Not for a second would anyone in 2010 have thought 

the world would experience a global pandemic 

that would create international turmoil and almost 

overnight destroy business activity worldwide. 

So, given these factors, what would have been 

considered a reasonable - and natural - decline in 

the number of jewellery retailers since 2010, and how 

would that figure be reassessed given the unexpected 

impact of the COVID-19 pandemic? 

This report cannot answer the second question; 

however, it’s reasonable to assume that a natural 

reduction in jewellery stores would have been about, 

or a little above, 10 per cent. 

Back to the future 

Before examining the results of Jeweller’s new 

study of the Australian jewellery industry, let's look 

at some of the observations made in 2010 to assess 

their accuracy. 

For a start, it was observed that the Australian 

jewellery industry had demonstrated a surprising 

resilience in the face of the 2008-2009 global financial 

crisis (GFC). 

While many other countries suffered an economic 

recession, Australia’s economy avoided a recession. 

However, the economy was impacted by high inflation 

- which led to repeated hikes in interest rates - 

consumer confidence was adversely affected, and 

discretionary spending took a knock. 

Does that sound a little familiar today? 

The 2010 report stated that, surprisingly, the country's 

total number of jewellery stores had remained at the 

2007 pre-GFC level. 

It was noted that compared with other retail sectors, 

such as entertainment and clothing (which compete 

with jewellery for the consumer’s discretionary 

dollar), the Australian jewellery industry has been 

successful at insulating itself from the increasing 

presence of chain stores. 

TABLE 1: INDEPENDENT JEWELLERY STORES IN AUSTRALIA 2023 

Independent Stores NSW VIC QLD WA SA TAS ACT NT TOTAL 2010 Variance 

All fine and fashion 754 499 329 187 136 61 30 14 2,010 2,699 -689 

Percentage 37.51% 24.83% 16.37% 9.30% 6.77% 3.03% 1.49% 0.70% 100.00% - -25.53% 

Chart shows a state-by-state store counts for independent jewellery stores in Australia, with the total figure contrasted with 2010. 

27

This can be compared to US data showing that the 

GFC devastated the US jewellery industry. A census by 

the Jewelers Board of Trade (JBT) - a not-for-profit, 

member-owned association - found that “the number 

of jewellery doors which closed in 2008 is estimated to 

be around 1,500, though some believe it was closer to 

2,000.” 

The 2010 SOIR stressed ‘retirement’ was another 

common reason for independent jewellery store 

closures. Small, family businesses have always 

dominated jewellery retailing, and the post-war baby 

boomers had caused a spiral in store closures. 

Jeweller reported 13 years ago that if no family 

member is willing to take over, the only other option 

is to close the business. Succession planning is 

notoriously difficult for retailers. 

In addition, it’s challenging to sell a jewellery business 

as it is capital intensive – meaning a significant 

investment in stock and fit-out - and requires a higher 

degree of expertise than many other retail categories. 

Jewellery knowledge is the most basic requirement 

- and gemmology, jewellery designing, and 

manufacturing skills are desirable. 

Selling the business is always an option, but it is not 

easily sold if profitability is marginal. And again, this is 

a trend in the Western world, supported by US data. 

The JBT data dates to 1987, and in 2009, it was 

reported that every year – except three years in 

the early 1990s – the number of US retail jewellery 

businesses had declined. 

Our 2010 study also noted, anecdotally at least, that 

recessions and difficult trading conditions tend to 

separate the ‘wheat from the chaff’. 

Unsuccessful small businesses will often use the 

excuse of a ‘recession’ to save face when they 

announce closure rather than taking responsibility 

for their business failings. 

That is, it’s easy to make money in good times, and 

if you own a business that is only marginally profitable 

Only 33 per cent of independent jewellery retailers 

report that their business is profitable today than it 

was before the pandemic. 

when difficult trading conditions arrive - as they indeed 

will - a borderline business will not survive. 

Hold your horses 

Having established several reasons why independent 

jewellery stores would naturally decline in number, the 

2024 study finds that there are around 2,000 stores today. 

This is a loss of around 700, or 25 per cent, since 2010. 

Now, before anyone cries wolf, hold your horses! 

This reduction needs further clarification because 

some of it can be attributed to Jeweller’s change in the 

definition or classification of a ‘jewellery store’ caused 

by enormous structural shifts in the industry over the 

past decade. 

The 2010 study was an attempt to measure the 

number of stores that sell jewellery to consumers, 

Custom made and bespoke jewellery has become 

an increasingly important category for Australia's 

independent jewellery retailers in the past decade. 

and in doing so, there was a need to define different 

business archetypes. 

These included fine and fashion jewellery, chain 

stores, and stores classified as brand-only and/or 

flagship locations. To measure anything, it must first 

be defined. 

In 2010, the definition of a jewellery retailer included 

businesses that were not ‘traditional stores’. For 

example, our data included jewellers and designers 

who operated from what we defined as ‘upstairs 

premises’ or studios and workshops. 

Many, if not most, of these businesses legitimately deal 

with the public as customers and specialise in niche 

categories such as engagement, bridal jewellery, and 

bespoke design. 

Most operated from CBD locations in capital cities and 

were (and still are) located in the ‘jewellery buildings’ 

such as the Century and Manchester buildings in 

Melbourne and the Dymocks and Trust buildings in 

Sydney, to name just a few. 

Other capital cities have similar buildings, harking 

back to a period when jewellers and suppliers 

congregated in one location for convenience and 

security. A jeweller could source and purchase 

materials, such as diamonds and gemstones, by 

visiting a supplier on another floor – without the 

need to leave the building. 

These businesses were identified as ‘Retailer - No 

storefront’ and included in the store counts. 

Changing times 

CHART 2: 

2023 INDEPENDENTS BY STATE 

State # % 

NSW 754 37.51% 

VIC 499 24.83% 

QLD 329 16.37% 

WA 187 9.30% 

SA 136 6.77% 

TAS 61 3.03% 

ACT 30 1.49% 

NT 14 0.70% 

TOTAL 2,010 100% 

Chart compares independent jewellery stores 

state-by-state and the percentage these stores 

represent within Australia's total count. 

While it was deemed appropriate to include these 

businesses in the 2010 store counts, Jeweller has 

decided to exclude them in the latest study due to 

changes in the industry, some of which are COVIDrelated. 

For example, consider the distinction between a 

‘storefront retailer’ on the high street and one that 

operated without a storefront was a little blurred in 

2010. In that case, you must consider what the internet 

has done to that blurred line 13 years later. 

There are other reasons for redefining a jewellery store 

- explained below - and to maintain a more accurate 

reading on the industry, it is more appropriate to 

measure ‘traditional retail stores’, which Jeweller now 

28

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TABLE 3: 2023 - 2010 COMPARISON 

Comparison NSW VIC QLD WA SA TAS ACT NT TOTAL 

2010 Independents 933 634 577 242 181 65 41 26 2,699 

2023 Independents 754 499 329 187 136 61 30 14 2,010 

Variance -179 -135 -248 -55 -45 -4 -11 -12 -689 

% Decline -19.19% -21.29% -42.98% -22.73% -24.86% -6.15% -26.83% -46.15% -25.53% 

Table 3 compares independent 

jewellery store counts from 2010 to 

2023. Overall, stores have declined by 

26.16 per cent; however, this is easily 

explained. See Page 31. 

TABLE 4: 2023 POPULATION COMPARISON 


All stores - fine and fashion 754 499 329 187 136 61 30 14 2,010 

Percentage of national 37.51% 24.83% 16.37% 9.30% 6.77% 3.03% 1.49% 0.70% 100.00% 

Population (March 2023) 8,294,000 6,766,600 5,418,500 2,855,600 1,844,600 572,700 464,600 251,700 26,468,300 


Variance 6.18% -0.74% -4.10% -1.49% -0.20% 0.87% -0.26% -0.25% - 

Table 4 takes the 2023 store counts and 

shows it as a percentage of the overall 

total, for example, NSW has 37.51 per 

cent of the national store count. The 

population of NSW is 31.34 per cent 

of Australia’s total population which 

means its store count has a six per cent 

variance to the population. 

TABLE 5: 2010 POPULATION COMPARISON 


All stores - fine and fashion 933 634 577 242 181 65 41 26 2,699 


Population (March 2010) 7,221,000 5,529,400 4,498,900 2,286,100 1,640,700 507,100 357,700 228,500 22,269,400 


Variance 2.14% -1.34% 1.18% -1.30% -0.66% 0.13% -0.09% -0.06% - 

Table 5 presents the same data as 

Table 4 except that its 2010 data, 

which means the 2023 store count 

and population percentages can 

be compared to the the data from 

13 years ago. 

*Census March 2023. 

define in accordance with government descriptions and 

legislation, such as Retail Lease Acts. 

A ‘retail premises’ is, therefore, a place, not including 

any area intended for use as a residence, that under 

the terms of the lease is used, or is to be used, wholly 

or predominantly for the sale or hire of goods by retail 

or the retail provision of services. 

Given that the nature of retail business has 

dramatically changed over the past decade - and some 

of the change was brought on by COVID - for the sake 

of an industry study, a jewellery retailer is now defined 

as a retail premise used wholly or predominantly for 

the sale of jewellery (fine and/or fashion) and watches 

to consumers. 

The business must be readily available to visit by 

the public during business hours (no appointment is 

necessary) and must carry stock readily available for 

purchase when a customer visits; that is, the item does 

not subsequently need to be made/manufactured. 

In other words, a jewellery store is located on a high 

street or in a shopping centre/mall (small and large) 

where consumers shop for something ‘off-the-shelf’. 

This could include shopping for bespoke and custommade 

jewellery items. 

With that said, online retailers, jewellery studios and 

workshops, ‘by appointment’ designers and jewellers 

are no longer considered jewellery stores. Further, 

a new post-COVID retail trend - unstaffed or virtual 

showrooms - are also excluded. 

While there will always be shades of grey in any group 

of definitions, it is important to redefine the trade’s 

participants in line with the industry’s evolution. 

For this reason, some of the decline can be attributed 

to this reclassification and is not a reflection of store 

closure. 

Jeweller estimates that within the 689-store reduction 

since 2010, this reclassification accounts for between 

100 and 150 businesses. 

This study has discovered that the way many jewellers 

survived the COVID pandemic was to change their 

business model, which included scaling back their 

business. In some cases, the business arguably could 

not be considered a ‘store.’ 

Show me the money! 

One of the more surprising results of the retailer 

survey was the number of businesses that are now 

more profitable following the global pandemic. 

"For this reason, some 

of the decline can 

be attributed to this 

reclassification and is not a 

reflection of store closure." 

When asked if their business is more profitable after 

COVID, 33 per cent of jewellers ‘strongly agreed’ or 

‘agreed’. 

Interestingly, the number of jewellers who ‘strongly 

disagreed’ or ‘disagreed’ only amounted to 38 per cent. 

This somewhat counterintuitive result can be 

attributed to storeowners taking actions to change 

the management and procedures of the business to 

increase profitability or, in many cases, survive, 

Some of this can also be attributed to consumer 

demand for custom-designed and manufactured 

jewellery, which has resulted in many changes to the 

industry. 

For example, it’s generally considered that few 

jewellery stores carry as many diamonds or diamond 

jewellery in stock as they once did and needed to, 

compared to a decade ago. 

Also, many customers will look at a ring in stock and 

request a change. 

This means a significant focus must be stock 

management – ensuring that sales are not lost, and 

excess/old stock is minimised. 

It is also arguable that increased profitability could be 

explained by decreased competition. 

For example, if a jeweller had a nearby - and less 

successful - competitor before COVID, such a rival 

would most likely compete on price. 

Negative economic tides, such as recession and 

unanticipated pandemics, will quickly knock out any 

marginal businesses, which means the remaining stores 

service a larger consumer base and market share. 

Indeed, recessions can be an ‘every cloud has a silver 

lining’ phenomenon for some, where there is more 

business for fewer stores when the economy recovers. 

And given that the reduction in store counts can be 

attributed to at least two reasons - natural declines 

such as lease expiration and retirement and forced 

decline from COVID and other adverse economic 

conditions - if consumer spending remains constant, 

more revenue will be divided among fewer stores. 

The ‘unknown unknown’ 

Undoubtedly, many jewellery store closures since 

2020 were because of COVID. No different to all small 

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usinesses - especially retailers - jewellers could not 

survive the turmoil created by the pandemic. 

They shuttered their stores, never to return. Arguably, 

this was done in many categories by retailers whose 

business profitability was marginal. 

There is also anecdotal evidence to suggest that 

many high street stores - including jewellers - took 

advantage of COVID to exit a lease that they would 

otherwise not have been able to do. 

With government legislation enacted to ‘protect’ 

retailers from landlords during the pandemic – 

for example, The National Cabinet Mandatory Code 

of Conduct – SME Commercial Leasing Principles - 

it was unlikely that any landlord would take legal 

action for breaking a lease during COVID. 

Put another way, a marginally profitable retailer 

with two to three years on a lease saw COVID as a 

legitimate excuse - to close the business without 

possible legal ramifications. 

Most retail leases are three to five years, so any 

signed in 2018 or later would have been due for 

renewal in 2023-2024. 

Many businesses struggled to survive throughout 

COVID; some were ‘stressed’ before the pandemic 

and therefore closed before the lease expired. 

This was different for retailers in shopping centres, 

where the landlords were seen to be more ruthless. 

A figure that stands out is the number of ‘lost’ 

jewellery stores in Queensland - 248. It is reasonable 

to assume that a large number of these were stores 

catering for the tourist market, especially along the 

coastline. This market completely collapsed during 

COVID; they were business that almost exclusively 

relied on incoming tourists. 

Therefore, while we cannot provide an exact figure 

on the number of jewellery businesses closed during 

COVID, there is sufficient evidence to show that many 

jewellers moved online to become ‘no storefront’ 

businesses. 

Jeweller can track a business that previously 

operated as a store and now operates online or 

as a no-storefront business. This became a trend 

because of, and enhanced by, COVID. 

While they can be seen as legitimate businesses 

CHART 6: 2023 NATIONAL STORE 

COUNT - ALL CATEGORIES 

selling jewellery to consumers, the business model 

differs significantly from before the pandemic. 

Other changes 

Category # % 

All Independents stores 2,010 57.41% 

Chain stores - Fine jewellery 987 28.19% 

Chain stores - Fashion jewellery 265 7.57% 

Brand Only stores 239 6.83% 

TOTAL 3,501 100% 

Chart shows Australia's total fine and fashion jewellery store 

count divided into four key categories. In 2010, independent 

jewellers represented 64 per cent of the market compared 

to 57 per cent today. 

There have been many other changes since 2010 that 

are worth acknowledging. Fitting into the ‘known 

knowns’ category is the changing nature of retailing 

as influenced by Australia’s evolving demographics. 

The previous report recognised that “coupled with an 

increasing need to cater to the consumer tastes of 

growing immigrant communities, new, ethnic-targeted 

stores have replaced old stores that have closed.” 

"This was different for 

retailers in shopping 

centres, where the 

landlords were seen to be 

more ruthless." 

This trend continues today, and one only needs to 

consider suburbs in major capital cities to see the 

increase in jewellery stores catering to Asian, mainly 

Chinese, communities as well as Indian and Middle 

Eastern communities. Today, we can add African 

jewellery stores to that list. 

Another self-evident change has been the massive 

increase in online jewellery businesses. Jeweller’s 

research can identify various online operations that 

have different foundations. 

People launching online jewellery businesses would 

have been a ‘known known’; however, traditional 

jewellers closing their physical store to move online 

during and post-COVID would have been ‘unknown 

unknown’. 

The research also identified many online businesses 

launched during COVID for various reasons, including 

some who admit that it was done because of the loss 

of employment and/or boredom. 

These fit within the hobbyist category, attempting to 

turn a personal interest into a business - perhaps a 

‘known unknown’. 

Consider factors such as the global pandemic 

and improved and less cost-intensive technology 

– including website development, e-commerce 

platforms, and teleconferences. 

This environment has enabled many sole trader-type 

operations where a manufacturing jeweller works 

from a studio/workshop or a home-based office to 

produce custom-made jewellery. 

This trend relates to, and is also influenced by, other 

trends identified in this research. 

For example, the retailer survey confirmed the 

resurgence of bespoke and custom-made jewellery, 

as consumers - mainly women - search for a more 

personalised approach to their adornment. 

A whopping 77 per cent of responses to the retail 

survey said they ‘strongly agreed’ (37.56 per cent) or 

‘agreed’ (39.5 per cent) that custom-made jewellery 

has become an important part of their business in 

the past decade. 

The bespoke trend and income from watch and 

jewellery repairs have had a larger flow-on effect. 

Shopping centre locations have become of decreasing 

importance for those who can offer traditional 

manufacturing or ‘bench jewellery’ services. 

As independent jewellery stores have exited shopping 

centres - primarily driven out by increasing tenancy 

costs - and as consumers seek something different 

and more personal, there is less need for stores to be 

located in the larger shopping centres because the 

customer is happy to work with ‘destination’ jewellers 

when seeking jewellery of a more personal, and 

‘everlasting’, design. 

The jewellery chains primarily cater to the mass 

market. 

This delineation caused by consumers’ renewed desire 

Survey data suggests that the 'changing of the guard' within the 

jewellery industry will continue for the remainder of the decade 

due to retirements. 

33

Satellite showroom showoffs 

A new term has gained prominence in the industry: ‘showroom’. It is 

increasingly used by what Jeweller previously defined as ‘retailer-no 

storefront’. These showroom operations are where customers must make an 

appointment to visit the business. 

A showroom has traditionally been used to describe a transaction where a 

customer views products and orders the items to be delivered or collected at 

another time. 

It is also typically used in business-to-business transactions rather than 

consumer retailing. That is, a showroom does not normally entail a business 

carrying stock that a consumer purchases off the shelf. 

Since 2010, Jeweller has witnessed a shift towards this model used by various 

jewellery businesses, which probably gained momentum because of COVID. 

However, this causes a problem for an industry study. 

These ‘showrooms’ aim to grab a slice of the rapidly increasing demand for 

custom-made designs without enduring the costs associated with a retail 

lease, the expense of displaying jewellery, or the need to hire staff. This 

showroom concept also added to the reasons for reclassifying the definition 

of a ‘jewellery store’. It should be noted that showrooms generally do not 

carry stock readily available to be purchased by the public and are not the sole 

reason for the reclassification. 

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There is another, more important reason behind the decision. The research 

uncovered a new trend by some of these ‘showroom stores’ to advertise and 

promote the business in a misleading or deceptive manner. 

In the past few years, Jeweller has observed many examples of a new business 

being established - or moving to - a no-storefront operation and promoting 

itself as having showrooms in all, or many other, Australian capital cities. 

The problem is that in many cases, these showrooms don’t ‘exist’; they 

are either virtual offices with no staff, operating from a serviced office 

arrangement, or, in some cases, images of a physical showroom that appear 

on the company’s website and, again, have no staff. 

For example, a jeweller specialising in engagement rings will promote itself 

as being based in Sydney or Melbourne and claim to have showrooms in other 

capital cities, such as Adelaide. The business often lists the phone number 

of its head office or may have a local phone number, which is redirected, 

unbeknownst to the customer, who thinks they are dealing with Adelaide staff. 

These businesses will offer a virtual appointment with their ‘highly specialised 

jewellers’ in the head office. In other words, the ‘interstate showroom’ is 

nothing but a facade. 

The trend is more evident post-COVID because technology has dramatically 

improved in the past few years, and consumers have become accustomed to not 

visiting stores. Indeed, many are more willing to ‘go shopping’ via Zoom meetings. 

These two trends were not evident in 2010, so the notion that small jewellers 

could have a ‘store’ in every capital city was unheard of. And it would have been 

unprofitable! 

Indeed, the advent of unstaffed ‘satellite’ jewellery showrooms was hastened by 

COVID. With CBD rents crashing during COVID – and some have suggested they 

will not recover to pre-COVID levels - the cost of establishing the ‘appearance’ of a 

jewellery showroom in other capital cities has become less expensive. 

This facade is ideal for jewellery as it is a high-margin product, at least when 

compared to other retail categories. That is, the additional monthly cost for 

renting a small interstate office, either as a physical location or a serviced 

office - and in some cases deceptively presented on a website - could be far 

outweighed by selling one diamond ring. 

This causes a dilemma for such a study as this State of the Industry Report, 

which attempts to measure the number of jewellery stores in Australia. 

Yes, a consumer might contact a jewellery business operating from a 

‘showroom’ in Adelaide; however, the sale occurs at a ‘no storefront’ office in 

Sydney. Should the Adelaide ‘showroom’ be considered a jewellery store? We 

think not. Worse, as mentioned, in some cases, the showroom doesn’t even 

exist; it can be a phone call being redirected from a serviced office to another 

city location. 

34

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HOLD YOUR HORSES 

25.53% 

FEWER INDEPENDENT 

JEWELLERY SINCE 2010. 

See breakout box below. 

22.73% 

FEWER INDEPENDENT 

JEWELLERY STORES IN 

WESTERN AUSTRALIA 

26 

INDEPENDENT JEWELLERY 

STORES IN NORTHERN 

TERRITORY 

329 

6.77% 

OF ALL INDEPENDENT 

JEWELLERY STORES 

ARE IN SOUTH AUSTRALIA 

INDEPENDENT 


ARE IN QUEENSLAND 

62% 

OF JEWELLERY STORES IN 

NSW ARE INDEPENDENT 

JEWELLERS 

2,010 

TOTAL NUMBER OF 

INDEPENDENT JEWELLERY 

STORES IN AUSTRALIA 

57.56% 

OF RETAIL 

JEWELLERS 

IN AUSTRALIA 

ARE INDEPENDENT 

JEWELLERS 

48% 

OF JEWELLERY BUSINESSES 

ARE INDEPENDENT 

JEWELLERS IN ACT 

» INDEPENDENT STORES SURVIVE AND THRIVE 

There was once a time when independent jewellers believed that ‘cheap Asian 

imports’ were destroying the market. Then there was a time that jewellers believed 

chains stores were taking over the industry. This prompted Jeweller to investigate 

the claim - and which initiated the beginnings of the State of the Industry 

Report. The two claims were proven wrong and, today, while the percentage of 

independent stores has fallen from 64 per cent in 2010 to 57.4 per cent in 2023, 

part of this decline can be explained by the redefinition of a ‘jewellery store’. 

-4 

INDEPENDENT JEWELLERS 

IN TASMANIA SINCE 2010 

24.83% 

OF INDEPENDENT 

JEWELLERY STORES ARE IN 

VICTORIA 

for custom-made pieces seems to have also 

generated another significant change to the 

traditional ways jewellery is sold. 

Worthy of additional research is the trend for 

younger designers and bench jewellers to ‘go it 

alone’ by establishing a small-scale business 

primarily based online. 

They cannot or should not be considered online 

retailers, given that that term would suggest 

stock levels and consumers ordering jewellery 

off-the-shelf, albeit from a warehouse-style 

‘shelf’ rather than an in-store showcase. 

It should come as no surprise - and would be 

a known known - that younger and more techsavvy 

people are starting their own business 

which is promoted in the digital world via various 

social media platforms. 

Again, jewellery can be unique because the 

sparkle and luxury of the items are ideal for 

website, Instagram, Twitter/X and Facebook 

marketing. 

Indeed, short videos of pieces being handmade 

are ideal for TikTok and YouTube. 

This is not a new trend; it’s a return to the 

original business model where artisans 

handcrafted jewellery in small workshops. 

IMPORTANT CLARIFICATION 

Hold your horses! 

The speed at which this has happened has most 

likely been enhanced due to the global pandemic, 

which caused job losses internationally. 

While 

Finally, 

a decline 

and as 

of 

has 

around 

been 

700 

previously 

independent 

detailed, 

jewellery stores 

in 

since 

the past 

the 

13 

pandemic, 

years might 

two 

sound 

trends 

alarming, 

have 

it's 

developed 

a figure that 

is at easily speed. explained. 

Firstly, The first as this an article increase has noted, in businesses the definition operating of a 

‘jewellery from so-called store’ has ‘showrooms’; been changed however, since 2010, in some therefore 

many cases, businesses these showrooms have been reclassified are effectively and nonexistent. 

to a reduction See the of ‘Satellite approximately showroom 150-200 show-offs’ stores. 

that has 

led 

story on Page 27. 

The more realistic decrease is a ‘net reduction’ of 

around The second 500 stores. trend With is also factors worthy such of as close retirements 

and consideration. the impact of Jeweller’s the pandemic research on marginally has profitable 

businesses, uncovered this many was overseas-owned to be expected. online 

retailers doing their utmost to disguise 

Furthermore, it is important to note Jeweller has 

themselves as Australian-based or owned. 

tracked around 1,000 store closures in the past 

13 Putting years. This aside means well-known that while international many stores online have 

closed jewellery since retailers, the 2010 it’s report, fair new to say stores that have consumers opened 

- would suggesting prefer that to the buy jewellery from a business industry is in still their an 

environment home country where that new would businesses be obligated are able to to local launch. 

laws. 

This differs from other comparable industries (video, 

sports, The research music, and has hardware discovered stores) that where many declining websites 

store that count appear is not local countered - using a by .au new address openings. - have 

no connection to Australia. Like the ‘showroom’ 

It issue, interesting these disguised to note that online many retailers new jewellery warrant 

stores further are investigation. 

based ethnic grounds, that is catering to 

immigrant markets such as Chinese, Indian and African. 

Known knowings and the future 

The first and only in-depth study of the 

Australian jewellery industry in 2010 

accurately predicted many trade changes 

in the past decade. 

Other changes caused by the unexpected 

turmoil created by the global pandemic 

could not be forecast by their very nature. 

The most obvious is an increased reduction 

in independent jewellery stores over and 

above any natural decline. 

Like all change, the result can be seen as 

beneficial or detrimental. For example, one 

person’s perception - or misery - is based on 

their outcome, say, upon losing their job due 

to the pandemic. 

Having found themselves unemployed, a young 

jeweller who took a gamble by establishing 

their own business - and who goes on to be 

very successful - will have one view while the 

store owner approaching retirement who had to 

close their business as a result of the pandemic 

- rather than selling it - will have a different 

perspective. 

As always, and just like jewellery, beauty is 

in the eye of the beholder. 

37

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38 

WWW.SHOWCASEJEWELLERSBUYINGGROUP.COM

Buying Groups: Musical Chairs 

The nature of jewellery buying groups has changed significantly in the 

past decade. The major issue to be confronted is: 

Can Australia support four? 

523 

Australian independent 

jewellery retailers are 

members of a buying group. 

Digital marketing and the 

refining of a jeweller's 

'online presence' will 

be a key priority for the 

remainder of the decade. 


Nationwide Jewellers 

accounts for more than 

57 per cent of Australia's 

buying group members. 

43% 

Of independent jewellery retailers 

surveyed believe that buying groups 

offer more benefits than the Jewellers 

Association of Australia (JAA). 

For more than three decades, Australia’s 

independent jewellery retailers could choose 

membership in one of three buying groups: 

Nationwide, Showcase, and Leading Edge Jewellers. 

Traditionally, a retail buying group is a memberbased 

organisation created to leverage the collective 

purchasing power of independent stores to obtain 

discounts from suppliers. 

These groups also provide business advice and 

support services in areas such as marketing, 

management, and accounting. 

In 2010, the three jewellery buying groups combined 

to represent 860 stores, accounting for 32 per cent of 

the independent market (2,699 stores). 

However, everything changed in early 2020 when 

the Independent Jewellers Collective (IJC) was 

established by Joshua Zarb – a former managing 

director of Leading Edge Group Jewellers (LEGJ). 

Independent retailers now had a fourth avenue to 

pursue supplier discounts and business consultancy, 

and the market seemingly responded positively as IJC 

expanded quickly. 

At the time, there was concern and industry speculation 

about the viability and need for a fourth group. 

This was driven by the widespread belief that the 

market was adequately covered by three groups 

TABLE 1: AUSTRALIA ONLY MEMBERSHIP 

All Groups 2023 2010 Variation % 

Nationwide 299 391 -92 -23.53% 

Showcase 134 190 -56 -29.47% 

IJC 69 - 69 - 

LEGJ 21 88 -67 -76.14% 

Total 523 669 -146 -21.82% 

TABLE 2: AUSTRALIA ONLY STORE COUNT 

All Groups 2023 2010 Variation % 

Nationwide 337 435 -98 -22.53% 

Showcase 164 274 -110 -40.15% 

IJC 85 - 85 - 

LEGJ 21 151 -130 -86.09% 

Total 607 860 -253 -29.42% 

The above tables compare 2023 membership statistics to 2010. 

serving a base of jewellery stores that found 

membership suitable. Indeed, not all retailers 

are suited to the philosophy of buying groups. 

That said, by March 2020, IJC reported that it had 

reached its two-year goal of 60 stores, following an 

influx of new memberships, and in only three years, 

it has expanded to 85 stores (69 members). 

While IJC appears to have overtaken LEGJ in size, 

Nationwide Jewellers remains at the top of the food 

chain, with 299 local members representing 337 

stores. However, since our 2010 study, its base has 

declined in members and stores by approximately 

22 per cent. 

Despite these changes, Nationwide remains 

Australia’s largest buying group. 

Meanwhile, membership decline has also been a 

theme for Showcase Jewellers, which now represents 

134 members and 164 stores. This marks a 29 per 

cent decrease in members and a 40 per cent decline 

in stores over the past 13 years. 

However, when compared with a contraction of the 

overall number of jewellery stores in Australia, this 

becomes a less concerning tale. 

That is, the current study indicates that there are 

currently 2,010 independent stores in Australia, a 

decline of approximately 26 per cent. 

This means Nationwide, Showcase, and IJC account 

for around 29 per cent of Australia’s independent 

jewellers – a figure not dissimilar to that of 2010 

(32 per cent). 

“It’s always been about 

strength in numbers, 

and for independent 

jewellers, that’s more 

important now than ever.” 

ANTHONY ENRIQUEZ 

SHOWCASE JEWELLERS 

“I still think the 

biggest opportunity for 

all stores is understanding 

how to leverage their 

databases properly. 

I think that the jewellery 

industry could improve on 

that as a whole.” 

JOSHUA ZARB 

INDEPENDENT JEWELLERS COLLECTIVE 

“What we are now 

as a business is 

different from what we 

once were, and I think 

we will get better as 

time passes.” 

COLIN POCKLINGTON 

NATIONWIDE JEWELLERS 

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40

2024 STATE OF THE INDUSTRY REPORT 

BUYING GROUPS 

That said, the most alarming decline has been with LEGJ. 

When IJC was launched in 2020, there was no doubt that 

the most vulnerable buying group - running the risk of 

losing members - was LEGJ, which our study appears to 

confirm three years later. 

Indeed, LEGJ has had a staggering fall in members since 

the introduction of a fourth group. Worse, it appears that 

the buying group’s management is doing its best to avoid 

scrutiny on the matter - see break out box Page 45. 

Public perception 

As part of this current study, Jeweller conducted a 

quantitative survey of more than 200 Australian-based 

jewellery retailers in November 2023. 

The ten questions sought responses on various issues and 

topics, including respondent’s views of the buying groups. 

When asked which offers more benefits – membership 

to a buying group or membership to the Jewellers 

Association of Australia – 43.69 per cent of respondents 

either ‘strongly agreed’ or ‘agreed’ that the buying group 

was the better prospect. 

Only 12.63 per cent believed the JAA offers more benefits 

(strongly disagreed or disagreed). 

This could also explain why buying group member stores 

outstrips the JAA’s retail members by far - 520+ compared 

to around 300. 

Interestingly, in a similar survey of jewellery industry 

suppliers, respondents were asked their views as to 

whether buying groups provide beneficial support and 

business advice for independent jewellers. 

While a smaller sample size, the result was 34.61 per cent 

either ‘strongly agreed’ or ‘agreed’ compared to 25 per 

cent who ‘strongly disagreed’ or ‘disagreed.’ 

Industry feedback 

It’s hard to argue that times aren’t tough for independent 

retailers, and recent research from the Australian 

Retailers Association suggests that 55 per cent of small to 

medium-sized retailers are concerned or uncertain about 

their financial prospects. 

When presented with information about the reduction 

in independent jewellery retailers over the past decade, 

Showcase Jewellers managing director Anthony Enriquez 

wasn’t surprised. 

While troubling, he suggested that this data confirmed the 

importance of buying groups. 

“Sadly, I’m not surprised to hear these figures at all. This 

might seem easy to say given my position; however, I think 

this data underlines the importance of buying groups and 

what we can offer,” he tells Jeweller. 

“It’s true, times are tough for independents. Your shopping 

centre data highlights what we hear all the time – 

independents are facing rent increases from shopping 

centres that are unworkable. While major chains can 

negotiate from a position of strength, independents aren’t 

always able to.” 

He added: “It’s always been about strength in numbers, 

and for independent jewellers, that’s more important now 

than ever.” 

TABLE 3: BUYING GROUP MEMBERSHIP AND STORE COUNT IN 2023 

Nationwide NSW VIC QLD WA SA TAS ACT NT TOTAL NZ Other 

2023 - Members 104 62 64 23 27 9 7 3 299 69 1 369 

2023 - Stores 117 78 71 23 27 10 8 3 337 77 5 419 

Showcase NSW VIC QLD WA SA TAS ACT NT TOTAL NZ Other 

2023 - Members 59 27 31 4 6 6 1 - 134 18 1 153 

2023 - Stores 64 34 47 6 6 6 1 - 164 18 1 183 

IJC NSW VIC QLD WA SA TAS ACT NT TOTAL NZ Other 

2023 - Members 29 9 11 7 11 1 - 1 69 1 - 70 

2023 - Stores 36 10 12 8 13 1 - 5 85 1 - 86 

Leading Edge NSW VIC QLD WA SA TAS ACT NT TOTAL NZ Other 

2023 - Members 8 8 3 - 1 1 - - 21 - - 21 

2023 - Stores 8 9 2 - 1 1 - - 21 - - 21 

All Groups NSW VIC QLD WA SA TAS ACT NT TOTAL NZ Other 

2023 - Members 200 106 109 34 45 17 8 4 523 18 1 542 

2023 - Stores 225 131 132 37 47 18 9 8 607 96 6 709 

GRAND 

TOTAL 

GRAND 

TOTAL 

GRAND 

TOTAL 

GRAND 

TOTAL 

GRAND 

TOTAL 

The above tables record the number of members and stores of each buying group, including overseas members. The data was 

accurate as at November 30, 2023. 

Strongly 

agree 

Agree 

Neither agree 

nor disagree 

Disagree 

Strongly 

disagree 

5.83% 

6.80% 

18.45% 

25.24% 

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 

More than 43 per cent of respondents believe that 

membership to a buying group offers greater benefit 

than membership to the JAA. Interestingly, even though 

JAA members were over-represented in the survey, less 

than 10 per cent preferred the JAA. 

Strongly 

agree 

Agree 


nor disagree 

Disagree 

Strongly 

disagree 

9.62% 

15.38% 

19.23% 

15.38% 

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 

Industry suppliers believe that buying groups provide 

beneficial support and business advice for independent 

jewellers (36 per cent) while 25 per cent do not. 

41


BUYING GROUPS 

Market Share 

by Members 

Group 

Market Share 

Nationwide 57.17% 

Showcase 25.62% 

IJC 13.19% 

Leading Edge 4.02% 

2010 VS 2023: COMPARISONS - AUSTRALIA ONLY 

Nationwide NSW VIC QLD WA SA TAS ACT NT TOTAL 

2023 - Members 104 62 64 23 27 9 7 3 299 

2010 - Members 133 83 85 31 36 15 6 2 391 

Variance -29 -21 -21 -8 -9 -6 1 1 -92 

2023 - Stores 117 78 71 23 27 10 8 3 337 

2010 - Stores 146 95 98 33 38 15 8 2 435 

Variance -29 -17 -27 -10 -11 -5 - 1 -98 

Showcase NSW VIC QLD WA SA TAS ACT NT TOTAL 

2023 - Members 59 27 31 4 6 6 1 - 134 

2010 - Members 72 41 48 12 7 8 1 1 190 

Variance -13 -14 -17 -8 -1 -2 - -1 56 

2023 - Stores 64 34 47 6 6 6 1 - 164 

2010 - Stores 94 57 81 19 8 11 3 1 274 

Variance -30 -23 -34 -13 -2 -5 -2 -1 -110 

IJC NSW VIC QLD WA SA TAS ACT NT TOTAL 

2023 - Members 29 9 11 7 11 1 - 1 69 

2010 - Members - - - - - - - - N/A 

Variance - - - - - - - - - 

2023 - Stores 36 10 12 8 13 1 - 5 85 

2010 - Stores - - - - - - - - N/A 

Variance - - - - - - - - - 

Leading Edge NSW VIC QLD WA SA TAS ACT NT TOTAL 

2023 - Members 8 8 4 - 1 1 - - 21 

2010 - Members 39 15 15 3 9 3 1 3 88 

Variance -31 -7 -11 -3 -8 -2 -1 -3 -67 

2023 - Stores 8 9 4 - 1 1 - - 21 

2010 - Stores 51 45 21 6 13 3 1 11 151 

Variance -43 -36 -17 -6 -12 -2 -1 -11 -130 

All Groups NSW VIC QLD WA SA TAS ACT NT TOTAL 

2023 - Members 200 106 109 34 45 17 8 4 523 

2010 - Members 244 139 148 46 52 26 8 6 669 

Variance -44 -33 -39 -12 -7 -9 - -2 -146 

2023 - Stores 225 131 132 37 47 18 9 8 607 

2010 - Stores 291 197 200 58 59 29 12 14 860 

Variance -66 -66 -68 -21 -12 -11 -3 -6 -253 

A state-by-state comparison of buying group membership and store count from 2010 to 2023. 

When undertaking a study of this nature, it’s essential to 

reflect on the past and outline a vision for the future. 

Nationwide Jewellers managing director Colin Pocklington 

makes an astute observation about the state of the industry, 

suggesting the nature of buying groups – and what they offer 

independent retailers – has changed significantly since the 

pandemic. 

“I was talking with a supplier recently, and he told me that 

buying groups have a clear need to evolve. Once upon a time, 

what we offered was trade discounts ahead of everything else. 

The industry now needs support in other areas,” he explains. 

"At the time, there was 

concern and industry 

speculation about the 

viability and need for a 

fourth group." 

“Small business owners often don’t have training in things 

like marketing and business management. The way things 

are going, I think it’s clear that jewellery stores need to be 

engaged with digital marketing – now more than ever before.” 

Pocklington continues: “What we are now as a business is 

different from what we once were, and I think we will get better 

as time passes.” 

IJC’s Zarb strongly agrees with Pocklington and says that 

digital marketing has been one of his key focuses over the 

three years IJC has operated. 

“Your social media activity should reflect the themes of your 

website, which in turn should reflect your store image, which 

is represented by your merchandising,” Zarb says. 

“Those are principles I work very closely on with all our stores 

to ensure they present professionally across all channels.” 

He adds, "I still think the biggest opportunity for all stores is 

understanding how to leverage their databases properly. I think 

that the jewellery industry could improve on that as a whole.” 

During adversity, people crave forward-thinking leaders with 

a strong commitment to success. It doesn’t matter if we are 

talking about sports, business, or family life – these traits offer 

reassurance when smooth sailing becomes a distant memory. 

Despite the overall decline of the jewellery industry in Australia 

and the pessimism about future trading conditions, it should 

be reassuring for local retailers to know that the three major 

buying groups not only have a plan for today – but also a vision 

for tomorrow. 

42

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43

44


BUYING GROUPS 

Leading Edge: What goes up must come down 

Leading Edge Group Jewellers (LEGJ) has always been 

the smallest of the three buying groups, in part because 

it is not exclusively focused on the jewellery industry. 

Unlike the Nationwide and Showcase business 

models, which only deal with fine jewellery retailers, 

LEGJ is a product division of the ‘parent entity’ 

Leading Edge Group, which has members from seven 

retail categories, including computers, appliances, 

electronics and books. 

When Joshua Zarb launched IJC in 2020, there was 

no doubt that the most vulnerable buying group - 

running the risk of losing members - was LEGJ, 

which this study now appears to confirm. 

Indeed, LEGJ has managed to experience a 

staggering fall since the introduction of a fourth 

group, and it is something that its staff and 

management are reluctant to admit, to the extent 

that some in the industry query whether it can 

legitimately claim to be a buying group. 

Ironically, in the inaugural State of the Industry Report 

- and under Zarb’s leadership - LEGJ generated the 

most significant increase in membership among the 

competing groups. 

LEGJ represented 88 members, accounting for 151 

stores in 2010, and by 2018, those figures had peaked 

at 135 members and 195 stores. 

However, since then, it has been nothing but bad news 

for the smallest of the three jewellery groups; its 

store count has declined by nearly 90 per cent. 

It seems that the concerns about the viability of four 

buying groups competing in a relatively small and 

specialist market may be ringing true. 

The matter is not helped by LEGJ management doing 

its utmost to obfuscate its falling numbers and mask 

an almost non-existent membership base. 

It is believed that many members have left the group 

in the past few years, and the decline seems to 

coincide with the launch of IJC. 

For more than a decade, each buying group would 

freely volunteer its latest membership and store 

count for publication; however, earlier this year LEGJ 

began reporting figures which included something it 

called ‘subscribers’. 

LEGJ members pay a monthly buying group fee of 

$89, whereas subscribers were meant to be stores 

that had purchased products from LEGJ’s wholesaling 

division but were not paid group members. 

Jeweller disapproved of this ‘subscriber’ terminology 

for many reasons. 

For example, it was akin to claiming a store that 

stocked Pandora jewellery or Seiko watches was a 

‘subscriber’ to Pandora or Seiko. 

These stores are simply ‘customers’ or ‘stockists’, not 

‘members’ or ‘subscribers’. 

At the time, LEGJ management claimed they could 

not separate the two types of businesses to accurately 

reflect the paid membership to the buying group. 

When Jeweller contacted chief operations officer 

Charlie Davey, as part of the research for this report, 

TABLE 5: LEGJ MEMBERSHIP AND STORE COUNT 

Year Members Stores 

YoY Membership 

Movement 

2010 88 151 - 

2012 103 157 17% 

2014 111 163 8% 

2016 136 186 23% 

2018 135 195 -1% 

2020* 89 124 -34% 

2023 21 21 -76% 

Can Australia support four buyings groups? Since 2018 LEGJ 

membership has fallen by 84 per cent and its store count has 

plummeted by 89 per cent. 

he again claimed that the company or staff could 

not easily distinguish between a paid buying group 

member and a retailer that had purchased a product. 

Instead, he provided data suggesting LEGJ had 

70 members with 101 stores; however, when that 

information was questioned, he dismissed Jeweller's 

method of defining members as “complex”. 

There was no doubt that LEGJ’s membership has 

plummeted since 2018 despite Davey’s insistence that 

members and stockists fall under ‘one umbrella’. 

Davey was asked to rethink LEGJ’s policy and 

accurately and openly report its genuine paid 

membership numbers. Following a refusal to do so, 

Jeweller sought the information from other sources. 

Based on a recent membership list, it appears that 

LEGJ can now only lay claim to 21 members and 21 

stores. The list included other businesses that cannot 

be classified as jewellery retailers in accordance with 

this report's definitions. 

Jeweller presented the research to Davey for 

confirmation; however, he did not reply, instead 

directing the email to CEO Lee Scott. 

If the data is accurate, LEGJ’s motivation for 

obfuscation concerning its membership decline is 

obvious; it has plummeted by 84 per cent since 2018 

(135 to 21), and its 2018 store count has declined from 

195 to 21 (89 per cent). 

Interestingly, in an email dated 11 November, Davey 

was more than happy to claim that there is a "healthy 

member group across the Leading Edge Business, of 

over 400 members and growing”. 

This comment came despite the refusal to provide 

an accurate number to the jewellery arm of the LEG 

because it is “too complex”. 

Other factors point to the decline of LEGJ’s jewellery 

division and buying group. 

For example, the Facebook page for ‘Leading 

Edge Group Jewellers’ has not been updated since 

December 2020. The last post on 23 December 2020 

reads: "And on the last day of Christmas, my true love 

said to me "Which diamond does your heart desire?" 

The Facebook post added: “Find your closest Leading 

Edge Jewellers store for last-minute Christmas 

shopping.” 

With that said, the group’s website (legj.com.au) is nonfunctional. 

The site appears to have been taken down. 

Further, the store locator on the parent company’s 

website (leadingedgegroup.com.au/jewellery) also 

appears non-functional. No stores can be located. 

In addition to these anomalies, other issues may 

have eroded LEGJ’s dealings and reputation in the 

Australian jewellery market. 

Of note is Troy Australia, a new jewellery supply 

business formed in 2021 and which was headed 

by former Showcase Jewellers managing director 

Carson Webb. 

Webb had previously worked at LEGJ and left in 2015 to 

join Showcase. Following his departure from that buying 

group, Webb rejoined LEGJ to launch Troy Australia. 

The new business’ mandate was to create a “retail 

initiative for independent jewellery retailers offering 

guidance, advice, and exclusive products to help 

businesses grow”, including exclusive jewellery 

collections, CAD, business assistance, and training. 

At the time, it was announced that LEGJ members 

would have access to Troy Australia’s jewellery 

ranges, which had been named a preferred supplier 

in late 2021. 

According to Australian Securities and Investments 

Commission records, it is the business name of another 

entity called Australian Jewellery Warehouse with the 

registered address of 72 Archer St, Chatswood, the 

same address as Leading Edge Group. 

Australian Jewellery Warehouse was registered in 

May 2020, and the director and secretary are recorded 

as Simon Richard Lane, former Leading Edge CEO. 

LEGJ had appointed its own company as a preferred 

supplier! Then came the launch of Diamond Republic 

in February of this year – a jewellery supplier 

spearheaded by former Lane. 

Interestingly - and confusingly - the Troy Australia 

website (troyaustralia.com) is non-functioning too 

and, instead, diverts to the Diamond Republic website 

(thediamondrepublic.com.au) without explanation. 

Even though ASIC records indicate The Diamond 

Republic was first registered only 12 months ago 

(22 November 2022), its website claims: “We are an 

Australian wholesale jewellery supplier with a long 

and proud history of supporting jewellery retailers. 

We have partnered with some of the largest 

international suppliers and manufacturers to 

provide quality products at competitive prices.” 

It is well known that, after many years of supporting 

LEGJ, many industry suppliers have not been happy 

with LEGJ creating competing businesses while 

simultaneously demanding and receiving discounts. 

Most say that LEGJ should decide whether it is a 

jewellery buying group representing its members 

or a jewellery product supplier; regardless, it 

appears that the importance of the group as a 

buying collective - with only 21 members - has 

waned if not become redundant. 

45

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Chain Stores: 

Full steam ahead 

The fine jewellery chain stores have fared well over the past decade but 

consolidation could be on the horizon as the 'big fish' look for new customers via 

brand differentiation. 

1,252 

Fine and fashion jewellery 

chain stores in Australia as 

of November 2023. 

Scale is vital to the 

success of jewellery chain 

stores. Marketing and 

promotional activities 

impact all stores equally. 


Jewellery chain stores are 

able to negotitate from a 

position of strength with 

shopping centre landlords. 

278 

Prouds stores in Australia as of 

November 2023. Prouds is the 

largest chain in the country, 

accounting for eight per cent 

of all jewellery stores. 

The trials and tribulations facing the general 

retail sector are hardly a secret. Yet, somehow, 

fine jewellery chain stores appear to be resistant 

to many of these external pressures. 

The 2010 edition of the State of the Industry Report 

(SOIR) documented the surprising resilience chain 

stores appeared to have in the fallout of the 2008 

Global Financial Crisis. 

Despite stiff competition for the consumer dollar, fine 

jewellery chains performed exceedingly well as they 

consolidated considerably over three years. 

At the time, there were 1,355 fine and fashion chain 

stores in Australia, occupying 32 per cent of the 

overall jewellery market. 

Of that figure, 977 were fine jewellery chain stores, 

with these figures not accounting for Pandora (41 

stores). There were 378 fashion chain stores. 

Fast forward to 2023, and the landscape has shifted 

dramatically. 

While the store count of Australia's fine and fashion 

jewellery chains accounts for 1,252, the makeup has 

changed significantly. 

That is, 13 years later, the fine chain store count has 

changed by five compared with 2010 (972) contrasted 

with only 265 fashion. 

This means that fashion chain stores hold just 21.3 

per cent of the market, a stark contrast to the 27 per 

cent share held a little more than a decade ago. 

While the decline of fashion chains is explained in 

detail on Page 46, in short, six of the seven major 

chains that existed in 2010 collapsed within a decade, 

with Lovisa the sole survivor. 

While Lovisa held a modest store count of 35 in 2010, 

that figure has expanded to 175 stores – occupying 84 

per cent of the total fashion chain market. 

"Another essential matter 

to consider is that chain 

stores now dominate 

retail space in the major 

shopping centres." 

What is most curious about this data is that while 

Australia’s overall jewellery store count (fine and 

fashion chains, brand-only and independents) has 

consistently declined in the past decade (18 per cent), 

fine chain stores have stood tall and weathered the 

storm. 

What is it that makes these chain stores so resilient 

to the kinds economic pressures that force other 

retailers to close? 

Papa Bear 

To understand the factors that have made fine 

jewellery stores so resistant to economic pressure, 

it’s worth closely examining the changes in the 

industry’s major players on a case-by-case basis. 

Unsurprisingly, the James Pascoe Group (JPG) 

remains the dominant force in Australia. It has been 

relatively stable for the past decade (469 stores in 

2010), with a decline in Goldmark locations (63 stores 

from 119 stores) outweighed by a focus on Prouds 

(278 stores from 217 stores). 

Today, the New Zealand-based retailer operates 

460 locations, only nine less than in 2010. 

However, it is JPG’s recent past that is most 

interesting. Since 2020, and following the COVID 

pandemic, its Prouds stores have expanded to 

17 new locations (278 stores from 261 stores). 

At the same time, JPG’s Angus & Coote brand 

decreased by three stores (119 from 122), and 

Goldmark also declined - by 13 stores (63 stores 

from 76). 

This leaves JPG with 460 stores, an increase of one 

store from our pre-COVID study in 2020 (459 stores). 

Michael Hill International (MHI) - another Kiwifounded 

jeweller - has been busy. Earlier this year, 

the company shocked the jewellery industry by 

acquiring Bevilles, the Victorian-based jeweller 

founded in 1934. 

MHI operated 144 stores in Australia in 2010 and, over 

TABLE 1: AUSTRALIAN JEWELLERY CHAIN STORE COMPARISON 2010 V 2023 

CHAIN STORES NSW VIC QLD WA SA TAS ACT NT TOTAL 

All Chains 2010 417 305 316 167 91 20 27 12 1,355 

All Chains 2023 370 272 309 162 77 18 30 14 1,252 

Variance -47 -33 -7 -5 -14 -2 3 2 -103 

Chart shows a state-by-state comparison of fine and fashion jewellery store counts in 2010 and 2023. While fine jewellery chains have fared well in adverse economic climates, several fashion chains 

have suffered significant collapses in the past decade. 

47

TABLE 2: 'STILL IN BUSINESS' - COMPARISON OF FINE AND FASHION JEWELLERY CHAINS 2010 V 2023 

ONGOING Ownership/Group NSW VIC QLD WA SA TAS ACT NT 

TOTAL 

2023 

2010 Variance 

Angus & Coote James Pascoe Group 39 20 32 17 3 3 4 1 119 133 -14 

Bevilles Michael Hill International 12 14 2 - 2 - - - 30 29 1 

Goldmark James Pascoe Group 24 8 22 6 - - 2 1 63 119 -56 

Gregory Jewellers Gregory Jewellers 11 2 - - - - - - 13 16 -3 

Hardy Brothers Wallace Bishop 1 1 2 1 - - - - 5 7 -2 

Hoskings Hoskings - 12 - - - - - 5 17 17 - 

Lovisa BB Retail Capital 47 43 43 21 13 2 4 2 175 35 140 

Mazzucchelli's The Jewellery Group 2 7 - 11 4 - 3 - 27 25 2 

Michael Hill Michael Hill International 42 34 28 20 7 4 4 2 141 144 -3 

Pandora* Pandora 42 31 25 17 7 3 3 1 129 41 88 

Prouds James Pascoe Group 94 49 67 39 16 6 5 2 278 217 61 

Salera's Salera's - 12 5 - - - - - 17 21 -4 

Shiels Transworld Enterprises 5 - 16 13 16 - - - 50 31 19 

Wallace Bishop Wallace Bishop 6 1 31 - - - - - 38 57 -19 

Zamels The Jewellery Group 8 6 1 11 7 - 3 - 36 100 -64 

Total 333 240 274 156 75 18 28 14 1,138 992 146 

After the collapse of a number of chains over the past decade, this table compares fine and fashion jewellery chains that have remained in business since 2010. It shows they have increased their store 

counts by 146. These stores, paired with the new chain stores that have emerged in the past decade, bring the total count to 1,252. 

TABLE 3: LOST CHAINS FROM 2010 

LOST NSW VIC QLD WA SA TAS ACT NT TOTAL 

Anthonys* - - 7 1 - - - - 8 

Bijoux 11 - - - - - - - 11 

Blue Spirit 3 - - 3 - - - - 6 

Butterfly Silver 3 6 11 - - - - - 20 

Dia Oro* - 6 1 - - - - - 7 

Diva 57 40 39 20 11 4 4 1 176 

Equip 36 23 25 9 5 1 4 1 104 

Goldsmith* - 7 - - - - - 2 9 

Grahams* - - - 7 - - - 7 

Magnolia Silver 10 6 2 4 - - - - 22 

Myka 1 9 - - - - - - 10 

Pascoes* - - 9 - - - - - 9 

Regency * 6 - - - - - - - 6 

Thomas 2 7 - - - - - - 9 

Total 129 104 94 37 23 5 8 4 404 

History Lesson: Lost chains from 2010 

This table records chain stores from 2010 that are no 

longer in business or those that no longer qualify as a 

fine or fashion jewellery chain. 

Those marked with an asterisk - Anthony’s, Dia Oro, 

Goldsmith, Graham's, Pascoes, and Regency - have 

continued trading; however, their store counts have 

fallen below the required level (five stores) to be 

classified as a ‘jewellery chain’ to qualify as a chain. 

It is with noting that of the total (404) 280 fashion 

jewellery stores (69 per cent) were lost following the 

collapse of Diva and Equip Accessories. 

Another notable loss was that of Thomas Jewellers. 

In October 2017 it confirmed the closure of its nine 

stores just one month after the chain announced a 

renewed focus on regional locations and the roll-out 

of new store designs. 

The business had traded since 1896 when James 

Thomas founded his first store in Ballarat, Victoria. 

TABLE 4: AUSTRALIA'S NEWEST FINE AND FASHION JEWELLERY CHAINS 

NEW NSW VIC QLD WA SA TAS ACT NT TOTAL 

Dinosaur Designs 3 2 2 - - - - - 7 

Colettte 19 16 16 4 2 - 1 - 58 

Finer Rings 1 4 - - - - - - 5 

Fuse Silver 3 - 2 - - - 1 - 6 

Mezi 5 - - - - - - - 5 

Mystique Jewellers - - 5 - - - - - 5 

Silver Shop - - 8 - - - - - 8 

Simon Curwood 6 4 2 2 - - - - 14 

Zohar - 6 - - - - - - 6 

Total 37 32 35 6 2 0 2 0 114 

New kids on the block 

Some of the jewellery chains shown on Table 4 

were not even in business when Jeweller published 

its first State of the Industry Report (SOIR) in 2010. 

Business, like nature, sees the old making way for the 

new and these emerging chains are a good example 

of this, as well as the philosophy that 'old ways won’t 

open new door's. 

Consider Simon Curwood Jewellers that began in 

2016 with one store and which has quickly risen to 

14 store stoday, compared to, say, Thomas Jewellers 

that closed in nine stores in 2017 after 121 years 

trading. 

48

FINE JEWELLERY CHAINS 

King of the Castle 

Chain No. % 

Pandora 

13.1% 

Jewellery Groups No. % 

Prouds 278 28.2% 

Michael Hill 141 14.3% 

Pandora 129 13.1% 

Michael Hill 

14.3% 

Angus & Coote 

12.1% 

James Pascoe Group 460 47.08% 

Michael Hill International 171 17.50% 

Pandora 129 13.20% 

Angus & Coote 119 12.1% 

The Jewellery Group 63 6.45% 

Goldmark 63 6.4% 

Shiels 50 5.1% 

Goldmark 

6.4% 

Transworld Enterprises 50 5.12% 

Wallace Bishop 43 4.40% 

Wallace Bishop 38 3.9% 

Zamels 36 3.6% 

Bevilles 30 3.0% 

Wallace Bishop 

3.9% 

Shiels 

5.1% 

Above: Some companies own multiple 

retails brands. This table shows chain store 

market share by ownership. 

Mazzucchelli's 27 2.7% 

Salera's 17 1.7% 

Hoskings 17 1.7% 

Simon Curwood 14 1.4% 

Gregory Jewellers 13 1.3% 

Mystique Jewellers 5 0.5% 

Mezi 5 0.5% 

Hardy Brothers 5 0.5% 

Total 987 100.0% 

Prouds 

28.2% 

Mazzucchelli's 

2.7% 

Salera's 

1.7% 

Zamels 

3.6% 

Bevilles 

3.0% 

The pie chart shows that Prouds continues 

to be Australia’s largest chain, with 

28.2 per cent of the market (278 stores), 

with its nearest rival, Michael Hill, with 

141 stores (14.3 per cent). In 2010 Prouds 

accounted for 34.6 per cent of the 

category. It should be noted that James 

Pascoe Group owns three of the top five 

chains - Prouds, Angus & Coote, and 

Goldmark. 

the next decade, expanded that network to 156 by 2020. 

However, since the pandemic, that figure has decreased 

to 141, but by acquiring Bevilles, the group's total 

ownership is now 171 stores. 

As previously mentioned, Lovisa has evolved into a 

dominant market force, expanding its store network 

in Australia by 400 per cent in 13 years. The company 

has opened 35 new stores since 2020, despite the 

impact of the pandemic. 

Pandora, meanwhile, has slowed its roll – after 

jumping from 41 stores to 125 between 2010 and 

2020, the world’s largest mass-market jewellery 

brand has opened just four new stores in the past 

three years. 

It should be noted that Pandora was defined and 

listed as a ‘brand-only’ chain in the 2010 SOIR – 

rather than a fine jewellery chain. 

The distinction is vital because Pandora was, and 

remains, both a supplier to the broader jewellery 

market and a prominent retailer of its brand. 

For this reason, the 2010 SOIR listed Pandora as a 

‘brand-only’ operator, defined as “one, or more, fine 

or fashion jewellery stores that sell and market its 

brand of jewellery and/or watches.” 

A brand-only retail network is usually a verticalmarket 

operation, does not utilise local suppliers, 

and stores are often owned and operated by the 

proprietor of the brand or under license via franchise 

agreements. Because Pandora is somewhat unique - 

it is a supplier and simultaneously a retailer - with its 

own stores, it has been reclassified as a chain store 

rather than a brand-only store. 

Mama Bear and Baby Bear 

The fine chain store category has always contained 

large, medium and small chains. 

Jeweller continues to define a ‘chain’ as: A group of 

five or more fine or fashion jewellery stores trading 

under a single (brand) name, with one ownership 

entity – either person or company - coordinating 

buying and marketing activities across the group. 

This could include a franchise operation. 

A chain store usually has central management and 

standardised business methods and practices. It will 

purchase products from local suppliers and/or import 

its products. 

In recent years, the middle ground of the fine 

jewellery market has been relatively stable. Since 

2020, The Jewellery Group’s (TJG) two brands have 

settled comfortably into this bracket, with 36 Zamels 

and 27 Mazzucchelli stores, leaving TJG with 63 

locations in total. 

"Recruiting has 

become challenging 

since the pandemic, and 

employees are increasingly 

asking for more. " 

Of course, the 2023 Zamel’s store count sharply 

declined from when the family business was sold. 

Zamels was founded in 1954 and, after evolving into 

a household name in Australia over the next half 

century, was sold in 2007 to Quadrant Private Equity. 

In 2010, Zamels had 100 locations as the nation’s 

third-largest jewellery chain. 

Industry speculation valued the Quadrant deal at 

between $75 million and $100 million; however, when 

all was said and done, the final figure was believed to 

fall well short – somewhere around $50 million. 

Even at this price, it was still considered an overpay. 

This was seemingly proven accurate when Quadrant 

Private Equity sold the company in 2012 to Mumbaibased 

M Suresh Group DMCC, one of the world’s 

largest jewellery manufacturers. 

“In a stunning depreciation, Quadrant is tipped to 

be offloading the group for less than $20 million – 

a loss of around $30 million in just over four years,” 

Jeweller reported. 

At the time of the second sale (2012), there were 102 

Zamels locations. Before the pandemic in 2020, there 

were 37 locations. 

Today, there are 36 stores, leading its ‘sister’ chain 

Mazzucchelli, which, in 2010, accounted for 25 stores. 

While Zamel’s has fallen from large chain to 

medium, the past 13 years have been productive 

for Transworld Enterprises. Shiels has not only 

remained in the medium-sized area; it has expanded 

from 31 locations in 2010 to 50 stores today. 

The group also owns Grahams, which has been 

reduced from five stores to four since 2020, 

meaning it no longer qualifies as a chain under 

Jeweller’s definition. 

Stability has also been the common theme for the 

Bishop family in Queensland, maintaining a store 

count of 38 for Wallace Bishop and five for Hardy 

Brothers. 

Wallace Bishop held a store count of 57 in 2010, 

meaning this figure has declined by one-third in the 

past decade; however, since 2020, it has not changed. 

It’s a story of stability among the smaller players, too 

- see table. Gregory Jewellers, Hoskings, and Saleras 

have all had negligible changes, rising or falling to 

small degrees. 

What’s on your mind? 

In Jeweller’s most recent special report – What Do 

Jewellers Think – chain store owners and managers 

were asked what they believed the largest challenges 

of the coming 12 months would be. 

Many predictions have proven accurate and will 

likely continue to plague chain stores heading into 

the new year. 

49


CHAIN STORES 

TABLE 5: FINE JEWELLERY CHAINS - 2023 STORE COUNT 

Chain - Fine Ownership/Group NSW VIC QLD WA SA TAS ACT NT 

TOTAL 

2023 

2010 Variance 

Angus & Coote James Pascoe Group 39 20 32 17 3 3 4 1 119 133 -14 

Bevilles Michael Hill International 12 14 2 - 2 - - - 30 29 1 

Goldmark James Pascoe Group 24 8 22 6 - - 2 1 63 119 -56 

Gregory Jewellers Gregory Jewellers 11 2 - - - - - - 13 16 -3 

Hardy Brothers Wallace Bishop 1 1 2 1 - - - - 5 7 -2 

Hoskings Hoskings - 12 - - - - - 5 17 17 - 

Mazzucchelli's The Jewellery Group 2 7 - 11 4 - 3 - 27 25 2 

Michael Hill Michael Hill International 42 34 28 20 7 4 4 2 141 144 -3 

Mezi Mezi 5 - - - - - - - 5 25 -20 

Mystique Jewellers Mystique Jewellers - - 5 - - - - - 5 - 5 

Pandora Pandora 42 31 25 17 7 3 3 1 129 41 88 

Prouds James Pascoe Group 94 49 67 39 16 6 5 2 278 217 61 

Salera's Salera's - 12 5 - - - - - 17 21 -4 

Shiels Transworld Enterprises 5 - 16 13 16 - - - 50 31 19 

Simon Curwood Simon Curwood 6 4 2 2 - - - - 14 - 14 

Wallace Bishop Wallace Bishop 6 1 31 - - - - - 38 57 -19 

Zamels The Jewellery Group 8 6 1 11 7 - 3 - 36 100 -64 

Total 297 201 238 137 62 16 24 12 987 982 5 

This table compares the 2023 stores counts of the fine jewellery chains to their 2010 totals. *Pandora was changed from its 2010 classification of brand-only to a chain store status for this report. 

TABLE 6: JEWELLERY CHAIN STORES AND POPULATION 

Australian Population NSW VIC QLD WA SA TAS ACT NT TOTAL 

Store count 370 272 309 162 77 18 30 14 1,252 

State Percentage 29.55% 21.73% 24.68% 12.94% 6.15% 1.44% 2.40% 1.12% 100.00% 

Population 8,294,000 6,766,600 5,418,500 2,855,600 1,844,600 572,700 464,600 251,700 26,468,300 

Australia's fine and fashion 

jewellery chain store 

count compared with 

state-by-state population 

data from March 2023. 

State Percentage 31.34% 25.56% 20.47% 10.79% 6.97% 2.16% 1.76% 0.95% 100.00% 

Variance -1.78% -3.84% 4.21% 2.15% -0.82% -0.73% 0.64% 0.17% 0.00% 

Census March 2023 

Trying to predict sales volume amid an unpredictable 

and erratic market was a common complaint – 

making ordering from suppliers difficult. 

These concerns were reflected in Jeweller’s recent 

survey of suppliers – who were asked about the 

quality of their retailer customers' product planning, 

ordering, and restocking habits. 

Just 13 per cent of suppliers described the situation 

as ‘excellent’ or ‘above average’. A startling 82 

per cent said product planning and ordering was 

‘average’ or ‘below average’. (See Page 77) 

While these figures almost certainly reflect 

interactions with independents and chains, the 

overall sentiment remains the same – ordering from 

suppliers is difficult because of the unpredictability of 

the market. 

Staffing issues were by far the most common 

complaint. Recruiting has become challenging 

since the pandemic, and employees are increasingly 

asking for more. 

In September, the Australian Bureau of Statistics 

published data detailing a 14.4 per cent increase in 

retail job vacancies since May. 

Australian Retailers Association CEO Paul Zahra said 

this news was particularly troubling as the holiday 

season approaches – the busiest time for jewellery 

retailers. 

“Unfortunately, this situation is exacerbating during 

the most critical time of year on the retail calendar – 

the Christmas trading period,” he said. 

Conductivity 

If, as our new study finds, independent stores have 

declined by 26 per cent since 2010, how do chain 

stores weather these economic burdens? 

Craig Woolford is a senior retail analyst with MST 

Marquee, a platform hosting investment experts' 

research. He suggests that the saving grace for 

jewellery chains is ‘scale’. 

“Across all retail sectors, scale has become 

increasingly important, even in a category like 

jewellery. Consumers will do their research online 

beforehand, and a retail business needs scale to 

ensure that they have a profile with the consumer,” 

he explains. 

“You need to be able to stand out and have a brand 

that produces good recall with consumers to ensure 

that you’re the first consideration for consumers.” 

Put another way, for example, the Prouds website 

offers digital marketing support for every store in 

the network – 278 in total. This means that each 

consumer marketing activity increasing the business 

profile is evenly shared among many stores. 

Conversely, for neighbouring independents, efforts to 

promote the business online benefit that store alone – 

and in a crowded market, standing out is difficult. 

“It all comes back to digital marketing, and remaining 

a first consideration for consumers because of this 

promotion is why independents are finding it harder,” 

Woolford continues. 

“This is a matter of scale – a single dollar spent by a 

chain promoting the company online can impact every 

store in the network, whereas a single store operator 

enjoys no such benefit.” 

Another essential matter to consider is that chain 

stores now dominate retail space in the major 

shopping centres. 

Whereas, 20 years ago, jewellery chain stores 

shared a shopping centre with a small number 

of independent jewellers; however, the dramatic 

increase in tenancy costs has all but driven family 

jewellery stores out of the major shopping centres 

(See Page 67) 

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Fashion Chain Stores 

Rapid rise and dramatic demise 

The past decade has been a rollercoaster ride for fashion jewellery chains, 

defined by explosive expansions and dramatic collapses. 


265 

Number of fashion jewellery 

chain stores in Australia. 

Pandora was once dismissed 

as 'cheap fashion jewellery' 

and is now the world's 

largest mass-market 

jewellery brand. 

Lovisa has grown from 

the 'little sister' of Diva in 

2010, to a dominant force 

in the Australian jewellery 

industry. 

30% 

Decline of fashion jewellery chain 

stores in Australia since 2010. 

Over the past decade, Australia’s fashion 

jewellery chain stores have proven to be 

something of a dramatic ‘flash in the pan’. 

At the time of the 2010 State of the Industry Report 

(SOIR), seven major companies accounted for 378 

stores – representing a remarkable 27.8 per cent of 

all chain stores in Australia. 

This sharp rise to prominence occurred within three 

years, with fashion chain stores expanding by 95 per 

cent between 2007 and 2010. 

By the decade's end, just one of the seven companies 

would remain standing – Lovisa. This means that of 

the 378 stores operating in 2010, 343 no longer exist. 

Interestingly, the trends of the second half of the past 

decade - which may have explained the rise of the 

category - have spiked again. 

Jeweller estimates that 265 fashion chain stores 

currently operate in Australia, accounting for just 7.5 

per cent of all jewellery stores. In terms of chains, 

fashion stores account for 21.3 per cent. 

Category blurring 

To understand what prompted the collapse of 

so many fashion chains, it’s essential first to 

explain the factors that drove their initial success. 

Correspondingly, to do that, one must first 

understand what differentiates fashion from fine 

jewellery. 

For example, less than 20 years ago, a new and 

unknown brand found its way to Australia and was 

quickly dismissed by jewellery retailers. 

At the time, Pandora was viewed as ‘cheap fashion 

jewellery’ manufactured in Asia. 

While the range consisted of beads and charms - 

nothing new given that the first records of charm 

bracelets date back to the Assyrians, Babylonians, 

and Persians from 600-400 BC - Pandora was also 

viewed as ‘too fiddly’ for fine jewellery stores. 

However, in less than five years, the company was 

Comparison of fashion and fine jewellery stores within the 

Australian jewellery industry. FIne jewellery chains remain the 

dominant force within the market, despite the expansion of 

Lovisa to 175 stores. 

credited with pioneering a brand revolution in the 

Australian and international jewellery industry. And 

it did that courtesy of a vast network of independent 

fine jewellery stores! 

Just like the line between fine and fashion jewellery 

has blurred over the years, so has the retailing divide; 

there once was a clear delineation between the look 

and feel of a store that sold fashion jewellery and fine 

jewellery. 

While it’s somewhat irrelevant to consumers, the 

industry broadly defines fashion products as made 

from base metals such as copper, brass, leather, or 

plastic. It could include ‘simulated gemstones’ made 

from glass, crystal or even plastic. 

Fashion jewellery also includes gold-plated and 

silver-plated base metal products. 

Pandora’s products - along with other brands - have 

moved up the ladder and now include silver and gold 

and, more recently, lab-created diamonds. 

Origin story 

The term ‘fashion jewellery’ is an evolution of a 

phrase popularised in the 1930s during the Great 

Depression – that being ‘costume jewellery’. 

Jewellers had begun making pieces with inexpensive 

glass around 300 years earlier. 

With personal budgets tighter than ever before, 

discretionary spending plummeted during the 

1930s. This limitation on purchasing occurred 

simultaneously with mass production and 

manufacturing expansion. 

The human affinity for jewellery and adornments 

is thousands of years old and inevitably survives 

any economic hardship. Precious metals were 

replaced by cheaper base metals, and diamonds and 

gemstones were replaced with whatever budgetfriendly 

alternative was available. 

The philosophy behind these designs was simple – 

fashionable for a time, then discarded and replaced 

with the next ‘flavour of the month’. 

In 2008, the Global Financial Crisis devastated 

countries worldwide as the largest economic crisis 

since the Great Depression. 

Predatory lending practices, excessive risk-taking by 

global financial institutions, and the rupture of the US 

housing bubble shattered international trade. 

In response, consumer discretionary spending again 

took a hit, and arguably, these conditions assisted the 

rise of fashion jewellery. 

Jewellers still viewed the category as something of 

an abomination – the ‘cheap and easy’ substitute for 

quality craftsmanship; however, retailers' offerings 

must reflect consumers' demands. 

Why argue about semantics when there were great 

profits to be made from the ever-returning Pandora 

customers looking for the newest bead or charm? 

That said, it is important for industry studies to 

attempt to define fashion and fine jewellery to 

measure and record statistics. 

52

AT A GLANCE 

Australian Fashion 

Jewellery Chains 

Collette 

21.9% 

Silver Shop 

3.0% 

TABLE 1B: FASHION JEWELLERY CHAINS 

Fashion Chain 2023 2010 

Lovisa 175 (66.0%) 35 

Collette 58 (21.9%) - 

Silver Shop 8 (3.0%) - 

Dinosaur Designs 7 (2.6%) - 

Fuse Silver 6 (2.3%) - 

Zohar 6 (2.3%) - 

Finer Rings 5 (1.9%) - 

Bijoux - 11 

Butterfly Silver - 20 

Diva - 176 

32 

NEW FASHION JEWELLERY 

STORES EMERGED BY 2023 

Lovisa 

66% 

Equip Accessories - 104 

Magnolia Silver - 22 

Myka - 10 

Total 265 378 

In 2010, there were seven fashion chains with a total of 378 stores. 

By 2023 five chains had closed; however, five new fashion chains with 

32 stores had emerged by 2023. This is an overall decline of 113 stores. 

This is done from an industry perspective 

because when it comes to the consumer, they 

are largely unconcerned about industry jargon 

and nomenclature, as the rise of Pandora perfectly 

illustrates. 

Indeed, from a humble beginning in the fashion 

market, Pandora is now the world’s largest jewellery 

brand. 

Major players 

In the years that followed the 2010 report, many 

of Australia’s fashion jewellery chains endured a 

dramatic demise. While the specific circumstances 

of each collapse vary, there were many repeating 

themes. 

As online shopping became increasingly popular and 

accessible, fashion jewellery naturally gravitated away 

from bricks-and-mortar stores. 

This was partly because of the low-margin, highvolume 

nature of the business model and, as a result, 

the target demographic for these products – teenage 

girls who live on their smartphones. 

Once onlne, the chains faced brutal opposition from 

established competitors – often based abroad but 

able to penetrate the Australian market due to the 

increased globalisation of international trade. Many 

of these competitors were already well-seasoned in 

e-commerce. 

Another challenge the fashion chains faced – 

shopping centre tenancy costs - stemmed 

partly from this target demographic. 

Speaking broadly, shopping centres were once the 

cultural ‘place to be’ for teenagers, whether on 

weekends or after school. Naturally, these fashion 

chains focused on capturing that market. 

As social media became increasingly popular, 

Australian teenagers moved away from shopping 

centres as cultural hubs. By extension, the profit 

generated from already low-margin products 

disintegrated further. 

Equip Accessories operated more than 100 stores 

nationwide in 2010; however, it was placed in 

liquidation before the end of 2017. All stores 

were closed. 

Butterfly Silver, a fashion jewellery business 

established in 2002, operated 20 stores in 2010. 

The company collapsed in 2018, closing all locations. 

Three additional fashion chains failed to see out 

the decade - Magnolia Silver, Bijoux, and Myka. 

At the time of the 2010 report, Diva was Australia’s 

largest fashion chain, operating a network of 176 

stores. 

"As social media became 

increasingly popular, 

Australian teenagers 

moved away from 

shopping centres as 

cultural hubs." 

The company was launched in 2003 by husband-andwife 

Colette and Mark Hayman and was sold to BB 

Retail Capital in 2005. 

At the height of its power, more than 500 Diva stores 

operated worldwide; however, in 2015, the company 

was placed in liquidation. 

If the name ‘BB Retail Capital’ sounds familiar, that’s 

because it is the company that owns Lovisa – the ‘sole 

survivor’ among these fashion chains. 

Diva long promoted itself as a retail chain targeting 

teenage girls, while the intention of Lovisa – launched 

in 2010 – was to “fill the void for high quality, fashionforward 

and directional jewellery.” 

The apparent intention was for the two companies 

to complement one another; however, just a few 

years later, it appeared that Lovisa had become the 

‘favourite child’ following the collapse of Diva. A 

steady stream of Diva stores closed while others 

were converted to Lovisa locations. 

Around the time of Lovisa’s launch in 2010, Colette 

Hayman returned to the Australian jewellery industry 

after a three-year hiatus courtesy of a non-compete 

clause following the sale of Diva to BB Retail Capital. 

Hayman launched Colette Accessories, beginning with 

a single store in the Sydney CBD before blossoming 

into a network of 120 stores within the next three 

years. It was a dramatic rise, perhaps too dramatic! 

Colette Accessories remained active until February 

2020, when the company was renamed Colette By 

Colette Hayman and was placed into administration. 

The fate of 99 Australian stores and 41 New 

Zealand stores was placed in the hands of Deloitte 

Restructuring Services. After an initial deal fell 

through, the business continued trading through 

administration until former Myer boss Bernie 

Brookes moved to acquire the failing business. 

Brookes was to own 90 per cent of the business, 

with the remaining 10 per cent owned by an 

unidentified silent investor. 

As an indication and confirmation of the relationship 

between the rise of the internet and the demise of 

fashion jewellery bricks-and-mortar stores, following 

the acquisition in 2020, Brookes told The Australian 

Financial Review that Colette’s focus would be to 

become a ‘true omnichannel business’ which would 

position itself for an upturn once the pandemic 

passed. 

He explained that if someone were establishing 

Colette as a fashion jewellery chain now (in 2020), 

“They wouldn't need 140 outlets - a network of 35 

stores was the right size”. 

Today, Colette by Colette Hayman has 58 stores 

nationally. 

53


FASHION CHAIN STORES 

As Bill Gates once observed: “Every change forces all 

the companies in an industry to adapt their strategies 

to that change." 

Top dog 

From humble beginnings as the ‘little sister’ of Diva, 

Lovisa has blossomed into the leading fashion chain 

in Australia and a dominant figure in the fashion 

jewellery category. 

Lovisa has 175 stores in Australia, with a powerful 

presence in Victoria (47 stores), New South Wales 

(43 stores) and Queensland (43 stores). 

This is a particularly impressive expansion given that 

Jeweller had compiled chain store data as recently as 

2020 when Lovisa had 140 stores. 

With that said, it hasn’t always been smooth sailing 

for the company, with persistent negative press 

undermining Lovisa’s reputation with Australian 

consumers. 

• In September, the Australian Financial Review 

revealed that Lovisa had been forced to pay more 

than $NZ150,000 to underpaid employees when leave 

and public holiday entitlements were ‘miscalculated’. 

• Earlier that month, a report from Yahoo News 

shed light on allegations that possible legal action 

was pending against the chain as former employees 

accused the company of ‘bullying’ and ‘demoralising’ 

staff. 

• Around the same time, reports on social media 

circulated where former Lovisa employees alleged 

that they were forced to work in ‘horrible conditions’ 

and even paid in gift cards. 

• Over the past 12 months, the pay of Lovisa CEO 

Victor Herrero has drawn public scrutiny. Herrero 

is paid approximately $AU30 million annually – more 

than the CEOs of Qantas, Coles, and Woolworths. 

These consistent jabs at Lovisa’s reputation and 

the company’s management are nothing new. 

Under Brett Blundy’s management, Diva hit the 

media headlines in October 2011 when it launched 

a range of Playboy-branded accessories ostensibly 

aimed at young girls, including pre-teens. 

The range subsequently created a consumer 

backlash. 

A company press statement at the time described 

the new range as "the perfect amount of jewels, 

and just the right amount of sexiness. Playboy for 

Diva will have every girl feeling glamorous and red 

carpet ready". 

Social media went into a meltdown, with irate 

customers, angry fans, and furious parents 

inundating Diva’s Facebook page with threats of a 

boycott. At the same time, women’s and children’s 

advocacy groups mounted vocal campaigns against 

the company. 

Complaints about the Playboy range claimed Diva 

was purposely promoting a brand that supported 

explicit, violent, and degrading pornography to 

'tweens’ and teenage girls. 

Melinda Tankard Reist, an Australian author and 

advocate for women and girls with Collective Shout, 

expressed concern over Diva’s new range, saying Diva 

was endorsing the Playboy brand – alongside Winnie 

the Pooh charm bracelets, Disney Princess pendants 

and Cute Cupcakes Best Friends necklaces – to girls 

as young as nine. 

TABLE 2: FASHION JEWELLERY CHAIN STORE COUNTS 2023 

Chain - Fashion NSW VIC QLD WA SA TAS ACT NT TOTAL 

Colettte 19 16 16 4 2 - 1 - 58 

Dinosaur Designs 3 2 2 - - - - - 7 

Finer Rings 1 4 - - - - - - 5 

Fuse Silver 3 - 2 - - - 1 - 6 

Lovisa 47 43 43 21 13 2 4 2 175 

Silver Shop - - 8 - - - - - 8 

Zohar - 6 - - - - - - 6 

Total 73 71 71 25 15 2 6 2 265 

A state-by-state breakdown of the fashion jewellery chain indicates that Lovisa, with 175, is the market leader. Note that Colette was 

launched in 2010 with one store. 

“Diva has become a willing participant in pimping the 

brand and its values to its 

young customers,” she said. “We are calling on 

Diva to remove all Playboy items from sale. Diva 

is complicit in grooming girls as consumers of a 

porn brand which portrays women as 'bitches' and 

'whores' to be used for men's sexual gratification.” 

The intensity of the anti-Diva campaign was unusual, 

primarily due to the ease with which disgruntled 

consumers expressed discontent on the company’s 

Facebook page, which, at the time, had 91,000 

followers. 

"Every change forces all the 

companies in an industry 

to adapt their strategies to 

that change." 

Consumer comments on the Facebook pages 

included, “Hi Diva. I will no longer buy from your 

store until the Playboy range is removed.” Another 

angry Facebook member said, “Shame on you for 

promoting an adult porn brand in a store that is 

primarily for young girls.” 

These media controversies could explain the 

company’s baffling decision not to participate in this 

report, with company directors outright refusing to 

provide any information. 

That is, basic information about store counts is 

available to the general public; however, for accuracy, 

researchers approach chains to confirm the data 

being published to ensure the figures listed online 

are accurate and up to date. 

Despite all other major chains happily cooperating 

in the best interests of transparency and accurate 

reporting, Lovisa’s leadership – as well as that of BB 

Retail Capital - would not confirm public information. 

That said, while Lovisa’s public relations and 

corporate social responsibility (CSR) may deserve 

scrutiny, the financial results of recent years speak 

for themselves. The company notched a record 33.1 

per cent increase in revenue for the past financial 

year amid expansion into 12 countries. 

Lovisa achieved sales of $596.5 million for the past 

financial year, with the increase attributed to price 

rises during the third quarter. 

Precocious puppies 

While the Australian fashion jewellery industry 

is dominated by Lovisa and, to a lesser extent, a 

revitalised Colette, many smaller chains are worth 

keeping an eye on. 

Specialising in silver jewellery, Fuse Silver began 

as a family-owned and operated business in 2002; 

however, it has since expanded to six locations - 

Sydney, Canberra, Brisbane, Townsville, and 

Tweed Heads. 

FinerRings is a relative newcomer to the industry, 

launching in 2018 under the watchful eye of Taiba 

Ash. 

Ash dipped her toes into the waters of the jewellery 

industry by attending local markets in Melbourne, 

and just five years after opening the doors at her 

first store on Chapel Street, she has expanded the 

business to five locations. 

FinerRings prides itself on creating ‘affordable 

jewellery that doesn’t end up in landfill’. 

Other chains are happy to play the long game. 

Dinosaur Designs was founded by creative directors 

Louise Olsen and Stephen Ormandy in 1985, and 

today has seven stores in Australia, as well as 

locations in London and New York. 

It’s a similar story with Silver Shop, with the first 

store opening in Toowoomba in 1999. Silver Shop is 

now active in eight Queensland cities, specialising in 

sterling silver jewellery. 

Is the stage set? 

While the purpose of this report is not to forecast 

industry trends, when you consider the factors that 

led to the rise of costume jewellery in the 1930s and 

fashion jewellery in the 2000s, an argument could be 

made that retailers can expect another resurgence in 

the years to come. 

According to a report by the World Economic Forum, 

almost two-thirds of chief economists entered this 

year believing that a global recession was likely. 

The Western world is currently experiencing weak 

consumer spending and consumer confidence, 

resulting in discretionary spending plummeting in 

a similar manner to the economic conditions in the 

1930s and 2000s. 

That said, it is unlikely that Australia will anytime 

soon see the number of fashion jewellery chain 

stores it once did. 

54

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56

Brand-only stores: 

Vertical integrators take a foothold 

The most significant change in the market has been the expansion of the 

international watch and jewellery companies as they take control of their 

brand image via a vertical market business model. 


239 

Number of brand-only jewellery 

stores in Australia. This marks 

a 185 per cent increase 

since 2010 (129 stores). 

Perception management 

is a priority for jewellery 

brands, and discounting 

is viewed as detrimental. 

Brand-only stores have 

aggressively expanded 

since 2010 as companies 

seek more control over 

the relationship between 

brand and consumer. 

40 

Watch and jewellery companies 

operating brand-only stores in 

Australia in 2023, nearly doubled 

the amount from 2010. 

One of the most significant changes in the 

jewellery and watch industries over the past 20 

years, but most notably over the past decade, 

is the development and evolution of brand-only stores. 

What began as a new concept has become a prominent 

‘player’. 

Jeweller defines a brand-only retailer as a fine or 

fashion jewellery store – or group of stores – that 

sells and markets its own brand of jewellery and/or 

watches. 

It is usually a vertical-market operation, does not 

utilise local suppliers, and does not distribute to 

third-party stockists on a large scale. Intriguingly, 

the company often started as a wholesaler (supplier) 

of its product to traditional retail outlets. 

Brand-only stores are usually owned and operated by 

the proprietor of the brand, or they could be operated 

under licence by local businesses. 

Today, that definition still applies, and there has been 

a dramatic rise in international brands expanding 

their presence in the Australian market, which, in 

turn, has resulted in the brand-only store model 

increasingly competing with independent retailers. 

The first State of the Industry Report (SOIR) in 2010 

recorded 153 brand-only stores and 17 flagship stores 

operating in Australia – a total of 170 outlets. 

It is important to note that the current report 

discontinues the flagship store category, which was 

previously defined in a similar way to a brand-only store. 

A flagship store could only be operated by the brand 

owner (not a third party), and it primarily served as a 

marketing channel rather than strictly a business in 

its own right. 

Whereas there could be many brand-only stores in one 

territory or city - think Tiffany & Co or Swarovski - a 

flagship store is singular. These stores usually stock the 

most extensive range of its product and are regarded as 

a ‘landmark store’ or ‘the face’ of a brand. 

One of the significant differences between the 

two business models was that the brand behind a 

flagship store - think Pandora or Thomas Sabo - was 

a traditional wholesaler, supplying its products to a 

range of independent stockists. 

Flagship stores take their name from a nautical term 

referring to the headship in a fleet of vessels – one 

determined as the fastest, largest, newest, and most 

heavily armed, or the best known. 

In retailing, flagship stores are designed to stand 

as ideal examples of their featured brand, excelling 

beyond lesser stores in every way – they have more 

products, greater access to brand marketing, occupy 

more floor space and hold a better position in terms 

of foot traffic. 

"What began as a new 

concept has become a 

prominent ‘player’." 

Said another way, they are designed to be the very 

best of what a brand has to offer. 

Therefore, flagship stores usually form part of 

a company’s marketing and advertising budget, 

meaning the store's profitability is less critical than 

its presence within a specific market. 

For these reasons, flagship stores are usually not 

large in number because, by definition, they are 

designed to be the lead store – the archetype of the 

company and the brand. By nature, there can only be 

one or a few leaders. They are also more expensive 

to operate. 

On the other hand, the products of a brand-only store 

were not (generally) provided to the broader market, 

thereby competing with its new stores. That said, the 

business model can differ slightly from one company 

to the next. 

For example, Swarovski jewellery is retailed from 63 

brand-only stores in Australia as well as via a range 

of stockists (independent jewellery stores). On the 

other hand, Georg Jensen does not supply to other 

retailers (stockists). 

In 2010, flagship stores were more common, and 

in many ways, Pandora was leading the charge; 

however, the industry has evolved, and while it's 

arguable that some flagship stores still exist - the 

Danish brand Ole Lynggaard still operates a flagship 

store as well as distributing its range via a small list 

of stockists - we believe that an all-encompassing 

brand-only category is more appropriate today. 

One final note on the changing nature of the industry, 

as well as the brand-only business model, is best 

exemplified by the watch brand Daniel Wellington. 

The Swedish company first distributed its popular 

watch range via a third-party Australian distributor 

and then switched to a brand-only store model. 

The company has moved back to third-party 

distribution while maintaining two retail stores. 

In 2010, it was believed appropriate to distinguish 

between brand-only and flagship stores; however, 

after more than a decade of evolution in the market, 

the difference is arguably irrelevant – particularly in 

the watch sector, which has changed dramatically 

over the past five years. 

Given these changes and the closure of many flagship 

stores (Autore, Briel, Storm, Georgini), Jeweller has 

determined that the distinction between flagship 

and brand-only stores is no longer substantially 

significant for an industry report. 

The flagship category has, therefore, been 

discontinued, and all flagship stores will be 

considered brand-only stores, regardless of the 

commercial nature of the outlet. 

Perception management 

Watch and jewellery brands place tremendous 

value in controlling the relationship between 

brand and consumer. 

57



TABLE 1A: BRAND-ONLY STORES STATE-BY-STATE – JEWELLERY BRANDS 

Jewellery 

Brand Stores NSW VIC QLD WA SA TAS ACT NT TOTAL 

APM Monaco 4 2 1 2 - - - - 9 - 9 

Bulgari 2 2 2 - - - - - 6 2 4 

Cartier 3 2 1 - - - - - 6 5 1 

Chaumet 2 1 - - - - - - 3 - 3 

2010 

TOTAL 

Variance 

George Jensen 4 5 3 1 1 - - - 14 11 3 

Graff - 1 - - - - - - 1 - 1 

Kailis 1 - - 4 - - - - 5 3 2 

Les Nereides Paris* 3 1 - - - - 1 - 5 - 5 

Ole Lynggaard 1 - - - - - - - 1 - 1 

Paspaley 2 3 1 2 - - - 1 9 4 5 

Piaget 2 1 - - - - - - 3 - 3 

Secrets Shhh 9 4 10 1 1 - - - 25 18 7 

Swarovski 24 15 12 7 3 - 2 - 63 32 31 

Thomas Sabo 1 1 - - - - - - 2 4 -2 

Tiffany & Co 3 2 2 1 1 - - - 9 5 4 

Van Cleef & Arpels 1 2 - - - - - - 3 - 3 

TOTAL 62 42 32 18 6 0 3 1 164 84 80 

Table shows the state-by-state brand-only jewellery store counts; Swarovski with 63 stores is the largest. 

1B: BRAND ONLY STORES STATE-BY-STATE – WATCH BRANDS 

Watches 

Brand Stores NSW VIC QLD WA SA TAS ACT NT TOTAL 

Bell & Ross - 1 - - - - - - 1 - 1 

Breitling Boutique 1 1 - - - - - - 2 - 2 

Bremont - 1 - - - - - - 1 - 1 

Daniel Wellington 1 1 - - - - - - 2 - 2 

2010 

TOTAL 

Variance 

Fossil 4 4 - - - - - - 8 14 -6 

Franck Muller - 1 - - - - - - 1 - 1 

Hublot 1 - - - - - - - 1 - 1 

IWC Schaffhausen 1 2 - - - - - - 3 - 3 

Jaeger-LeCoultre 1 1 - - - - - - 2 - 2 

Longines 1 2 1 - - - - - 4 - 4 

Michael Kors 4 4 1 2 - - - - 11 - 11 

Omega 3 2 1 - - - - - 6 2 4 

Oris Boutique - 1 - - - - - - 1 - 1 

Panerai 1 1 - - - - - - 2 - 2 

Rolex 2 1 2 - 1 - - - 6 - 6 

Seiko 1 1 - - - - - - 2 - 2 

Swatch 2 2 1 - - - - - 5 3 2 

Tag Heuer 1 2 3 2 1 - - - 9 2 7 

Tissot 1 2 - - - - - - 3 - 3 

Tudor Boutique 1 1 1 - - - - - 3 - 3 

Vacheron Constantin 1 1 - - - - - - 2 - 2 

TOTAL 27 32 10 4 2 - - - 75 21 54 

Table shows the state-by-state brand-only watch store counts. It's interesting to note that there are no brand-only watch stores in Tasmania, the Northern Territory 

or the ACT. 

58

TABLE 2: BRAND-ONLY STORES - JEWELLERY AND WATCHES 

Category 2023 2010 Variance % 

Brand-Only Jewellery 164 84 80 195.24% 

Brand-Only Watches 75 21 54 257.14% 

Chart shows a comparison of ongoing brand-only watch and jewellery stores in 

Australia from 2010 to 2023. 

TABLE 3: BRAND-ONLY ALL STORES COMPARISON 

All Stores 2023 2010 Variance % 

Store count 239 129 110 185.27% 

In 2010, there were 129 brand-only stores, and even though a number of brands 

closed their stores, such as Breil and Storm, that figure has increased to 239 by 2023. 

Note that Pandora was classified as brand-only in 2010 but is now considered a chain. 

With the cost of product development and marketing in mind, it’s 

only natural that these brands want to ensure they have a say at the 

‘vanguard’ of the relationship – the sales floor. 

Furthermore, brands don’t like having their products discounted or 

utilised by retailers in ‘pricing wars’ to attract customers to the store. 

Price, after all, plays a massive role in the consumer’s perception of 

the company and its products. 

The more expensive it is, the more desirable it is – discounting 

attacks the notions of luxury and prestige that marketers and 

product developers strive to achieve. 

The changing nature of the market is best demonstrated by the 

high-profile watch brands – mainly Swiss. Ten to 15 years ago, 

they were distributed via a wide wholesale channel to independent 

stockists/retailers. 

Many watch companies began establishing flagship stores to 

promote the brand, arguing that the flagship store itself was not a 

direct competitor to its independent stockists. 

However, many jewellers disagreed! While the flagship store 

strategy can work, especially in jewellery where repeat purchases 

are common – think charms, for example – it’s more complex for 

expensive ‘one-off’ purchases, such as luxury watches. 

This complexity stems from successful brands often considering 

their customer as the end consumer, and the ‘bricks-and-mortar’ 

retailer is merely seen as the delivery method. 

While the retailer is undoubtedly an integral part of the transaction, 

they are viewed as a facilitator of the transaction – they are a conduit 

between the brand and the consumer. 

With that perception in mind, the brand – justifiably – wants to exert 

more control over its relationship with the customer. 

After all, it takes a great deal of time, money and effort to market and 

develop a product, and a vital component of the product’s image is 

the perception of value and prestige. 

Time to take a stand 

Arguably, a $100 watch tells the time in the same way as a $10,000 

watch, so why pay the extra cost? These brands invest considerable 

energy and money to explain exactly why to consumers and do not 

want to risk retailers inadvertently undermining this messaging. 

As a result, the luxury Swiss watch brands began cultivating the 

flagship store model, establishing high-profile outlets in premium 

CBD locations as ‘destination’ stores that complemented their wider 

distribution to independent stockists. 

Yet, sometimes, the strategy backfired by souring relationships with 

those retail stockists. 

One notable case was the 2010 decision of luxury conglomerate 

Moët-Hennessy Louis Vuitton (LVMH) to open new Tag Heuer flagship 

stores in the Melbourne and Sydney CBDs while simultaneously 

closing the accounts of neighbouring stockists. 





TABLE 5: BRAND-ONLY STORES STATE-BY-STATE 2023 

The move was met with howls of protest from retailers 

who were already worried about losing sales to rival 

watch and jewellery stores – let alone dealing with 

direct competition from their own suppliers! 

In April that year, jewellery chain Angus & Coote 

took a stand. Reacting swiftly, the high-profile 

jewellery chain withdrew the TAG Heuer brand 

from all its stores. 

Asked at the time whether TAG’s decision would affect 

the way Angus & Coote would select its watch brands 

in future, Andrew Nock, then-general manager of 

merchandising and marketing, said, “Yes,” adding, 

“We see the supply chain as being a partnership; we 

give respect, and we expect respect in return. We 

want a win-win situation for all involved.” 

Controversy in the watch market was not new. In 2007, 

there was a similar uproar when the Swiss watch 

giant Swatch decided to open an Omega flagship store 

in Sydney. Although Swatch did not close surrounding 

Omega accounts, many stockists were up in arms. 

It is important to note that, in those days, luxury 

watch and jewellery brands avoided selling their 

products online. 

With the subsequent change in strategy – and their 

slow acknowledgement that they would have to 

embrace e-commerce – luxury watch and jewellery 

brands believed that consumers would still go out 

of their way to visit a destination (company) store 

because of their strong connection to the brand. 

The result is that today, in many cases, a luxury 

watch brand's only remaining distribution channel 

is via a brand-only store, either company-owned or 

operated under licence. 

In the jewellery sector, Pandora offers another 

case study into the changes in market dynamics. 

The 2010 SOIR listed the Danish company with 

one flagship store owned and operated by Pandora 

Australia and 41 brand-only stores – some operated 

by franchisees and others by Pandora. 

Now, 13 years later, Pandora has 129 stores – 

which it refers to as ‘concept stores’. 

In 2020, it announced the closure of its original 

flagship store in the prestigious Pitt Street Mall 

retail precinct, which it had occupied since 2010. 

The company opted not to renew its lease on the 

premises at the end of September following lengthy 

discussions with Scentre Group, Australia’s largest 

retail landlord and the operator of Westfield shopping 

centres. 

State of play 

NSW VIC QLD SA WA TAS ACT NT TOTAL 

Brand-Only Jewellery 62 42 32 18 6 - 3 1 164 

Brand-Only Watches 27 32 10 2 4 - - - 75 

Total - All stores 89 74 42 22 8 - 3 1 239 

Percentage 37% 34% 15% 3% 9% 0% 1% 0% 100% 

Chart shows a state-by-state breakdown of brand-only stores in Australia, with New South Wales (37 per cent) leading the country. 

Even though the flagship category is now redundant, 

it is still possible to compare the 2010 data with 

data collected in 2023 by combining the two 2010 

categories - brand-only and flagship. 

Excluding Pandora, this shows that 13 years ago, 

there were 20 watch and jewellery brands in the 

Australian market responsible for 170 flagship and 

brand-only stores, compared to 40 brands responsible 

for 239 stores today. 

However, Pandora’s business has changed to the 

extent that we now define its 129 retail outlets as 

chain stores rather than brand-only stores, in line 

with the notion that Pandora is not a verticalmarket 

operation. 

That is, Pandora still has a wide wholesale channel to 

independent stockists – unlike, for example, Tiffany & 

Co., Cartier, and Georg Jensen, which have vertically 

integrated business models. In 2023, its independent 

stockists now number 114. 

"Yet, sometimes, the 

strategy backfired by 

souring relationships with 

those retail stockists." 

A vertically integrated business consolidates 

multiple steps in the typical distribution process, 

from manufacturing to consumer purchase. 

Hence, Pandora stores are now classed as a 

‘chain’ for the purpose of our 2024 study. 

This means we can compare apples with apples 

and observe 129 flagship and brand-only stores in 

2010 (excluding Pandora) compared to 239 stores in 

2023, which is a substantial incease. 

Further, we can see that five of the 19 brands in 2010 

(Autore, Briel, Storm, Georgini and Guess) no longer 

operate any retail stores today. 

Despite this contraction, more than 30 new brands 

have entered the Australian market since 2010, 

meaning that there are now 40 watch and jewellery 

companies operating brand-only stores in Australia. 

It should be noted here that the increase in brandonly 

stores has been driven by a number of 

internationally renowned luxury conglomerates 

such as Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton (LVMH) and 

Richemont, which cover a wide range of products, 

from jewellery and watches to fashion and leather 

goods, perfumes and cosmetics. 

These groups account for many of the new brandonly 

stores introduced to the Australian retail 

economy over the past ten years – including 

Montblanc, Chaumet, Hublot, Piaget, Van Cleef & 

Arpels, Jaeger-LeCoultre, and Vacheron Constantin – 

and increases in the number of existing brand 

stores, notably Bulgari and TAG Heuer. 

International luxury brands such as Chopard and 

Hèrmes have followed suit. 

Notably, Kennedy Jewellers, established in Sydney in 

1976, operates eight boutiques (brand-only stores) for 

Rolex, IWC Schaffhausen, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Panerai 

and Graff. 

These have been included in this section of the SOIR, 

consistent with Jeweller’s definition that brand-only 

stores can be owned and operated by the proprietor 

of the brand or under licence by third parties. 

Rolex, for example, has two other boutiques in 

Queensland operated by Langfords Jewellers, 

while owner Richemont operates a second 

Jaeger-LeCoultre brand-only store in Melbourne. 

The evolution of the watch and jewellery brand mix 

over the past decade is also fascinating. Of the 19 

brands in the 2010 report, only six were watches; a 

decade on, that figure has more than tripled to 21 

brands. And not all are Swiss! 

Japanese watch brand Seiko selected Australia as an 

early location for its expansion into brand-only stores. 

In March 2016, its first store debuted in Sydney’s 

Queen Victoria Building, and a Melbourne CBD 

location followed in 2018. Importantly, in December 

2019, the company opened a new boutique for its 

prestige brand, Grand Seiko, at Pitt Street Mall in 

Sydney. 

Today, there are 75 brand-only watch stores; 

unsurprisingly, approximately 70 per cent of the 

outlets (59) are in Sydney and Melbourne. Of course, 

many jewellery brands also offer watches. 

Ups and downs, like-for-like 

There has been a significant move by international 

luxury goods brands to establish outlets in Australia. 

If we analyse the brand-only stores from 2010 to 2023 

on a like-for-like basis, we find some interesting 

results. 

Swarovski is the standout performer, having increased 

its store count by 14, from 32 in 2010 to 63 in 2023. In 

fact, it has opened 17 stores since 2020! 

Paspaley more than doubled its store count, from four 

to nine – equal to Tiffany & Co.’s local store count also 

at nine. TAG Heuer operated two retail outlets in 2010; 

today, it has nine. 

Over the same time, Bulgari increased its presence 

in Australia by four stores (from two to six). 

Secrets Shhh has had a topsy-turvy decade. First 

listed in 2010 with 18 stores, the retailer specialises 

in cubic zirconia jewellery and reduced its count in the 

ensuing years; however, its post-COVID presence now 

stands at 26 stores. 

However, that’s not the whole story. 

Jane Meredith, along with friend Dietmar Gorlich, 

co-founded Secrets Shhh in Noosa, Queensland, in 

2000. Under a franchise model, it quickly grew to 26 

stores across Australia and New Zealand before the 

2007–2008 Global Financial Crisis took its toll, as it 

did on so many retailers. 

By 2010, it was down to 18 stores, but a further 

decline was yet to come. In April 2017, the number 

of Secrets Shhh stores had fallen to only seven – 

four company-owned and three franchised. 

60



Jewellery vs Watch 

Brand-Only Stores 

TIME FLIES! 

The below pie charts best illustrate how 

the international watch brands have 

focused on the Australian market. 

2010 

In 2010, when the first 

industry report was published, 

watch brands accounted 

for only 21 brand-only stores 

(19 per cent); however, by 

2023 that figure has increased 

to 75 stores (31 per cent). 

2023 

Over the past 13 years, brandonly 

stores have increased by 

134 - 80 jewellery stores and 

54 watch stores. 

At that point, former Michael Hill International (MHI) CEO Mike Parsell 

acquired a majority stake in the business and reinvigorated the retailer. 

Parsell was well-placed for the task; he had been with MHI for 30 

years and was responsible for establishing the New Zealand jewellery 

chain in Australia in 1987. 

In October 2019, Parsell oversaw the opening of the newest 

Secrets Shhh store at Robina Town Centre on Queensland’s Gold 

Coast, bringing the total number of outlets to 17 – nine companyowned 

and eight franchised – almost to the same store count level 

as a decade earlier. 

However, since January 2020, Secrets Shhh has opened eight new 

stores, back to its peak around 2007. 

Another interesting ‘story’ is that of APM Monaco, a silver jewellery 

brand with seven Australian stores. It was founded in Monaco in 

1982 but is now headquartered in Hong Kong. It first expanded to 

Australia as a supplier/wholesaler but currently operates as a retailer. 

US-based private equity firm TPG Capital, which focuses on leveraged 

buyouts and growth capital, acquired a 30 per cent stake in 2019. 

APM Monaco is not the only retail brand that first attempted a 

comprehensive wholesale distribution in Australia. 

Danish brand Ole Lynggaard entered the Australian market in 2009 – 

with much fanfare – as a wholesaler. It established a flagship store in 

Market Street, Sydney, in October 2010 – one of just six worldwide. The 

others are located in Copenhagen, Stockholm, Singapore and Paris. 

The Sydney flagship store is still operating today, and the brand is also 

stocked by a small number of retailers, including Trewarne Jewellery 

in Melbourne and McKinney’s in Brisbane. 

The continuing expansion of brand-only stores best illustrates the shift 

from ‘retailer-centric’ to ‘brand-centric’ distribution and marketing – 

though there is, clearly, still a firm place for independent stockists in 

the overall strategy. 

PinkKimberley.com.au 


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Births, Deaths & Marriages: 

Good night and good luck 

All the world's a stage, and all the men and women are merely players. 

It’s time to reflect on the changing landscape of Australia’s jewellery industry. 

500+ 

Number of Diva stores 

internationally at the height 

of the business. The company 

entered liquidation in 2015. 

Widespread retirement 

among jewellery store 

owners has led to a 

'changing of the guard' 

within the industry. 


The collapse of jewellery 

industry chains is rarely 

without drama - and is 

often unexpected. 

$45.1m 

The value of Michael Hill 

International's acquisition 

of Bevilles, which was 

finalised in June. 

It’s been said that ‘change is inevitable, but progress 

is optional’. The timeless relevance of that statement 

becomes clear when reflecting on the evolution of 

the Australian jewellery industry in the past 13 years. 

Like all retail categories, jewellers have not been 

immune to the ups and downs of business cycles, and 

since 2010, many chain stores have ‘meet thy maker’. 

The good news is that there is a great deal of young 

blood and new faces, as many smaller businesses 

emerged to breathe fresh life into the fine jewellery 

and fashion jewellery categories, with several 

jewellers expanding to ‘chain store’ status. 

Jeweller defines a ‘chain store’ as a group of five or 

more fine or fashion jewellery stores trading under 

a single (brand) name, with one ownership entity – 

either person or company - coordinating buying and 

marketing activities across the group. 

This could include a franchise operation. 

Births: New kids on the block 

Simon Curwood Jewellers is an example of the steady 

development of a retail business into a new chain. 

While the family behind the retailer has been involved 

in the jewellery industry since the 1970s, Simon 

Curwood Jewellers has now evolved into a jewellery 

chain and expanded to 14 locations in four states. 

The Queensland retailer Mystique Jewellers, with five 

stores, is another example of an up-and-coming fine 

jewellery business that has evolved and expanded to 

‘chain’ status and are worth watching. 

The emergence of these businesses is in line with 

overall industry trends, as the total number of chain 

stores has increased by approximately 20 per cent 

despite a sharply contrasting decline in independent 

stores. 

The fashion jewellery category has also witnessed 

emerging chains such as Fuse Silver, FinerRings, 

Zohar, Silver Shop, and Dinosaur Designs since our 

2010 study. 

TABLE 2: DEATHS - GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN 

Closed Companies 2010 2023 

Bijoux 11 0 

Blue Spirit 6 0 

Butterfly Silver 20 0 

Diva 176 0 

Emma & Roe* 36 0 

Equip Accessories 104 0 

Magnolia Silver 22 0 

Myka 10 0 

TOTAL 451 0 

Seven chains with 451 stores in 2010 no longer operate in 

2023. *Emma & Roe: launched in 2014, and by 2018, had 36 

stores that were closed. 

TABLE 1: BIRTHS - NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK 

New Companies 2010 2023 

Dinosaur Designs 0 6 

Finer Rings 0 5 

Fuse Silver 0 6 

Mystique Jewellers 0 5 

Simon Curwood 0 14 

Zohar 0 6 

TOTAL 0 42 

While some chains close and/or fail, other chains emerge. Six 

jewellery businesses now qualify as chains (five stores or more). 

Deaths: Gone but not forgotten 

Indeed, death is one of life’s greatest mysteries. It’s 

as inevitable as the sun rising, yet we seem left with 

more questions than answers when it occurs. 

Why does a business die? 

Depending on whom you ask, there are many 

answers. On the surface, it may be as simple 

as costs exceeding revenue. 

However, in some cases, it can be more complex, as 

many businesses in the Australian jewellery industry 

have learned. 

The past decade's most profound ‘deaths’ have 

occurred among fashion jewellery chains. 

In 2010, Jeweller recorded seven fashion jewellery 

chains accounting for 378 stores; however, just one 

of those chains remains today; six eventually failed. 

While Lovisa seems to have moved from strength 

to strength - climbing from 35 stores in 2010 to 

175 today - Diva, Equip Accessories, Magnolia Silver, 

Butterfly Silver, Bijoux and Myka collectively closed 

more than 340 stores before the end of 2020. 

At the time of the 2010 report, Diva was Australia’s 

largest fashion chain, operating a network of 176 

stores. 

The company was launched in 2003 by Mark and 

Colette Hayman, expanding rapidly before being 

sold to BB Retail Capital in 2005. 

Under BB Retail Capital, the chain would peak at 

more than 500 stores internationally; however, it 

eventually entered liquidation in 2015. 

Budget jewellery chain Kleins was a leading 

industry figure in 2007 with more than 180 stores; 

however, the company was in liquidation by May 

of the following year. 

The franchise group collapsed, owing around $25 

million, with $15 million owed to secured creditors. 

On a case-by-case basis, the forces leading to the 

detonation of each collapse vary; however, these 

chains also faced overlapping pressures. 

Fashion jewellery is more suited to internet 

sales because of its high-volume but low- 

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BIRTHS, DEATHS & MARRIAGES 

average selling price, and, as a result, competition 

from established online businesses and emerging 

‘progressive’ rivals is fierce. 

The business model of these chains has also been 

challenged by consistent increases in shopping centre 

tenancy costs. The average rent cost per square metre 

can far outweigh those on the ‘high street’ and which 

further reduces profit. 

Over the past decade, failure hasn’t been confined to 

fashion chains – fine jewellery chains have likewise 

experienced disappointment. 

Michael Hill International (MHI) began exploring other 

markets in 2014 by launching a new jewellery brand 

and its first concept store - Emma & Roe. 

The business drew its name from Michael Hill’s daughter, 

Emma, and his wife’s maiden name, Roe. The launch 

occurred after an 18-month trial in five Queensland 

stores under the Captured Moments brand. 

It specialised in a range of charms, bracelets, 

necklaces, earrings, and stackable rings. 

After receiving 'encouraging results’, the company 

opened its first Emma & Roe concept store in Mackay 

(Queensland) in April 2014. Only four years later, the 

business had failed. 

In March 2018, MHI announced it would close 24 of 

its 30 Emma & Roe stores to ‘refocus the direction’ 

of the brand. 

According to the company, the 24 Australian and New 

Zealand stores would be closed by 30 June 2018. 

The remaining six stores would be repositioned to 

take on the ‘demi-fine jewellery’ market in smaller, 

concentrated locations. 

However, the brand’s final death certificate was signed 

only two months later, with the six remaining Emma & 

Roe stores closed in July 2018. 

In a company statement, the closure was attributed 

to a strategic review, with CEO Phil Taylor announcing 

that in the future, there would be a “singular focus on 

the Michael Hill brand.” 

“Management resources and capital that would have 

been required to reposition the Emma & Roe brand will 

instead be directed to our core business, Michael Hill,” 

he stated. 

Meanwhile, among the fine jewellery chains featured 

in our 2010 study, Blue Spirit (six stores) and Thomas 

Jewellers (nine stores) each closed their respective 

brick-and-mortar locations before the pandemic. 

At the same time, several other businesses have 

fallen under the requisite number of stores to qualify 

as a chain – Regency, Goldsmith, Pascoe, Dia Oro, 

Graham’s, and Anthony’s being prominent examples – 

however, these former chains have continued trading. 

Another notable and spectacular jewellery industry 

More than 38 per cent of retailers suggested that they are 

likely to - or are at least considering - retiring or selling 

their business in the next five years. 

While suppliers are less inclined than retailers to retire 

or sell their business in the next five years, a significant 

amount (28 per cent) suggested that it was likely. 

collapse was that of the Brisbane-based technology 

and diamond tracing company Everledger Australia. 

Led by self-described serial entrepreneur Leanne 

Kemp, the company was placed in liquidation with 

unsecured creditors totalling more than $19 million. 

Kemp attempted to save the business after it was 

under voluntary administration; however, a long list 

of controversies surrounding her previous business 

practices and failed ventures became public. 

The company’s UK-based parent, Foreverhold 

Limited, was placed into liquidation in May 2023, 

while the Australian business suffered the same 

fate two months later. 

Marriages: Two becomes one 

MHI delivered the most unexpected story of 2023 

when, in April, it confirmed the acquisition of retail 

rival Bevilles. 

As soon as the ink had dried on a $45 million deal, 

MHI assumed control of 26 stores in Victoria, NSW, 

and SA and announced plans to open 80 new Bevilles 

locations by 2028, including expansion into Canada and 

New Zealand. 

At the time, MHI CEO Daniel Bracken said that the 

strength of Bevilles in gold and silver products would 

complement the company’s reputation for diamond 

jewellery – with this new marriage intended to create a 

more ‘well-rounded’ offering to consumers. 

“It has a completely different product proposition to the 

MHI business and is predominantly focused on gold, 

silver, and watches, whereas MHI is predominantly 

diamonds,” he told The Australian Financial Review. 

“The majority of Bevilles pricing sits below $500. 

We’ve stepped away from the mid-market, but we 

see that there’s still a big opportunity at that end 

of the market.” 

It is worth noting that in 2010, MHI operated 140 

stores in Australia, while Bevilles held 29. 

Over the next 13 years, the two companies would 

head in opposite directions in terms of retail success. 

Bevilles entered voluntary administration in April 2014, 

with a proposed business restructure presented to 

creditors. 

It was the first significant jewellery retailer to fail 

in 18 years. The Melbourne-based company had 

incurred trading losses of more than $10 million over 

the previous three years, and total claims against it 

amounted to $14 million. 

Bevilles would survive an eventual restructuring and 

retain control of 16 existing stores; however, three 

years later, a 49 per cent stake in the company was 

sold to India’s Tara Jewels. 

Conversely, MHI’s store count reached 156 in 2020 

before declining to 141 during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

While the company’s store count has fallen compared 

to 2010, it’s said that the best revenge is ‘living well’; on 

the surface, this philosophy applies to the 44-year-old 

company. 

Despite the impact of the pandemic, Michael Hill has 

reported record revenue in recent years, including $628 

million in 2022. 

The company has also continued to expand in New 

Zealand and Canada. Its acquisition of Bevilles was 

financed by a three-year, $90 million credit facility 

from ANZ and HSBC. 

65

66

Shopping centres: 

Frontline in the retail war 

Australia’s shopping centres are a towering figure in the retail 

sector. Over the past 20 years fine and fashion jewellery stores 

have played an integral part in their speciality store 'mix'. 


85% 

Percentage of Australian 

shopping centres (91) 

that enjoyed increased 

revenue in 2022. 

Sydney is the capital 

city with the most 

jewellers in shopping 

centres as a percentage 

of total stores. 

Shopping centres 

offer a range of 

benefits to jewellery 

retailers, including 

increased security. 

$1b 

Nine shopping centres 

in Australia exceeded $1 

billion in sales in 2022. 

Shopping centres play an integral role in both the 

retail sector and the national economy and are a 

powerful force in consumer behaviour. 

In 2022, it was estimated that shopping centres 

accounted for $183 billion in sales, approximately 8.3 

per cent of Australia’s gross domestic product. 

The retail sector accounts for around 10 per cent 

of the Australian workforce, of which two-thirds 

are employed in shopping centres. Indeed, retail 

is the single highest private sector contributor to 

employment in Australia. 

Shopping centres are also important to and for 

jewellery retailers. 

They have traditionally provided a steady stream 

of shoppers and potential customers who roam 

the aisles; however, these centres also offer other 

benefits that suit jewellery stores, perhaps a little 

more than most other retail categories: security! 

Due to the nature of the high-value product, a jeweller 

on a suburban high street is more susceptible to 

burglary and robbery than a store in a large suburban 

shopping centre. This and other reasons are why 

jewellers have been attracted to locating stores in 

these ‘hubs’. 

In the early 2000s, there was debate around whether 

Australia was ‘over-retailed’. According to some 

experts, we had too many brands, too many shops, 

and too many choices. As part of that debate, Jeweller 

wondered whether there were too many jewellers. 

Putting aside the question of ‘how many is too many’ 

and who should decide the correct number, a 2003 

study was undertaken to measure the number of 

jewellery stores in all the major shopping centres of 

Australia’s eight capital cities. 

Such an analysis had never previously been done 

for jewellery and, most likely, many other retail 

categories. 

What the research found surprised many because, 

in part, it uncovered a formula used by landlords 

for nearly every shopping centre. And that formula 

specifically targeted jewellers! 

It is fitting that - 20 years later - the matter be 

explored again in this State of the Industry Report 

(SOIR) to ascertain if there has been a change in the 

retail mix of the very same shopping centres. 

In other words, two decades on, where and how 

do jewellers fit into the tenancy business model of 

Australia’s shopping centre behemoths? 

A time before the internet 

It is easy to forget, or at least overlook, that there was 

a time when we existed without the Internet. It was 

a time when deciding which product or brand to buy 

involved actually going shopping. 

People didn’t ‘research’ something; they went 

shopping for it - the actual activity (walking and 

looking) was the research, unlike today in the digital 

age of immediacy. 

Australia 

TABLE 1A: ALL CAPITAL CITIES: STORE COUNT COMPARISON 2003 TO 2023 

CITY 

2023 

STORES 

2003 

STORES 

VARIANCE 

2023 

JEWELLERS 

2003 

JEWELLERS 

Sydney 4,384 3,988 396 246 236 10 

Melbourne 3,821 3,500 321 182 172 10 

Brisbane 2,175 1,773 402 88 98 -10 

Perth 1,518 1,241 277 80 74 6 

Adelaide 1,112 986 126 50 39 11 

Hobart 162 195 -33 8 8 0 

Canberra 692 636 56 24 26 -2 

Darwin 204 242 -38 9 14 -5 

TOTAL 14,068 12,561 1,507 687 667 20 

This table compares the capital city shopping centre store counts over a 20 year period; from 2003-2023. It also compares the 

variation in jeweller store counts within each capital city. 

VARIANCE 

TABLE 1B: JEWELLERS AS A % OF TOTAL STORES 

CITY 2023 2003 VARIANCE 

Sydney 5.61% 5.92% -0.31% 

Melbourne 4.76% 4.91% 3.12% 

Brisbane 4.05% 5.53% -1.48% 

Perth 5.27% 5.96% -0.69% 

Adelaide 4.50% 3.96% 0.54% 

Hobart 4.94% 4.10% 0.84% 

Canberra 3.47% 4.09% -0.62% 

Darwin 4.41% 5.79% 1.37% 

This table compares the capital city shopping centre store 

counts over a 20 year period; from 2003-2023. It also 

compares jewellery stores as a percentage of city. 

67



New South Wales 

TABLE 2A: SYDNEY - STORE COUNT COMPARISON 2003 TO 2023 

CENTRE NAME 

2023 

STORES 

2003 

STORES 

VARIANCE 

2023 

JEWELLERS 

2003 

JEWELLERS 

Bankstown Square 197 246 -49 14 14 0 

VARIANCE 

Baulkam Hills 82 62 20 1 2 -1 

Blacktown 292 170 122 14 9 5 

Broadway 144 121 23 6 4 2 

Burwood 222 239 -17 14 18 -4 

Centrepoint 225 130 95 21 13 8 

Chatswood 224 260 -36 9 18 -9 

Eastgardens 227 250 -23 10 13 -3 

Figtree 79 77 2 3 4 -1 

Hornsby 279 320 -41 7 15 -8 

Hurstville 226 240 -14 12 16 -4 

Liverpool 276 220 56 15 15 0 

Merrylands 175 85 90 10 4 6 

Miranda 409 336 73 23 18 5 

Mt Druitt 216 187 29 9 9 0 

North Rocks 67 87 -20 2 3 -1 

Parramatta 393 391 2 27 22 5 

Queen Victoria Bldg 127 180 -53 26 23 3 

Warringah Mall 328 280 48 15 11 4 

Wetherill Park 196 107 89 8 5 3 

TOTAL 4,384 3,988 396 246 236 10 

Bondi Junction* 310 0 310 17 0 17 

* Under redevelopment in 2003 

2B: JEWELLERS AS A % OF TOTAL STORES 

CENTRE NAME 2023 2003 VARIANCE 

Bankstown Square 7.11% 5.69% 1.42% 

Baulkam Hills 1.22% 3.23% -2.01% 

Blacktown 4.79% 5.29% -0.50% 

Broadway 4.17% 3.31% 0.86% 

Burwood 6.31% 7.53% -1.23% 

Centrepoint 9.33% 10.00% -0.67% 

Chatswood 4.02% 6.92% -2.91% 

Eastgardens 4.41% 5.20% -0.79% 

Figtree 3.80% 5.19% -1.40% 

Hornsby 2.51% 4.69% -2.18% 

Hurstville 5.31% 6.67% -1.36% 

Liverpool 5.43% 6.82% -1.38% 

Merrylands 5.71% 4.71% 1.01% 

Miranda 5.62% 5.36% 0.27% 

Mt Druitt 4.17% 4.81% -0.65% 

North Rocks 2.99% 3.45% -0.46% 

Parramatta 6.87% 5.63% 1.24% 

Queen Victoria Bldg 20.47% 12.78% 7.69% 

Warringah Mall 4.57% 3.93% 0.64% 

Wetherill Park 4.08% 4.67% -0.59% 

TOTAL 5.61% 5.92% -0.31% 

Bondi Junction* 

And what that meant to retailers - or how they 

benefited - was that the store staff had a significant 

influence on the consumer’s pre-purchase 

decision(s), again, unlike today, where almost all 

decisions have been made via a smartphone or 

computer before visiting a store or shopping centre. 

Think of it this way: the retail stores and staff acted 

as the research centres instead of the internet. 

In short, the shopping experience has changed 

dramatically! 

The 2003 shopping centre investigation revealed 

that among the 70 major shopping centres loaded 

in each capital city, there were 12,561 stores. At 

the time, the Shopping Centre Council of Australia 

(SSCA) estimated that shopping centres generated 

approximately $84 billion in retail sales each year. 

But, here’s the thing - of the 12,561 stores, jewellery 

retailers accounted for 5.31 per cent. 

That figure is a little ‘empty’ until you realise that 

jewellers accounted for plus or minus five per cent of 

every shopping centre surveyed. 

The commonality was no coincidence! 

When the same research was done in 2010, this 

‘issue’ of a seemingly over-representation of 

jewellery stores intensified. The study found that 

the total store count for the same shopping centres 

seven years earlier had increased by 14 per cent on a 

like-for-like basis, and jewellery retailers accounted 

for 5.47 per cent of these stores – a modest rise. 

The critical insight was that while jewellery 

SHOPPING CENTRE STORE MIX 

Category % 

Fine jewellery chain stores 50.36% 

Fashion jewellery chain stores 13.77% 

Independent stores 21.09% 

Brand-only stores 13.06% 

Watch and services 1.72% 

Chart shows the mix of jewellery stores in Australian shopping 

centres in 2023. 

accounted for just 1.4 per cent of overall retail sales 

in 2010, shopping centres were still dominated by 

jewellery retailers as more than five per cent of total 

stores. 

According to Jeweller’s latest research, there 

are 14,068 stores in shopping centres located in 

Australian capital cities. 

This is a 10.71 per cent increase from the data in 

2003; however, given that Australia’s total population 

has expanded by 34 per cent from 19.72 million in 

2003 to 26.47 million in 2023, this would suggest that 

local consumers are comparatively ‘less retailed’ 

than they once were. 

Regarding jewellery retailers, the latest data reveals 

that there are 687 stores in shopping centres located 

in capital cities – making up 4.86 per cent of the total 

store count. 

Craig Woolford is a senior retail analyst with MST 

Marquee, a platform hosting research conducted by 

investment experts. He says the retail environment 

has changed considerably since Jeweller’s first 

report was published 20 years ago. And Woolford 

should know; he offered insight into the 2003 study. 

“We’ve experienced somewhat limited floorspace 

growth in retail over the past five years specifically, 

and if you look forward over the next five years, we 

are anticipating very little growth again,” he explains. 

“So while Australia still has plenty of retail floor 

space available, we are also seeing decent population 

growth, which has resulted in an ‘evening out’ of 

what you might consider the balance between 

68



TABLE 3A: MELBOURNE - STORE COUNT COMPARISON 2003 TO 2023 


Victoria 

CENTRE NAME 

2023 

STORES 

2003 

STORES 

VARIANCE 

2023 

JEWELLERS 

2003 

JEWELLERS 

VARIANCE 

Airport West 159 165 -6 7 8 -1 

Altona Gate 59 83 -24 1 3 -2 

Chadstone 419 378 41 36 19 17 

Chirnside Park 109 120 -11 5 6 -1 

Doncaster 387 210 177 15 10 5 

Eastland 359 255 104 15 15 0 

Epping Plaza 120 136 -16 8 4 4 

Forest Hill 152 180 -28 6 7 -1 

Fountain Gate 395 305 90 16 12 4 

Gladstone Park 72 98 -26 8 2 6 

Greensborough Plaza 176 180 -4 6 11 -5 

Highpoint 423 301 122 18 19 -1 

Knox City 297 350 -53 14 19 -5 

Southland 335 402 -67 14 23 -9 

The Glen 188 170 18 10 6 4 

Victoria Gardens 63 75 -12 1 4 -3 

Waverly Gardens 108 92 16 2 4 -2 

TOTAL 3,821 3,500 321 182 172 10 

Melbourne Central * 91 0 91 7 0 7 


Airport West 4.40% 4.85% -0.45% 

Altona Gate 1.69% 3.61% -1.92% 

Chadstone 8.59% 5.03% 3.57% 

Chirnside Park 4.59% 5.00% -0.41% 

Doncaster 3.88% 4.76% -0.89% 

Eastland 4.18% 5.88% -1.70% 

Epping Plaza 6.67% 2.94% 3.73% 

Forest Hill 3.95% 3.89% 0.06% 

Fountain Gate 4.05% 3.93% 0.12% 

Gladstone Park 11.11% 2.04% 9.07% 

Greensborough Plaza 3.41% 6.11% -2.70% 

Highpoint 4.26% 6.31% -2.06% 

Knox City 4.71% 5.43% -0.71% 

Southland 4.18% 5.72% -1.54% 

The Glen 5.32% 3.53% 1.79% 

Victoria Gardens 1.59% 5.33% -3.75% 

Waverly Gardens 1.85% 4.35% -2.50% 

TOTAL 4.76% 4.91% 3.12% 

Melbourne Central * 

» IMPORTANT: The various tables here and on subsequent pages, show each major shopping centre in each of capital city and compares total store counts over a 20 year period; from 2003- 

2023. It also compares jewellery stores as a percentage of each shopping centre. As you will note, the data demonstrates the continuation of a formula first identified in 2003, where the average 

percentage of jewellery stores in each shopping centre is always five per cent of the total store counts, give or take one percent. 

consumers and retailers.” 

This refers to the issue of ‘over-retailed’ or an 

overabundance of choice. 

He adds: “What we’re also seeing is that while there 

is still plenty of retail floor space, the areas where 

retailers most want to position themselves – where 

shoppers want to go, and where sales are at their 

best – are in very high demand.” 

Picture of today 

Sydney and Melbourne have seen a considerable 

rise in shopping centre store counts in the past two 

decades, increasing by nine per cent and eight per 

cent, respectively. 

These two cities are also similar regarding jewellery 

retailers as a percentage of overall stores in shopping 

centres, with Sydney sitting at 5.61 per cent and 

Melbourne at 4.76 per cent. 

The total store count in Brisbane has increased by 

18.4 per cent; however, Brisbane went against the 

trend. The number of jewellers declined by more 

than 11.36 per cent, in line with a significant decline 

in Queensland’s number of independent jewellers 

during the same period. 

Jewellers represent just 4.05 per cent of stores in 

Brisbane’s shopping centres. 

Perth has seen a similar expansion of overall stores 

as Brisbane, increasing by 22.7 per cent; however, 

the number of jewellers is closer to that of Sydney 

and Melbourne at 4.86 per cent. Perth’s store count 

expansion has been the largest in Australia over the 

past two decades (18.25 per cent), while Hobart has 

declined the most, dropping by 20.37 per cent. 

Interestingly, the mix in Tasmania remains in line with 

other major cities, with jewellers still making up 4.94 

per cent of stores. 

As the table indicates, the landlords maintain a 

formula of around five per cent two decades later. 

"Think of it this way: the 

retail stores and staff acted 

as the research centres 

instead of the internet." 

Eloise Zoppos is a research and engagement director 

with Australian Consumer and Retail Studies, based 

at the Monash Business School in Melbourne. She 

says optimising floor space is akin to walking a 

tightrope for shopping centres. 

“It’s crucial that shopping centres get their tenancy 

mix right for the success of their retailers, but also 

for the experience of their customers,” she tells 

Jeweller. 

National Retail Association director Rob Godwin 

echoed this sentiment, suggesting that the ‘secret to 

success’ for retailers is to embrace change – or risk 

being left behind. 

“The retail landscape is ever evolving and evergrowing. 

Customers have access to more retail 

options than ever before,” he said. 

“Increased competition means retail businesses are 

continuously finding new innovative ways to cater to 

the customer.” 

In recent years, priorities have been shifted for 

landlords; since the pandemic, traffic at shopping 

centres has decreased; however, sales remain above 

pre-COVID levels. 

This has been attributed to consumers performing 

more research before shopping – meaning they enter 

shopping centres with a specific product in mind 

rather than merely browsing. 

In response to this change in consumer behaviour 

and other factors, landlords are prioritising ‘timeconsuming’ 

tenants that offer products and services 

that can’t easily be found online. 

“All shopping centres want traffic. They want 

consumers to spend time in the centre, and the best 

shopping centres are experts in making this happen 

with the tenancy mix. We’ve seen the rise of things 

like ‘food precincts’ with cafes and restaurants rather 

than mere food courts as an example,” Woolford 

explains. 

“Many shopping centres have reimagined the 

cinema precinct, changing how it looks and adding 

restaurants nearby to make it more of a destination 

for consumers. Similarly, we’ve also seen a growth in 

health and beauty services at shopping centres, which 

69



TABLE 4A: BRISBANE - STORE COUNT COMPARISON 2003 TO 2023 


Queensland 

CENTRE NAME 

2023 

STORES 

2003 

STORES 

VARIANCE 

2023 

JEWELLERS 

2003 

JEWELLERS 

Carindale 369 273 96 16 14 2 

Chermside 446 256 190 20 11 9 

VARIANCE 

Garden City 365 220 145 13 16 -3 

Hyperdome 216 220 -4 9 12 -3 

Indooroopilly 300 280 20 9 15 -6 

Strathpine 134 140 -6 6 9 -3 

Redbank Plaza 86 114 -28 1 4 -3 

Grand Plaza 121 110 11 9 9 0 

Toombul 138 160 -22 5 8 -3 

TOTAL 2,175 1,773 402 88 98 -10 


Carindale 4.34% 5.13% -0.79% 

Chermside 4.48% 4.30% 0.19% 

Garden City 3.56% 7.27% -3.71% 

Grand Plaza 4.17% 5.45% -1.29% 

Hyperdome 3.00% 5.36% -2.36% 

Indooroopilly 4.48% 6.43% -1.95% 

Redbank 1.16% 3.51% -2.35% 

Strathpine 7.44% 8.18% -0.74% 

Toombul 3.62% 5.00% -1.38% 

TOTAL 4.05% 5.53% -1.48% 

ACT 

TABLE 5A: CANBERRA - STORE COUNT COMPARISON 2003 TO 2023 

CENTRE NAME 2023 Stores 2003 Stores Variance 

2023 

Jewellers 

2003 

Jewellers 

Belconnen 259 206 53 9 10 -1 

Hyperdome 172 170 2 5 6 -1 

Riverside Plaza 56 40 16 2 3 -1 

Woden Plaza 205 220 -15 8 7 1 

Variance 

TOTAL 692 636 56 24 26 -2 


CENTRE NAME 2023 2003 Variance 

Belconnen 3.47% 4.85% -1.38% 

Hyperdome 2.91% 3.53% -0.62% 

Riverside Plaza 3.57% 7.50% -3.93% 

Woden Plaza 3.90% 3.18% 0.72% 

TOTAL 3.47% 4.09% -0.62% 

Tasmania 

TABLE 6A: HOBART - STORE COUNT COMPARISON 2003 TO 2023 


2023 

Jewellers 

2003 

Jewellers 

Centrepoint 32 38 -6 1 3 -2 

Eastlands 78 82 -4 3 3 0 

Northgate 52 75 -23 4 2 2 

TOTAL 162 195 -33 8 8 0 

Variance 


CENTRE 

NAME 

2023 2003 Variance 

Centrepoint 3.13% 7.89% -4.77% 

Eastlands 3.85% 3.66% 0.19% 

Northgate 7.69% 2.67% 5.03% 

TOTAL 4.94% 4.10% 0.84% 

are a form of retail that can’t be purchased online.” 

He continues: “Shopping centres have done well to 

reposition the floor space in a way that encourages 

consumers to spend more time in the centre.” 

Are Australians over-retailed? 

The original 2003 study sought insight into two 

questions: Do we have too many brands and retailers? 

Are there too many jewellers in shopping centres? 

It’s a difficult question to answer – determining an 

appropriate benchmark for the balance between 

retailers and consumers is challenging. 

The responses to this question at the time were 

mixed. Brian Sweeney, chairman of Sweeney 

Research, firmly asserted that Australia is ‘overretailed’. 

He suggested that in many retail categories – cars, 

for example – Australians could choose from almost 

every car brand in the world. This is not the case in 

other countries. 

Stan Moore, chief executive of the Australian Retailers 

Association, disagreed that Australians had too much 

choice. He pointed to consistently positive retail 

turnover, indicating that the local market was healthy 

and balanced. 

"In the early 2000s, 

there was debate around 

whether Australia was 

‘over-retailed’." 

Alan Treadgold, director of Retail Research and 

Consulting, agreed with Moore and suggested the 

question was too broad to be answered concisely. 

Brand saturation differs from category to category – 

for example, Australia may have a wide variety of car 

dealers but limited access to motorcycles. 

When asked about this topic 20 years later, Zoppos 

presented a different perspective. 

“What’s also important when thinking about whether 

Australia is over-retailed or not is the mix within 

categories and not just the number of brands or 

stores, with price point being one example,” she says. 

“Thinking about it from the customer point of view, 

they may be attracted to a centre with several stores 

within the category for browsing and comparison 

purposes.” 

While accurate, raw figures about store counts today 

can be deceptive. 

The digital age means there is no such thing as 

a country being ‘over-retailed’ given that internet 

shopping and e-commerce allow anything and 

everything to be available at any time. 

With that said, jewellers have remained a crucial ‘cog 

in the machine’ for shopping centres despite evolving 

consumer behaviour. 

As mentioned, as a percentage of total stores at 

shopping centres, jewellers have increased by 3.68 

per cent in the past two decades. 

At the more affordable end of the jewellery market, 

impulse purchasing is crucial, and the higher level 

70



NT South Australia Western Australia 

TABLE 7A: PERTH - STORE COUNT COMPARISON 2003 TO 2023 

CENTRE NAME 

2023 

STORES 

2003 

STORES 

VARIANCE 

2023 

JEWELLERS 

2003 

JEWELLERS 

Carousel 335 247 88 16 13 3 

VARIANCE 

Galleria 137 200 -63 11 14 -3 

Garden City 202 180 22 10 12 -2 

Innaloo 141 85 56 6 4 2 

Joondalup 290 110 180 13 6 7 

Karrinyup 312 155 157 12 11 1 

Mirrabooka 101 119 -18 4 6 -2 

Whitford City 229 145 84 8 8 0 

TOTAL 1,518 1,241 277 80 74 6 

TABLE 8A: ADELAIDE - STORE COUNT COMPARISON 2003 TO 2023 

CENTRE NAME 

2023 

STORES 

2003 

STORES 

VARIANCE 

2023 

JEWELLERS 

2003 

JEWELLERS 

Arndale 96 103 -7 2 2 0 

Colonnades 151 104 47 7 6 1 

Elizabeth 167 130 37 8 4 4 

Marion 288 304 -16 13 12 1 

Tea Tree Plaza 217 200 17 11 11 0 

Westlakes 193 145 48 9 4 5 

VARIANCE 

TOTAL 1,112 986 126 50 39 11 

TABLE 9A: DARWIN - STORE COUNT COMPARISON 2003 TO 2023 


2023 

Jewellers 

2003 

Jewellers 

Casuarina Square 175 186 -11 8 12 -4 

Palmerston 29 56 -27 1 2 -1 

Variance 

TOTAL 204 242 -38 9 14 -5 



Carousel 4.78% 5.26% -0.49% 

Galleria 8.03% 7.00% 1.03% 

Garden City 4.95% 6.67% -1.72% 

Innaloo 4.26% 4.71% -0.45% 

Joondalup 4.48% 5.45% -0.97% 

Karrinyup 3.85% 7.10% -3.25% 

Mirrabooka 3.96% 5.04% -1.08% 

Whitford City 3.49% 5.52% -2.02% 

TOTAL 5.27% 5.96% -0.69% 



Arndale 2.08% 1.94% 0.14% 

Colonnades 4.64% 5.77% -1.13% 

Elizabeth 4.79% 3.08% 1.71% 

Marion 4.51% 3.95% 0.57% 

Tea Tree Plaza 5.07% 5.50% -0.43% 

Westlakes 4.66% 2.76% 1.90% 

TOTAL 4.50% 3.96% 0.54% 


CENTRE NAME 2023 2003 Variance 

Palmerston 4.57% 6.45% 1.88% 

Casuarina Square 3.45% 3.57% 0.12% 

TOTAL 4.41% 5.79% 1.37% 

of foot traffic in shopping centres offers a chance for 

retailers to capitalise. 

Woolford says that while sales productivity for other 

retail categories has changed recently, jewellery has 

remained consistent. 

Simply put, sales productivity is about maximising 

output – transactions, revenue, or customer 

interactions – while minimising input, namely time 

and resources. 

In other words, it's the art of doing more with less but 

doing it smarter. Sales per square foot/metre is also a 

component of sales productivity. 

“Jewellery has a very high transaction value; retailers 

are selling a mid-market or expensive product, 

which means more sales per square metre. Sales 

productivity is very good for jewellers compared to the 

average shopping centre tenant,” he explains. 

“So for the tenant and the landlord, this is a mutually 

beneficial arrangement based on what the shopping 

centre can offer and this sales productivity.” 

By comparison, Woodford explains that sales 

productivity at shopping centres for fashion and 

apparel categories has declined in recent years, 

mainly due to the competition posed by major 

retailers - anchor tenants - such as Kmart, Target, 

and, to a lesser extent, Myers. 

For example, Kmart has expanded heavily into 

clothing and homewares, undermining specialty 

retailers offering similar products at shopping 

centres. 

Put another way, landlords use anchor tenants 

to attract shoppers to the centre, making it more 

attractive for specialist retailers to take leases; 

however, as the major retailers have changed and 

expanded their focus, they are increasingly competing 

with specialist retailers. 

However, jewellers have been sheltered from these 

kinds of threats because of the ‘luxury’ nature of the 

product. 

“We haven’t seen retail categories like jewellery 

encroached by larger format retailers, which is an 

important observation [from the current data],” 

Woolford explains. 

“If you consider Kmart as an example, they’ve 

expanded their offering with low-end and effective 

fashion and homeware products, which takes away 

volume for the specialty retailers. 

“There’s no equivalent disrupting the jewellery 

category as we’ve seen in the fashion and, to a lesser 

degree, footwear categories.” 

Godwin says that whether the threat is e-commerce 

or larger format retailers, the focus for retailers 

should be on flexibility and innovation. 

“Given that retailers are no longer isolated and have 

to exist in a global market, they have to be more agile. 

Possibly, having to look wider for newer customers,” 

he explains. 

“The flat year-on-year sales in 2023 is proof that 

interest rates have had their intended effect. Retailers 

have to find new markets to make up for customers 

they lost during these tight economic conditions.” 

Facts and figures 

While sales at shopping centres remain healthy, there 

are other indications that the future of these retail 

hubs is still being determined. 

71



ALL TOGETHER NOW 

687 

JEWELLERS ARE LOCATED 

IN SHOPPING CENTRES 

ACROSS AUSTRALIA 

71 


ARE OPERATING 

ACROSS THE 

CAPITAL CITIES 

80 

NUMBER OF JEWELLERS 

LOCATED IN A SHOPPING 

CENTRE IN PERTH 

4.41% 

OF BUSINESSES 

IN DARWIN SHOPPING 

CENTRES ARE 


4.5% 

JEWELLERS AS % OF 

SHOPPING CENTRES IN 

ADELAIDE 

88 



CENTRE IN BRISBANE 

246 

THE NUMBER OF JEWELLERY 

STORES IN SYDNEY'S 

SHOPPING CENTRES. 

THE MAGIC NUMBER* 

4.88% 

FOR MORE THAN 20 YEARS 

AUSTRALIA’S SHOPPING 

CENTRE LANDLORDS HAVE 

WORKED TO A FORMULA 

OF 5 PER CENT. See below 

24 



CENTRE IN CANBERRA 

» THE MAGIC NUMBER EXPLAINED: Centre managers ‘manage’ jewellery retailers 

In 2003 Jeweller undertook its first investigation into the store mix in Australia’s capital 

city shopping centres. The research uncovered a formula at almost every shopping centre 

which resulted in jewellery stores accounting for 5 per cent of all speciality retailers in the 

centre. The figure was plus or minus one per cent and in 2003 the average was 5.31 per 

cent and in 2023 it is 4.88 per cent. 

8 



CENTRE IN HOBART 

4.76% 

JEWELLERS AS % OF 

SHOPPING CENTRES IN 

MELBOURNE 

Approximately $2.5 billion worth of shopping centres 

in Australia have been offered for sale over the past 

12 months and have yet to find a buyer. 

PAR Group is a research agency that specialises in 

commercial property. Director Rob Ellis told The 

Australian Financial Review that prospective buyers 

are apprehensive about major acquisitions due to 

fears that shopping centres are overvalued. 

“There just aren’t any shopping centre deals. The 

whole thing has dried up from a mismatch of 

expectations between sellers and buyers. Last year 

was weak as regards to sales. This year has been 

even weaker,” he said. 

Ellis said the bulk of retail transaction activity 

continues to be smaller, lower-yielding retail outlets. 

These smaller shopping centres often include 

supermarkets and have continued to sell due to 

their low risk and the consistent demand for grocery 

shopping. 

The value of shopping centres sold has decreased in 

the past two years, falling 11.1 per cent in 12 months 

to $4,554 per square metre. 

With that said a recent Shopping Centre News (SCN) 

report painted a much more optimistic picture. 

The report includes a ranking of 91 shopping centres, 

of which 85 per cent increased their annual turnover. 

These centres account for an annual $54 billion in 

retail sales. 

Michael Lloyd, the publisher of SCN, told The Sydney 

Morning Herald that Australian shopping centres are 

global pioneers in management, development and 

marketing. 

“The figures are testimony to the professionalism and 

expertise of those developing and managing these 

centres,” Lloyd said. 

“It’s not widely known outside shopping centre circles, 

but the Australian shopping centre industry is the 

world leader, and not by a short head either, but by 

several lengths.” 

"Jewellers represent just 

4.05 per cent of stores 

in Brisbane’s shopping 

centres." 

According to the report, nine of Australia’s ten biggest 

shopping centres had more than $1 billion in sales in 

2022. Melbourne’s Chadstone shopping centre holds 

the largest annual turnover with $2.7 billion in sales, 

a 16.2 per cent increase from 2020. 

Three new shopping centres have passed the 

$1 billion benchmark - Pacific Fair (Gold Coast), 

Westfield Miranda (Sydney), and Westfield Carindale 

(Brisbane). 

One conclusive change 

While the current research indicates little or no 

change in the overall formula of jewellery stores 

constituting around five per cent of all stores in 

Australia’s capital cities shopping centres, the data 

hides one significant change. 

And interestingly, the changes relate to two other 

parts of this 2020 SOIR - the decline in independent 

jewellery stores since 2010 (see Page 27) and the 

increase in chain stores and the rise of brand-only 

stores (see Page 47 and Page 57). 

Whereas in 2003, a list of jewellery stores in each 

centre would have included many small, familyrun 

jewellery businesses, 20 years later, most have 

vacated the shopping centres. This could be because 

of retirement, leases ending or as a result of the 

pandemic; however, there is no doubt that it is also 

because of tenancy costs. 

Independent jewellers are less likely to be able to 

accommodate the lease and fit-out expenses of the 

capital city centres - regional and rural centres can be 

different - and have been ‘pushed out’ by the chains. 

Further, as the current research indicates, there has 

been a large increase in the number of brand-only 

stores (see PAGE 51), including some very high-profile 

international brands such as Tiffany & Co, Van Cleef 

& Arpels, Piaget and so on. 

One only needs to look at the jewellery and watch 

stores at Chadstone in Melbourne or Centrepoint 

in Sydney to understand that a traditional ‘family 

jeweller’ would have difficulty competing with 

international brands/conglomerates. 

Two decades later, this raw data does not highlight 

the loss or demise of the independent jewellers in 

Australia’s capital city shopping centres. 

72

JAA: The past is haunting, 

and the future is unclear 

The past 13 years have been brutal for the Jewellers Association of 

Australia – and much of the damage has been self-inflicted. 

The Jeweller’s Association of Australia (JAA) began 

the new decade in good shape, bolstered by strong 

membership figures and largely respected leadership. 

With little doubt, the JAA could claim the title of ‘peak 

industry body’. 

That was in 2010 when it had nearly 1,000 members, 

and its retail membership accounted for 1,039 jewellery 

stores across Australia; however, in a few short years, 

it fell apart to the extent that the organisation today is a 

shadow of its once proud, former self. 

In fact, things have become so dire that the JAA would not 

provide a precise membership figure for this study – and, 

as you will discover - refuses to answer basic questions 

to measure the support it has today against its heyday. 

This flies in the face of its new Mission and Vision 

statement. 

Indeed, the JAA no longer refers to itself as the ‘peak 

industry body’ and, as this research indicates, there is 

nothing to suggest that the association can rightfully claim 

to represent the broader Australian jewellery trade. 

Not only is the current six-member board the most 

unrepresentative of the industry in at least three decades, 

it also fails its mission statement; which is to: “lead through 

the representation of the various sectors of the jewellery 

industry and their interests.” (See page 76). 

There are many reasons why the JAA fell from grace, 

which can explain why its current retail members account 

for around 356 stores, a 73 per cent collapse since 2010. 

And that is just retail membership - the supply (wholesale) 

members have deserted the organisation in droves. 

The JAA’s decision to sever ties with Expertise Events 

in 2016 and its attempt to launch its own competing 

jewellery fair provided a tipping point in its decline. The 

turmoil created by the JAA has been documented at 

length, and for the sake of brevity, this report will not 

detail that topic or other JAA controversies in-depth. 

With that said, this report can reveal one previously 

CHART 2: JAA MEMBERS 2010 V 2023 

359 

1,039 

607 

860 

2,010 

2,699 

The above chart shows how the buying groups have 

overtaken the JAA as a percentage of the wider industry 

since 2010, and which correlates to the industry survey. 

CHART 1: JAA MEMBERSHIP DECLINE FROM 2010 - 2023 

1000 

900 

800 

700 

600 

500 

400 

300 

'10 '12 '13 '14 '15 '16 '17 '18 '19 '20 '21 '22 '23 

Chart shows the decline of JAA membership from 2010 to 2023. The figure highlighted in red is the point where the JAA chose to 

end its 25-year sponsorship agreement with Expertise Events that had earned it $1,1555,005 in cash over the previous 10 years.* 

2023 membership figure is a calculation because the association would not supply the information. 

unknown detail in the catastrophic decision that divided 

the industry for two years - the size of Expertise Events’ 

financial commitment to the JAA at the time. 

For the ten years before the 2016 jewellery fair, 

Expertise Events paid the JAA $1,155,005 in cash 

and around an additional $100,000 in non-cash 

support and sponsorship. 

Put in perspective, the JAA had earned more than 

$1.2 million by lending its name to Expertise Events in 

return for its financial support - noting that its effort was 

negligible, and its risk non-existent. The JAA ended this 

partnership on its own accord and as this study shows, 

it has not recovered since. 

Unprofessional management 

The study deals with data first and foremost, documenting 

the rises and falls within the trade’s many sectors. In terms 

of the JAA, two sets of data are particularly interesting 

– membership and finance; however, the JAA has been 

unwilling or incapable of providing an accurate membership 

number. Its financial records remain on the public record; 

however, the JAA’s membership figures are no longer. 

The matter is of sufficient concern to warrant detailed 

reporting on the JAA’s lack of transparency. It should 

be noted that its mission statements reads: “We 

are committed to ethics by way of demonstrating 

professionalism, transparency and fairness in our 

dealings and conduct.” 

As background, in February, president Joshua Sharp was 

contacted about the JAA’s financial reporting. During 

this exchange, and 10 months ahead of time, Sharp was 

informed that a SOIR would be published in December. 

At the time, a request was made for the JAA’s most 

recent membership figures. Sharp did not provide 

precise information; however, he did advise that the 

JAA had "approximately 400 members in 2022". 

Given this occurred well before the publication of this 

report, the figure, while not exact, was accepted. 

In July, during the research stage of the collapse of 

Everledger, Jeweller contacted the JAA about a specific 

member in Queensland. The website of this business not 

only lists itself as a JAA member it goes as far as having a 

copy of the association’s Code of Conduct on its website. 

Despite this apparent support for (and promotion of) the 

JAA, the Queensland business is not listed in the JAA’s 

online Member Directory. For that reason, Jeweller 

contacted the association to confirm whether the business 

was a member or was misusing the JAA’s logo. 

On 12 July, this matter was raised with operations 

manager Megan Young, who replied the following day, 

confirming that the business is a current member of 

the association and clarifying that “not all members 

appear in the online directory.” 

This raised an obvious question – why aren’t all 

members in the online directory? There could be a 

legitimate reason why a small number of members 

might not want to publicise their membership to the 

JAA, such as security concerns. 

However, in the case of this specific member – the 

business’ connection with the JAA is detailed in-depth 

on its website. So why are they not in the directory? 

Jeweller sought clarification from Young on whether 

there had been an oversight or error in the online 

directory. This clarification was needed because the 

JAA Member Directory has many errors in the form 

of blank records. The email also requested the latest 

membership figures, given that the Members Directory 

was evidently not a reliable source for that information. 

This request was made on 13 July, the same day the JAA 

informed Jeweller that not all members are listed on the 

directory. Young didn’t reply; therefore, the request was 

resubmitted the following day (14 July), and again, there 

was no reply. 

On 1 September, Jeweller contacted Young again, 

providing advance notice of the publication of this study, 

and again requested updated membership details. 

After a week of no reply, the request was resubmitted. 

73


JEWELLERS ASSOCIATION 

DIVING INTO THE SURVEY RESULTS 

What does the industry think of the JAA? 

During the completion of this qualitative analysis, 

Jeweller conducted a quantitative survey of 

independent jewellers and a second of industry 

suppliers. The surveys garnered more than 250 

responses - see page 77 - which amounts to 

about 10 per cent of each market. 

The two sectors were provided with ten questions 

covering various topics about their beliefs and 

attitudes to specific issues, including the JAA. 

Under a Likert scale, respondents were asked 

whether they ‘strongly agreed’, ‘agreed’, ‘neither 

agreed nor disagreed’, ‘disagreed’, or ‘strongly 

disagreed’ to various prompts. 

The following was put forward: Membership to a buying 

group offers more benefits than membership to the JAA. 

Of the respondents who had an opinion, more than 

43 per cent of retail respondents said they ‘strongly 

agreed’ or ‘agreed’ while only 12.5 per cent said they 

‘strongly disagreed’ or ‘disagreed’. This indicates that 

jewellery retailers do not see much benefit in the JAA 

compared to buying group membership. 

This observation is supported by Table 2, which 

records the buying groups as representing 69 per cent 

more stores than the JAA. The second prompt was 

as follows: 'The JAA is my first point of contact for 

business advice and retail best practice.' 

About 21 per cent of respondents said they ‘strongly 

agreed’ or ‘agreed’ while 58 per cent said they 

‘strongly disagreed’ or ‘disagreed’. 

These findings are particularly concerning given the 

JAA’s recent re-drafting of its Mission and Vision 

statement detailing the organisation’s ‘core values’, 

one of which states: 'We aim to be a reliable and 

knowledgeable source of education for consumers 

and the industry.' 

The intrigue behind these results is two-fold. While the 

critical insight is that the perception of the JAA and its 

board is negative, the more important note is that there 

was an over-representation of JAA members in the 

survey results. 

That is, while it has been shown that the JAA 

membership base only accounts for around 10 per cent 

of all jewellery stores, JAA retail members comprised 

29 per cent of survey respondents. 

Explained another way, one would think that a survey 

that was ‘dominated’ by JAA members would have 

provided a more encouraging result for the association. 

However, this is not a new issue for the JAA. 

The industry’s negative views of the association are 

consistent with a previous qualitative (telephone) 

survey of 100 JAA and 100 non-JAA members in 2017. 

In fact, the second question of the 2023 survey was 

a ‘check question’. Namely, the same question was 

asked in 2017 because it formed part of the JAA’s 

(then) mission statement. 

When the following question was asked six years ago: 

The JAA is my first point of contact for best practice 

advice for my business, 72 per cent of JAA members 

disagreed, while 63 per cent of non-members 

disagreed. 

Extraordinarily, fewer members ‘agreed’ (23 per 

cent) that the JAA was the first point of contact than 

non-members (27 per cent), meaning that non-JAA 

members had a better perception of the JAA than its 

own members! 

Since March 2017, when the survey results were 

published under the title ‘JAA fails own Vision and 

Mission Statement’, membership has continued to fall. 

While the most recent survey did not investigate other 

matters concerning the JAA, it’s clear the perception of 

the association remains problematic, even among its 

supporters. 

This continuing membership decline correlates to a 

survey question about membership fees. The result 

should have been a significant concern for the JAA at 

the time; however, the continuing decrease in members 

indicates the earlier results were accurate. 

Of those surveyed in 2017, fewer than 40 per cent of 

members were satisfied with how the JAA supports their 

business. Given these previous survey results, it is easy to 

see why retailers see membership to a buying group as 

offering more benefits than membership to the JAA. 

Do suppliers report similar feelings about the JAA as 

retailers? Suppliers were surveyed on the same question 

as retailers: 'The JAA is my first point of contact for 

business advice and wholesaling best practice'. 

More than 65 per cent of supplier respondents said 

they ‘strongly disagreed’ or ‘disagreed’ while a mere 

seven per cent ‘agreed’. More than 24 per cent of 

supplier respondents are JAA members! 

Suppliers were also polled on a second issue; the 

Membership to a buying group offers more 

benefits than membershipto the Jewellers 

Association of Australia. 

Strongly 

Agree 

Agree 


nor disagree 

Disagree 

Strongly 

Disagree 

The Jewellers Association of Australia is 

my first point of contact for business advice 

and retail best practice. 

Strongly 

Agree 

Agree 


nor disagree 

Disagree 

Strongly 

Disagree 

5.83% 

6.80% 

18.45% 

25.24% 

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 

Responses from retailers overwhelmingly value membership 

with a buying group over membership with the JAA. 

prompt was as follows: The JAA's support and 

promotion of industry wholesalers and suppliers is. 

Under a similar Likert scale with the following options: 

‘excellent’, ‘above average’, ‘average’, ‘below average’, 

and ‘poor’. More than 84 per cent of respondents 

answered ‘poor’ to ‘average’ while 15 per cent said it 

was ‘excellent’ to ‘above average’. 

Another core value of the association, as listed in its new 

Mission and Mission statements, reads: 'We lead through 

representation of the various sectors of the jewellery 

industry and their interests.' 

The survey results would suggest that the supply 

sector feels somewhat ‘neglected’, an issue which is 

further complicated by the current make-up of the 

board (see page 76), which details that all industry 

directors are small retailers. 

It should be reiterated that these results come from 

a survey where JAA members were over-represented 

and could offer some explanation for the decline in 

supplier membership. 

» Publishers note: As a matter of transparency, it should be 

noted that when this publication was launched in 1996, and 

until 2017, it was the official magazine of the JAA. It was a 

time when the association boasted more than 1,000 retail 

and wholesale members, and Jeweller played a vital part in 

the membership benefits, contributing tens of thousands of 

dollars annually to the JAA for 20 years. The results of the 

2017 survey, as mentioned above, played a significant part 

in the decision to end Jeweller’s support for and financial 

backing of the JAA. 

The Jewellers Association of Australia (JAA) 

is my first point of contact for business advice 

and wholesaling best practice. 

Strongly 

Agree 

Agree 


nor disagree 

The JAA's support and promotion of 

industry wholesalers and suppliers is: 

Excellent 

Above 

Average 

Average 

Below 

Average 

Very Poor 

Disagree 

Strongly 

Disagree 

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 

Suppliers surveyed expressed disapproval of the JAA's 

representation of suppliers and wholesalers. 

74

2010 VS 2023 

JAA Marketshare 

This time, Young, who has been with the JAA since 

2007, replied the same day, explaining, “Due to 

numerous conflicting priorities in the previous few 

months, I have been unable to reply to your emails. I 

will endeavour to look at them sometime next week.” 

Since that date three months ago, the JAA has failed to 

supply its membership data, raising serious questions 

about its commitment to transparency. 

It is puzzling that someone who has been with the 

JAA for more than 15 years - and would handle monthly 

reporting to the board – would not have this information 

readily accessible. The JAA is, after all, a membershipbased 

organisation. 

Compare this professionalism with that of several 

equivalent international jewellery associations. 

Unable to obtain this simple information from the 

JAA, comparable associations in the US, the UK, and 

Canada were contacted about their membership data. 

The National Association of Jewellers in the UK 

responded within four hours with precise membership 

figures (2400). The Canadian Jewellers Association 

responded within eight hours (560), while the American 

Gem Society replied within 24 hours, asking for a 

deadline and more information about the story – 

understandable given the distance between Australia 

and the US! 

What must be said, however, is that the JAA’s apparent 

complete lack of interest in this report – a study that 

the association should arguably be undertaking itself – 

is perplexing at best. 

What is the membership number? 

Given that the JAA would not provide the requested 

information, Jeweller used the information published on 

the JAA’s website under the ‘Find a JAA jeweller’ function. 

This takes users to a JAA Member Directory page, 

which states: ‘Trust all your valued jewellery purchases 

to a JAA member - when you shop at a Jewellers 

Association of Australia member store, you can 

be assured that you are working with some of the 

most knowledgeable and trustworthy jewellery retail 

professionals in the industry.’ 

This is an unusual statement, given that the JAA Member 

Directory page aims to direct consumers to members’ 

stores via a link to another page. However, this website 

page has been non-functional for at least two years. The 

website meant to promote JAA members to the public - 

as a member benefit - displays an error message! 

So much for its mission statement about aiming ‘to be 

a reliable and knowledgeable source of education for 

consumers and the industry’. 

It should be noted that the Member Directory page 

contains around 400 records, some of which were 

blank or faulty when ‘exported’. Removing irrelevant 

and faulty data reduced the member list to 384 records. 

Of these, more than 30 are suppliers and 'other' 

members such as valuers and other associations. 

This leaves a final tally of 356 store listings. Note 

that 12 per cent of these member stores is held by 

two medium-sized chains with more than 40 stores 

combined – Bevilles and Salera’s. 

Dubious claim? 

This retail membership information flies in the face of 

another JAA claim and calls its corporate governance 

into question. If the JAA’s member directory page is 

up-to-date - and there should be no reason to believe 

it isn’t - and the number of member stores is 356, 

then it's difficult to explain why the website boasts a 

membership of "around 650 outlets". 

An outlet is not a member; it is a retail store. Therefore, 

the JAA does not have "around 650 outlets". If, on the 

other hand, the JAA wants to suggest that all members 

are ‘outlets’, it cannot claim the figure of 650 either. 

This study cannot determine how the JAA’s statement 

is true, therefore the JAA’s website is inaccurate or 

misrepresented. 

Regardless of this lack of transparency, there were 

4,225 jewellery stores in Australia in 2010, meaning 

that the JAA previously represented 25 per cent 

(1,039 stores) of the market. 

Today, with 3,501 stores - and using the JAA’s 

membership data - its numbers have collapsed to 

under 10 per cent. See table. 

Again, if the member directory page is current, and 

after deleting duplicate (store) records, the confusing 

website information indicates a total membership of 

316, including suppliers and ‘other’ members. 

Therefore, whichever way the figures are analysed, 

it’s hard to conclude that the JAA has ‘around 650 

outlets’. It also contradicts Sharp’s claim of around 

400 members – although this advice was provided 

10 months ago. 

The other explanation is that around 80-90 members 

have requested not to be listed on the JAA website. 

It’s a little difficult to imagine why 25 per cent of 

businesses do not want to be listed as a member. 

There are other explanations: the website is wrong; 

it is missing members that should be listed, or, Sharp 

could be wrong; the JAA did not, or no longer has 

“around 400 members”. 

Either way, this confusion could have been avoided if 

Young had provided the information - she had three 

months to do so - just like other (overseas) jewellery 

associations were able to do, within hours. 

Interestingly, one of the core values of its new mission 

statement is to ‘create unity and collaboration through 

a preparedness to work with all stakeholders for the 

benefit and progression of the jewellery industry’. 

No longer Australia’s peak industry body 

The first thing to note about the JAA’s recently 

re-issued Mission and Vision statement is that it’s 

unclear whether the JAA sees itself as - or claims 

to be - the ‘peak industry body’. 

This term no longer appears on the JAA website and 

does not appear in its new mission statement. 

The purpose of a mission statement is to document 

an organisation's goals, values, and objectives. The 

aim is to help an organisation (company or association) 

respond to change and consistently make decisions 

that align with its goals and vision. 

The JAA ‘About Us’ page was recently changed to reflect 

the new mission statement, which differs dramatically 

from previous versions. 

The previous statement was clear: ‘To be the peak 

industry body that represents greater than 75 per cent 

of industry participants’. However, ‘peak industry body’ 

has been removed. Why? 

JAA 

19.7% 

All jewellery 

80.3% 

The above charts compare the JAA’s member stores to the 

total number of Australian jewellery stores. In 2010 JAA 

members accounted for almost 20 per cent share of the 

market which has fallen to less than 10 per cent by 2023. 

One explanation could be that it has failed its previous 

objective - membership. Considering the current 

circumstances, the JAA’s aim of representing threequarters 

of the entire industry cannot be supported 

by any level of logic. 

This is not to suggest that organisations should not 

set ambitious targets. High performance occurs in 

an environment defined by high expectations. As the 

old saying goes, ‘aim for the moon, and you’ll land 

among the stars’. 

However, ambitious intentions are a double-edged 

sword; when organisations set lofty targets and fail 

to reach them, the injury is two-fold. There’s both the 

disappointment of failing to achieve the objective and 

the embarrassment of making your intentions clear 

and failing to live up to them. 

With that said, clearly, the JAA has not been able to 

achieve anything near the 75 per cent target it once 

set itself. For example, the 2010 SOIR recorded the 

association as having 960 members, with its retail 

members accounting for 1,039 individual jewellery 

stores - one member can have many stores. 

If the current membership is 316 – this is a decline of 

around 67 per cent. It’s worse for its store ‘membership’, 

which has plummeted from 1,039 in 2010 to about 356 

(as listed on its website) - a shocking 66 per cent fall. 

The JAA claims to cover ‘all areas of the jewellery industry 

– from manufacturing, wholesaling, distribution to retail’. 

In 2010, when the JAA had 960 members, 69 per 

cent were retail members. Even though it lists three 

non-retail sectors - manufacturing, wholesaling, and 

distribution - suppliers accounted for only 31 per cent 

of the JAA membership base. 

If the member directory page is up to date, then it 

appears that supplier membership accounts for fewer 

than 10 per cent of the current total membership. 

This could explain why the term ‘peak industry body’ 

has been removed from its mission statement and 

demonstrates that the aim of representing 75 per cent 

of the industry was folly. It could also explain why the 

industry survey results (see page 74) do not paint the 

JAA in a positive light. 

75


JEWELLERS ASSOCIATION 

Is the current JAA board representative of the industry? 

There was another change to the JAA’s board of directors 

in October - the third in 12 months. As a result, the JAA 

board has never been less representative of the overall 

industry in the past three decades than it is today. 

The board consists of four small retailers and two 

individuals who do not work in the industry. 

Yet, the JAA’s Mission and Vision statements claim 

to cover ‘all areas of the jewellery industry – from 

manufacturing, wholesaling, distribution to retail’. 

There are no directors representing the manufacturing, 

wholesaling, or distribution sectors, as has traditionally 

been the case and which was stipulated under the 

previous Constitution. 

In November 2022, a special resolution to amend the 

JAA Constitution was passed to allow the alteration of 

the board's composition. It effectively means that the 

board can be composed of 'anyone', which is how the 

current board can fairly be described as unrepresentative 

of the industry. 

Following the resignation of Jo Tory, a former JAA 

president, in October, the board did not have a director 

representing suppliers (wholesaling). Tory operates Najo, 

a jewellery supply/wholesale business that once enjoyed a 

high profile in the industry. 

She joined the board in 2017 and was president from 

2019 to 2021, having taken over the presidency from 

Selwyn Brandt - another supply sector member. 

As previously documented, the buying groups now hold 

a far more critical position in the industry than the JAA - 

both in terms of membership and reputation -. Yet, there 

is no director representing buying groups (see page 39). 

Additionally, in terms of other retail categories, there is no 

director representing chain stores, and there is also no 

director representing distribution, another critical sector 

according to its mission statement. 

In past years, the board had members who operated 

chain stores. It has also had buying group representation 

via George Proszkowiec from Showcase Jewellers and 

Colin Pocklington from Nationwide. 

Proszkowiec resigned in September 2019, and 

Pocklington quit the board as well as the JAA in 2016 - 

after a 25-year association - following the indecorous 

claims by then president Brandt, vice president Laura 

Moore (nee Laura Sawade) and then CEO Amanda 

Trotman (nee Amanda Hunter). 

Mystery in the making 

A review of the board make-up dating back to 2010 and 

earlier shows that there was always an endeavour to have 

the various sectors represented; however, the current 

board makeup is curious, with four current directors 

owning small jewellery stores, two of which 

are considered ‘retailer no-storefront’ (see page 16). 

Directors Cameron Marks and Daniel Anania operate 

‘upstairs’ style jewellery businesses in Sydney CBD 

office buildings - Percy Marks and Anania Jewellers, 

respectively. 

On the other hand, President Joshua Sharp and vice 

president Ronnie Bauer operate small traditional ‘high 

street’ style jewellery businesses (with storefronts). 

Bauer’s Klepners is in the Melbourne CBD, and Ian 

Sharpe Jewellers is in Toorak. 

Following Tory's departure in October, the JAA appointed 

Mary Storch. Not only is her appointment a mystery, given 

MEREDITH DOIG 

JAA DIRECTOR 

MARY STORCH 

JAA DIRECTOR 

that the board has no representatives from the sectors 

it claims to represent (manufacturing, wholesaling, 

distribution), but Storch is also a retiree. 

According to the JAA website, she has not worked in the 

industry since 2002, leaving the “jewellery trade due to 

personal family commitments”. 

Storch’s new appointment is even more curious, given 

that Meredith Doig is not employed in the industry. She is a 

co-opted director listed as ‘professional company director 

and governance consultant’. 

This means two directors do not have day-to-day senior 

management positions in the jewellery industry. 

Further, Doig’s appointment in September of 2022 was 

not without controversy. She has commercial dealings 

with Bauer and, in November of 2022, was ‘caught out’ 

not declaring the possible conflict of interest when asked 

about her appointment. 

At the time, she initially explained her new position this 

way: “I was approached because there was a vacancy 

on the board. Somebody who has expertise in board 

governance is what they were looking for, and that’s 

why they approached me”. 

The statement was important because Doig had 

confirmed she was offered and accepted the position 

because of her board and corporate governance 

experience. 

Her biography on the JAA website mentions that she is a 

Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors 

(AICD) and taught their flagship Company Directors 

Course for five years. 

When questioned further, Doig confirmed that her position 

as director was unpaid (voluntary) and that it was JAA vice 

president Ronnie Bauer specifically who had approached 

her to join the board. 

“We have been friends since 2016,” she explained. It soon 

became apparent that Doig was not entirely forthcoming 

in her explanation about the ‘relationship’. Records from 

the Australian Security Investments Commission (ASIC) 

paint a different picture of the ‘friendship’ between Doig 

and Bauer. 

Jeweller sought further clarification, and Doig was 

asked if her friendship extends to other areas, including 

professional and/or business. She was also asked if she 

currently represents or acts for any of Bauer's private 

companies in any capacity, including formal positions. 

Only then did she admit to further ‘dealings’ with Bauer: 

“Yes, I am company secretary of Klepners.” 

Jeweller has previously noted that there is no assertion 

that anything untoward has occurred regarding this board 

appointment. 

However, based on Doig’s self-promoted level of 

governance and ethics expertise, there was confusion 

about her hesitancy and/or delay in transparently 

admitting that she also serves as company secretary in 

the private business of the vice president of the JAA. 

In addition, Doig’s previous statement casts doubt on 

her claim that she is 'someone who is from outside of 

the industry’ given she has provided services to Bauer’s 

jewellers business, Klepner’s, since 2016. It is worth 

noting that this information has yet to be reflected on the 

JAA website as a matter of transparency - and governance 

- to its members. 

The big picture 

While the JAA goes to great lengths to promote its claims 

as representing the Australian jewellery industry's 

manufacturing, wholesaling, and distribution sectors, the 

recent decision to appoint a second person who does not 

currently work in the industry and has not done so for two 

decades is intriguing. Especially so given other sectors are 

unrepresented. 

Despite this claim, the board consists of two individuals 

who own or manage small ‘high street’ jewellery stores, 

two who own or operate ‘no storefront’ businesses, and 

two who do not work in the industry. And, of the six people, 

two - Bauer and Doig - are commercially linked. 

Readers can make their judgement as to whether this is 

appropriate. Further, it is reasonable to question whether 

the make-up of the current board is an ideal reflection of 

the Australian jewellery industry. 

76

Industry survey: 

Surprising results! 

While this study deals with facts and figures, businesses are owned and managed by 

people. What do jewellers and suppliers say about the past, present, and the future? 

85% 

Percentage of responses 

to the industry survey that 

suggested the JAA gives 

little or no support to 

jewellery suppliers. 

These surveys are quantitative 

and not qualitative, meaning 

they measure the number of 

people with a belief, but not 

the reasoning for the belief. 


Very few responses to 

the retailers survey 

suggested that lab-created 

diamonds are an important 

part of their business. 

39% 

Percentage of responses to 

the retailers survey which 

indiciated business owners plan 

to retire or sell their business 

within the next five years. 

The State of the Industry Report is largely an 

examination of history, what has happened and 

what events occurred over the past decade that 

shape the industry today. 

Such a study offers more fascination due to the 

nature of the jewellery industry, which is often driven 

by trends and fads. 

In addition to the qualitative analysis, Jeweller 

considered it appropriate to gain industry 

participants' insight into their beliefs and attitudes to 

specific issues. 

Retailers and suppliers were provided with a set 

of 10 questions covering a wide range of topics. 

A question in the back of our minds pertained to 

business in a post-pandemic world: Is your business 

now more profitable than before the COVID-19 

pandemic? The results were quite surprising. 

Another question confirmed a trend that we believed 

had been in place for some time: a shift back to the 

original purpose of owning a jewellery store. 

Is custom-made and bespoke jewellery enjoying a 

revival? This was a common talking point among 

participants at this year's International Jewellery 

Fair - and now this survey appears to confirm these 

suspicions. 

Many other questions related to matters are covered 

in depth in this report, including sustainability, 

provenance, and the importance of digital marketing. 

The survey sought to address broader industry 

sentiment about the state of the jewellery industry, 

testing ‘the pulse’ of respondents about the future of 

the trade. Some responses were expected, but many 

were most surprising, if not unnerving! 

Lab-created diamonds have been one of the most 

passionately debated topics for many years, and yet, 

50 per cent of retailers who responded to the survey 

said they are not important to their business. 

The answers have also painted a vivid picture of the 

changing nature of the industry - more than 39 per 

cent of respondents advised that they plan to sell 

their business or retire within the next five years. 

This would suggest that the evolution or 'changing of 

the guard' within the industry is far from complete. 

This research is, of course, quantitative, not 

qualitative. This survey measures the number of 

people who have a view or belief about a topic – 

but does not explain why they feel that way. 

Generally speaking, a quantitative survey provides the 

numbers (percentage of people) to assess or disprove 

a study's broad points. 

"The survey sought to 

address broader industry 

sentiment about the state 

of the jewellery industry, 

testing ‘the pulse’ of 

respondents about the 

future of the trade. " 

Qualitative data, on the other hand, provides 

the details and the depth to understand the full 

implications better. 

In other words, a quantitative survey can provide a 

snapshot of more significant issues that qualitative 

research can further investigate. 

Another difference is that it's not as easy to control 

the number of responses or respondents in a 

quantitative survey, which could result in over or 

under-representation. 

To that end, the retailer survey has an overrepresentation 

of JAA members at 29 per cent. 

As a percentage of Australian jewellery retail stores, 

the JAA retail membership is only about 10 per cent 

or even as low as seven per cent. 

However, and somewhat ironically, this overrepresentation 

delivers the JAA a damning message 

from retailers and a worse message from the survey of 

the supplier/wholesaler channel. 

While the exact membership of suppliers/ 

wholesalers to the JAA is a mystery, it is believed to 

be an insignificant figure compared to the number of 

industry suppliers - large and small. 

That said, JAA supplier members are 

overrepresented in the survey at 25 per cent and, 

again, the message to the JAA is clear. 

About 85 per cent of respondents said the JAA gives 

little or no support to industry suppliers. 

Full report on Page 73. 

Regardless of both survey results, they offer an 

intriguing insight into the past decade and an even 

more exciting glimpse of the future. 

Methodology 

Two sets of 10 questions were created to 

survey retailers and suppliers. 

Many questions between the two groups 

were similar or identical as they were equally 

relevant and important to each side. The 

surveys were undertaken using Survey Monkey, 

a digital research platform and emailed using 

Jeweller’s comprehensive database. 

The retailer survey began on 31 October and 

ended on 17 November with more than 200 

independent retailers responding, which is 

estimated to be around 10 per cent of the 

market. 

The supplier survey was opened on 9 

November and closed on 17 November. It 

received 52 responses, which is estimated to 

be between 8-10 per cent of the market. 

77

The first thing to consider is that while these 

survey questions are broad, some relate to 

another topic as a type of ‘check question’. 

For example, the question about the importance 

of provenance to consumers is supported by the 

question about eco-friendly and sustainability, 

so the two results can be compared. 

Lab-created diamonds feature heavily in 

mainstream media as being vital to consumers, 

but what is the reality on the retail ‘coalface’, 

where it matters? Question two can also be 

read against question eight, and it makes for an 

interesting result. 

Likewise, the perception of industry 

organisations is important to review, and it’s 

noteworthy that the buying groups are clearly 

held in high regard, while the reputation of the 

Jewellers Association of Australia is in question. 

Digital marketing is another interesting point of 

contention. Consultants and experts all say it’s 

more important now than ever before; however, 

this survey suggests that retailers are yet to see 

a clear connection between sales and online 

marketing. 

My business is now more profitable than it was 

before the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Strongly 

Agree 

Agree 


nor disagree 

Disagree 

Strongly 

Disagree 

6.80% 

9.71% 

1 

26.21% 

29.13% 

28.16% 

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 

2 

3 

4 

Custom-made jewellery has increasingly become an 

important part of my business in the past 5-10 years. 

Membership to a buying group offers more 

benefits than membershipto the Jewellers 

Association of Australia. 

Lab-created diamond jewellery has become an 

important part of mybusiness in the past 10 years. 

Strongly 

Agree 

37.56% 

Strongly 

Agree 

18.45% 

Strongly 

Agree 

Agree 

39.51% 

Agree 

25.24% 

Agree 


nor disagree 

13.17% 


nor disagree 


nor disagree 

Disagree 

7.32% 

Disagree 

5.83% 

Disagree 

Strongly 

Disagree 

2.44% 

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 

Strongly 

Disagree 

6.80% 

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 

Strongly 

Disagree 

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 

5 

6 

7 

My customers raise provenance (proof of origin) 

issues when shopping for diamond 

and gemstone jewellery. 

My website and digital marketing activities 

generate a significant portion of sales for my 

bricks-and-mortar store. 

The Jewellers Association of Australia is 

my first point of contact for business advice 

and retail best practice. 

Always 

Very 

Frequently 

Occassionally 

Rarely 

Strongly 

Agree 

Agree 


nor disagree 

Disagree 

Strongly 

Agree 

Agree 


nor disagree 

Disagree 

Never 

Strongly 

Disagree 

Strongly 

Disagree 

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 

8 

9 

10 

Lab-created diamond jewellery sales make up 

X per cent of my overall diamond jewellery sales. 

I intend to retire or sell my business 


My customers voice concerns about 

eco-friendly and sustainability issues. 

100% 

Strongly 

Agree 

Always 

75% 

50% 

25% 

Agree 


nor disagree 

Disagree 

Very 

Frequently 

Occassionally 

Rarely 

0% 

Strongly 

Disagree 

Never 

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 

50% 

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 

78

My business is now more profitable than it was 


Strongly 

Agree 

Agree 


nor disagree 

Disagree 

Strongly 

Disagree 

1 

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 

As you can see, more suppliers than retailers say 

their business is now more profitable than it was 


Question two addresses product planning, 

ordering, and restocking by retailers which 

clearly remains tumultuous, with just 1.2 per 

cent of suppliers suggesting that this aspect of 

the trade is in ‘excellent’ condition. 

It’s also interesting to compare suppliers’ issues 

about provenance and proof of origin (question 

eight) to those of their customers. Lab-created 

diamonds remain a passionately debated topic 

within the diamond industry, for suppliers, it’s 

clearly of little concern. 

Suppliers also seem to have little regard for the 

JAA’s support of the wholesaler sector, with 

around 85 per cent saying it is average to very 

poor. Suppliers also appear to hold Australia’s 

buying groups in high regard, with more than 

37 per cent of responses suggesting that these 

groups offer a valuable service to retailers. 

Interestingly, around 29 per cent of respondents 

say they’d like to retire or sell their business in 

the next five years. 

2 

Product planning, ordering, and restocking by my 

retail customers and stockists is: 

3 

The Jewellers Association of Australia (JAA) 

is my first point of contact for business advice 

and wholesaling best practice. 

4 

Products that contain lab-created diamonds 

have become an important part of my business 

in the past 10 years. 

Strongly 

Agree 

Agree 


nor disagree 

Disagree 

Strongly 

Agree 

Agree 


nor disagree 

Disagree 

Strongly 

Agree 

Agree 


nor disagree 

Disagree 

Strongly 

Disagree 

Strongly 

Disagree 

Strongly 

Disagree 

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 

50% 

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 

5 

My retail customers and stockists raise 

provenance (proof of origin) issues 

when considering their diamond and 

gemstone jewellery orders. 

Strongly 

Agree 

Agree 


nor disagree 

Disagree 

6 

My website and digital marketing 

activities generate a significant portion of sales. 

Strongly 

Agree 

Agree 


nor disagree 

Disagree 

7 

The JAA's support and promotion of 

industry wholesalers and suppliers is: 

Excellent 

Above 

Average 

Average 

Below 

Average 

Strongly 

Disagree 

Strongly 

Disagree 

Very Poor 

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 

8 

9 

10 

Buying groups provide beneficial support and 

business advice for independent jewellers. 

I intend to retire or sell my business 


My retail customers and stockists voice 

concerns about eco-friendly and sustainability 

issues regarding jewellery and watch products. 

Strongly 

Agree 

Agree 


nor disagree 

Disagree 

Strongly 

Agree 

Agree 


nor disagree 

Disagree 

Strongly 

Agree 

Agree 


nor disagree 

Disagree 

Strongly 

Disagree 

Strongly 

Disagree 

Strongly 

Disagree 

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 

79

Crystal Ball 2030: 

What does the future hold? 

The astute know they cannot predict the future but will work hard to minimise 

surprises. What changes can the industry expect before 2030? 


30m 

Australia's projected 

population by the 

year 2030. 

Since the pandemic, 

consumers are 

increasingly prioritising 

'experience' over 'product'. 

Artificial intelligence 

became a hot topic of 

discussion in 2022, and is 

likely to remain on the radar 

between now and 2030. 

$50b 

Estimated value of the 

lab-created diamond 

market in 2030. 

While the purpose of a major research project 

like the State of the Industry Report (SOIR) 

is to record history, it’s perhaps fitting to 

attempt to forecast a vision of the future. 

As the famous management consultant Peter Drucker 

once said: “The best way to predict the future is to 

create it.” 

In business, the past does not define the future; 

however, the lessons learned can help shape it. 

It’s hard to believe that we are just six years 

from 2030, a year that will mark many significant 

milestones and occasions. 

At the political level, 2030 will be a significant year. It 

is the deadline for the United Nations ‘2030 Agenda’, 

and The World Bank has set the goal of eradicating 

global poverty by 2030. 

It will be a year for important anniversaries as well 

– it’s a year that will mark 100 years since the Great 

Depression began. 

The retail landscape will undoubtedly change between 

now and 2030; however, the degree to which that 

change occurs and how different the market will 

appear is what will interest most business people. 

For many, the ‘hockey stick’ theory of technology 

is too poignant to ignore. After a long period of 

linear development, technology has experienced 

a remarkably rapid expansion over the past two 

decades, and there’s little reason to think that rise 

won’t continue. 

Others believe gentle progression will be more likely 

– and when it comes to retail, the same fundamentals 

will remain important in seven years. 

Since 2010, the jewellery industry has changed 

significantly. Lab-created diamonds have reshaped 

the industry, and few would have predicted the extent 

to which the industry appears to be moving towards 

bifurcation - separating one entity into two distinct 

segments. 

Market bifurcation occurs when disjointed market 

movements trend in opposite directions or when 

high and low-quality securities move out of sync, 

causing the two segments to operate and perform 

independently within the market. 

In economics, this traditionally involves definitions of 

high and low value, which is why it started to become 

a talking point among diamond experts. 

Paul Zimnisky, PZ Analytics says, “It is important to 

remember that lab-created diamonds are creating 

incremental demand for diamond jewellery that would 

otherwise not exist — especially at the lower-price 

points. 

Retailers are yet to connect digital marketing with sales, 

despite the increased importance of a strong online 

presence. 

“Looking longer-term, this incremental demand 

will likely continue to grow while the share of labdiamonds 

directly cannibalising natural diamond 

sales will stabilise and level off.” 

While a rise in demand contrasted with falling prices 

may seem counterintuitive, Zimnisky explains this 

phenomenon by highlighting lab-created diamonds' 

status as a manufactured product. 

That is, pricing is impacted by rising demand and 

an even faster-increasing supply – and this supply is 

increasingly accomplished with improved efficiency. 

The bifurcation will most likely be fought on the 

marketing front. 

“Product marketing by both natural and lab-diamond 

producers, as well as product positioning by retailers 

at the jewellery counter, will ultimately determine the 

level of segregation of the two products and the speed 

at which the bifurcation plays out,” he says. 

While one segment of the jewellery industry - 

diamonds - is shifting towards an obvious and distinct 

division, it’s arguable that the watch category is 

undergoing a similar split, or in this case cleave, as 

consumers adopt smartwatches, most notably the 

Apple Watch which did not exist until 2015. 

Readers may recall that Swiss behemoth Swatch 

entered a joint venture with Microsoft - its equivalent 

in the computer market - in October 2004 and 

announced the Swatch Paparazzi. 

The Paparazzi – which may have been ahead of its 

time - was a smartwatch based on Microsoft’s SPOT 

(Smart Personal Objects Technology) technology and 

could be connected to MSN Direct. It was ‘killed-off’ in 

April 2008 when Microsoft announced that it did “not 

have immediate plans to create a new version of the 

Smart Watch, as we are focused on other areas of our 

business.” 

While some of the changes in the industry were less 

predictable in 2010, other changes were afoot, even if 

it took some time for them to be embraced. 

For example, offering customers an e-commerce 

option partnered with your physical store was viewed 

as a mere compliment to your business – today, it’s 

close to a requirement. 

80

Cloudy skies blocking the view 

This second edition of Jeweller’s State of the Industry Report was 

‘delayed’ by three years because of the impact of the global coronavirus 

pandemic – evaluating the market during such unprecedented 

circumstances would have presented an unbalanced image. 

For Cameron Beever, owner of Ringwood Jewellers in Victoria, it’s still 

difficult to forecast the industry's future because of the pandemic's 

impact. 

“I think it’s really difficult to make any concrete predictions at this stage; 

my feeling is that we are still a year or two away from any sense of 

normality,” he explains. 

“Things like cost of living pressures, housing prices, and interest rates 

have all been impacted by the pandemic, and we still feel the aftereffects. 

Jewellers are selling a luxury product – it’s not bread and milk – and 

that’s the reality of the situation.” 

Many industry figures have suggested that consumers increasingly sought 

repairs and other services for jewellery they already owned during the 

pandemic instead of purchasing new products. Others have suggested 

this trend was already on the rise in the years before the pandemic and 

that lockdowns merely accelerated it. 

Among those is Nationwide Jewellers managing director Colin 

Pocklington, who says he expects custom-made and personalised 

jewellery to remain a priority over the remainder of the decade. 

“You would have to assume that there’s going to be an increasing desire 

from consumers for handmade pieces. The only question is how this will 

be reflected in the difference between sales of handcrafted jewellery and 

pre-made pieces,” he says. 

Beever says these observations have been reflected in his business over 

the past three years. 

“We’re a fourth-generation family business, so I think it’s safe to say we’ve 

just about seen it all. I think at the moment people are looking for cheaper 

jewellery, and the positive, from our perspective, is that it’s leading to 

more repair work," he explains. 

“People are buying jewellery from elsewhere, and if it falls apart or there’s 

an issue, it’s ending up on our bench. There are a few chain stores around 

our location that actually recommend customers visit us for repair work 

and resizing, which is fantastic.” 

Gradual progression 

It’s only natural to get excited about the future of the retail landscape – 

fictional works have given us so many brilliant ideas. Whether it’s robots 

delivering food on The Jetsons, gigantic animated billboards the size of 

skyscrapers in Blade Runner, or the terrifying 3D advertisements shown 

in Back To The Future, writers have never been short of ideas! 

With that said, others are predicting a more sensible, linear progression. 

Independent Jewellers Collective CEO Joshua Zarb says that we can 

expect 2030 to look very similar to 2023. 

“I don’t think the retail landscape will dramatically differ from where we 

are today. Unfortunately, I doubt there will be robots serving us dinner or 

anything like that,” he jokes. 

“I think we will see the adoption of a few new ‘technological plug-ins’, 

whether it be payment systems or perhaps live digital diamond inventories 

for jewellers. There will be more of a focus on giving customers a chance 

to ‘design their dream diamond ring’ online, for example.” 

Pocklington agrees with Zarb and says that digital marketing will become 

a necessity for jewellers by 2030. 

“The way things are going, I think jewellery stores need to be more 

engaged with digital marketing than ever. You nearly can’t have a store 

without a digital presence anymore,” he reveals. 

“That’s where the buying groups will evolve, and that will be the most 

significant change we see in that area of the industry. Once upon a time, 

we offered trade discounts ahead of everything else. 

“Now, the industry needs us to offer support in new areas, namely digital 

marketing – and we’ll need to meet those demands.” 



Zarb had one prediction that he was confident would come to fruition – and 

increased emphasis on design for jewellers. 

“There’s no doubt in my mind that design will become a very sharp focus for 

jewellers,” he says. 

“There is always a place for quality customer service, there always has been, 

because that’s what consumers are looking for. I also think that we will see an 

overall increase in the digital professionalism of jewellery retailers because it 

will become an easier process.” 

Artificial intelligence 

The value of a strong digital presence and the importance of maximising the 

opportunities presented by emerging technologies and online tools weigh 

heavily on many within the industry. 

Malcolm Scrymgeour, business advisor at Retail Edge Consultants, believes 

that retailers can discern an image of the future from today's trends. 

“There are two ways to view how retail will look in 2030 - fear or excitement,” 

he says. 

“Existing trends indicate what 2030 is likely to look like, and it’s technologydriven. 

Increased digitisation will be a priority – recall that a decade or so ago, 

the Yellow Pages were a big deal. Today, customers rely on websites.” 

In the past 12 months, artificial intelligence has taken the retail sector by 

storm, leaving many scrambling to keep up. Retailers are utilising AI programs 

for everything from virtual shopping assistant services and automated 

customer service to producing marketing ‘copy’ for products and advertising, 

and Scrymgeour says that trend will continue. 

“The rise of machine learning and AI will see decisions being more informed, 

more refined to consumers and eventually, lower costs for retailers,” he 

explains. 

“Data intensity will increase, allowing retailers to offer what are known as 

‘anticipatory’ services as they can see trends in advance. True independents 

[stores] with no support will be challenged as data, information, and leveraging 

buying power become all but impossible to do well on your own.” 

Scrymgeour added: “Direct-to-consumer services, where suppliers get closer 

to customers, enabled by digital technology, will happen. Retailers must add 

value to suppliers as well as customers!” 

Walking a new path 

Pocklington also suggested that design will become an increasingly important 

focus for independents and said that new stores entering the industry will take 

a different shape for the next generation. 

“To meet the rising demand for people wanting handcrafted pieces, we need 

to see a greater influx of young people entering the industry and starting in 

design, as opposed to retailing finished goods,” he explains. 

“We are already seeing this happen to a certain extent because young people 

struggle to enter the industry as a conventional jeweller due to the high capital 

costs associated with starting a small business.” 

Pocklington hopes that the next generation of jewellers will begin as designers 

and manufacturers, honing their skills and building a loyal customer base to 

the popularity of their bespoke work. 

From there, these jewellers are free to evolve into a traditional retailer – 

offering an increasing range of branded products if they desire. 

“There are already many people taking this path, and we are seeing so many 

self-taught jewellers becoming important contributors to the industry. I don’t 

think we will see many more of what you would consider a ‘traditional jeweller’ 

from the 1980s and 1990s. Those that still exist will either change or fail, ” he 

explains. 

This example becomes obvious when considering changes to local shopping 

districts. 

“Once upon a time, you could walk down a high street and see rows of jewellery 

stores full of windows with diamond rings and jewellery. If you didn’t have that 

kind of display, you couldn’t sell diamonds,” Pocklington continues. 

“Over the past five or so years, jewellers have discovered that they cannot 

justify that kind of investment anymore. It’s money tied up in stock that may just 

sit in the window for months at a time. It’s not justifiable, Pocklington says.” 

This discussion is missing one crucial element of consideration – consumer 

82

ehaviour. Purchasing patterns have changed considerably over the past 

decade, with an increasing preference for online shopping and a rising 

demand for personalised services. 

Romil Patel oversees four jewellery stores as the owner of Jewels Fiji and, as 

a result, is a keen observer of changes in consumer attitude. 

“Everyone agrees that social media has changed the way consumers think, 

and I believe one of the biggest evolutions is a preference for ‘experience’ 

rather than product,” he explains. 

“People spend so much time on their phones today, and I think it’s completely 

changed our mindsets. I’m not much of a traveller myself, but when I see 

photos or videos of my friends in Greece, Spain, or the US, and they’re 

snowboarding or jet skiing, it’s only natural to wish that was you. I don’t think 

advertising on social media is as valuable for products as it is for experiences.” 

Patel offered a comparison between a diamond ring and a holiday at the 

beach, both presented as a video on Instagram. He suggested that with a video 

of a diamond ring online, the consumer may acknowledge that it’s beautiful 

and wish to own it. 

Comparatively, a video promoting a vacation at the beach is a more emotionally 

provocative visual presentation – it may be unspoken. Still, it represents a 

break from work and valuable time spent somewhere new and exciting. 

This kind of emotional drawing card is more appealing than that of an 

aesthetic possession, and it’s a consumer preference that was accelerated due 

to pandemic lockdowns, where new experiences and travel were prohibited. 

“I know this to be true from my experiences. I love collecting watches, for 

example, and once upon a time, I would spend two years saving to add a new 

high-end Swiss watch to my collection,” he reveals. 

“There came a time when I just said ‘enough’. I’ve got kids growing up, and 

I want them to have an excellent education; I’d like to take my family on 

pleasant holidays that we will all hopefully remember for the rest of our lives. 

“These experiences have become more important than spending money on 

luxury products, and I think the money has followed these new priorities.” 

Scrymgeour also had some insight into the importance of ‘experience’ in 

consumer spending patterns. Over the past 12 months, the ‘metaverse’ has 

been a popular talking point within the retail sector. 

The metaverse is a vision of what many in the computer industry believe is 

the next iteration of the internet: a single, shared, immersive, persistent, 

3D virtual space where humans experience life in ways they could not in the 

physical world. When it comes to the retail, it will allow consumers to explore 

virtual 3D spaces where they can socialise, collaborate, and make purchases. 

To date, there’s been no widespread adoption of the metaverse by retailers 

despite many brands and businesses experimenting with the platform. 

Scrymgeour believes that will change in the not-so-distant future. 

“In 2030, it is likely to be the metaverse, which is a far more fully immersive 

consumer experience than websites,” Scrymgeour explains. 

“To generate visitors to a retail store, consumers will require a better 

experience than they can get from the metaverse. Retailers will need to have 

personalised and customised experiences that can’t be achieved online - such 

as designing custom jewellery.” 

The rest is up to you 

In many cases, predicting the future is a straightforward affair. Many of the 

changes in the jewellery industry in the past 13 years have been apparent 

evolutions of past practices. 

Internet marketing has become critical for retailers, and consumers 

are increasingly evaluating businesses based on digital footprint. Other 

developments have been far from predictable! Who could’ve expected a twoyear 

global pandemic would entirely reshape the industry? 

That said, the crucial insight for retailers is that remaining current is the key 

to success. Retailers may be unable to control consumer behaviour; however, 

these businesses can adapt to meet their demands to the best of their ability. 

Classiquewatches.com 

As science fiction writer Isaac Asimov said: “You don’t need to predict the 

future, just choose a future. Better that you make a good future rather than 

predict a bad one.” 

Who really knows what the future holds? 


83

Provenance 

Does anyone really care? 

Provenance has been widely debated in the jewellery industry for many years. 

Who is really pushing the issue and why? 

47% 

Of retailers surveyed said that 

customers were not concerned about 

provenance issues regarding diamond 

and gemstone jewellery. 


Provenance, otherwise 

known as proof of 

origin, is more important 

for jewellery industry 

participants than it is for 

consumers. 

While provenance may 

not concern consumers, 

it does offer jewellery 

retailers important 

educational and 

marketing opportunities. 

54% 

Of retailers surveyed said that 

their customers ‘never’ or ‘rarely’ 

raised concerns about ecofriendly 

and sustainability issues. 

Provenance, otherwise known as proof of 

origin, has been one of the hottest topics in 

the diamond industry for the past 12 months; 

however, in reality, one must ask: does anyone really care 

where diamonds come from? 

It is true that some people care; however, the degree 

to which provenance impacts sales of diamond and 

gemstone jewellery is undoubtedly questionable. 

Indeed, some might argue that it has been 

embellished to enhance the sales activities of 

businesses that promote and sell provenance 

services. 

During the preparation of this study, Jeweller 

surveyed retailers and suppliers about the 

importance of provenance to the consumer. 

Jewellers were asked whether their customers raise 

provenance (proof of origin) issues when shopping for 

diamond and gemstone jewellery. 

More than 200 Australian retailers participated in the 

survey, and startlingly, only three per cent suggested 

that provenance is ‘always’ raised by customers. 

A further 15 per cent suggested that customers 

raised the topic ‘very frequently’; however, the 

consensus seems to be that jewellery shoppers do 

not care about proof of origin. 

About 15 per cent of jewellers said that when 

shopping for diamond and gemstone jewellery, 

customers never discussed provenance, and more 

than one-third of responses revealed that customers 

‘rarely’ raise the topic. 

A similar quantitative survey of suppliers confirms 

this insight. 

When asked whether their retail customers and 

stockists raise provenance (proof of origin) issues 

when considering their diamond and gemstone 

jewellery orders, fewer than 20 per cent agreed that it 

was a topic raised by retailers. 

The majority (52 per cent) were indifferent to the 

question, neither agreeing nor disagreeing that it was 

important to retailers. 

Given widespread industry sentiment, these 

responses may surprise some readers; however, 

a clearer picture emerges when considering the 

‘identity’ of the average jewellery customer. 

Eye-opening exercise 

What does the typical customer shopping for an 

engagement ring look like? 

Is it mostly likely a woman aged between 21-30? The 

younger the customer, the higher the likelihood that 

they have a low or modest income. 

"How many people know 

diamonds come from 

Russia or that they are the 

largest producer? From my 

interactions - not many." 

According to a recent survey conducted by Diamondport 

Jewellers, a retailer in Queensland, most people 

shopping for an engagement ring had a budget in mind. 

Of those with a budget at the outset, 77 per cent stuck 

to it when buying the engagement ring. 

Returning to the original question, is this hypothetical 

engagement ring customer a young man instead of a 

young woman? If so, they would most likely belong to 

the same demographic in terms of age and income. 

According to that same survey, 85 per cent of 

proposals were made by the man, 10 per cent by the 

woman, and the final five per cent of engagements 

were a ‘mutual decision’ between a couple. 

And what about the political beliefs of these 

hypothetical customers? Younger people tend to 

vote ‘progressively’ and have more ‘liberal’ beliefs; 

however, conservatives tend to marry earlier than 

their left-leaning counterparts. 

Younger people with progressive beliefs are likely to 

consider environmentalism and ‘ethical’ concerns 

when shopping for an engagement ring; however, 

how does this contrast with the issue of budgets? 

It’s well-known that young consumers are looking for 

‘bang for their buck’ above all else – when money is 

tight, everyone wants value. 

So what wins, value or values? Well, according to a 

study by The Harvard Business Review, it’s value. 

In a report titled The Elusive Green Consumer, what’s 

known as an ‘intention-action gap’ is described at 

length. 

Of those surveyed, 65 per cent said they desire 

‘purpose-driven’ brands that advocate for 

sustainability; however, only 26 per cent said they 

actually purchase these types of products. 

“On the surface, there has seemingly never been 

a better time to launch a sustainable offering. 

Consumers — particularly Millennials — increasingly 

say they want brands that embrace purpose and 

sustainability,” the report reads. 

“Indeed, one recent report revealed that certain 

categories of products with sustainability claims 

showed twice the growth of their traditional 

counterparts. 

“Yet a frustrating paradox remains at the heart of 

green business: Few consumers who report positive 

attitudes toward eco-friendly products and services 

follow through with their wallets.” 

External threats 

So, why does this information matter to the diamond 

industry and jewellery retailers? 

The topic of ‘provenance’ has been widely discussed 

in the diamond industry for many years, and it’s 

common for ‘talking heads’ to preach about its 

84


VALUE OR VALUES? 

Only 19 per cent of retailers surveyed said that customers were 

concerned about provenance issues relating to diamond and 

gemstone jewellery, while more than 47 per cent said they were not. 

Retailers advised that customers ‘always or ‘very frequently’ 

raised concerns about eco-friendly and sustainability (seven per 

cent) while more than 54 per cent answered ‘never’ or ‘rarely’. 

When it came to suppliers, fewer than 20 per cent of their retail 

customers raised provenance issues, while 27 per cent were 

unconcerned. More than half had no opinion. 

importance to consumers. 

Proof of origin has always been an important topic 

for the diamond industry for different reasons than 

that for consumers; however, it first seeped into the 

public consciousness during the ‘Blood Diamond’ 

movie period. 

Due to ethical concerns, suppliers and retailers 

feared the award-winning 2006 film would drive 

customers away from diamond jewellery. 

Fortunately, despite the increasing public awareness 

of conflict diamonds, these fears never amounted to 

any substantial change. 

Indeed, the movie came and went, and diamonds 

remained as popular as ever. 

The provenance discussion resurfaced again as 

lab-created diamonds increased in availability and 

popularity; however, this time, it was focused on 

protecting retailers from mixing. 

Earlier this year, De Beers senior vice president 

Feriel Zerouki told Jeweller that the industry was still 

grappling with the impact of these events. 

“At the other end of the supply chain, where 

diamonds once spoke to financial status, end clients 

are now focused on making sure their purchases 

reflect their priorities and show them to have a 

consumer conscience. In short, value is increasingly 

connected to values,” she said. 

“We have made huge strides forward; however, 

regrettably, consumer perception of the industry has 

potentially moved in the opposite direction.” 

She added: “This can be credited in part to the legacy 

of highly visible cultural reference points such as 

the Blood Diamond film and misrepresentations of 

the natural diamond industry by some companies 

seeking to boost demand for lab-created diamonds at 

the expense of natural diamonds.” 

Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 

of the past year, the provenance ‘frenzy’ reached new 

heights. 

As Western nations placed sanctions on the Russian 

diamond industry as punishment for the invasion, the 

need for proof of origin was clear. 

Many said that consumers not only support this 

push for provenance - they demand it. It was noted 

that younger consumers, in particular, expect clear 

evidence of ethical practice. 

The Responsible Jewellery Council suffered greatly 

from the invasion of Ukraine, losing major members 

due to an inability to terminate the membership of 

the diamond miner Alrosa. 

Executive director Iris Van Der Veken resigned and was 

replaced in January by Melanie Grant, who said that 

‘sustainability’ would be the key focus of her tenure. 

“We are today with sustainability where we were 

with digital transformation 20 years ago. Those who 

embraced it thrived but also gained new and younger 

clients,” Grant says. 

“Those who dismissed it in many ways got left 

behind. Sustainability is the greatest single issue 

facing watches and jewellery today, and I want to help 

everyone understand what they can do to be part of 

this movement.” 

David Kellie, president of the Natural Diamond 

Council, has also discussed the importance of 

provenance in the relationship between consumers 

and retailers. 

“Despite the transformation and reform that has 

occurred in the natural diamond industry over recent 

decades, many myths surrounding the industry’s 

operations, its standards, and its ‘players’ continue to 

linger,” he told Jeweller. 

“Unfortunately, these misconceptions erode trust, 

and, in the long run, can be harmful, not only to the 

diamond industry but especially to those who most 

depend on the positive impact of natural diamonds: 

the communities from where they originate.” 

He added: “Through the influence of the internet and 

social media, today’s consumers are more informed 

than ever before. They wish to align their values with 

those of the products they purchase. It is therefore 

vital for us all to support these consumers by 

providing information transparently.” 

Disguised motivations? 

There’s been a common theme throughout these 

repeated pushes for provenance within the diamond 

industry – the suggestion that proof of origin is 

required to meet the demands of consumers. 

But is this true? 

Experiences will differ, of course, and many jewellers 

would suggest that provenance is important to their 

customers. With that said, many on the coalface say 

otherwise, as our survey demonstrates. 

Further, even if consumers say provenance is 

important, is it followed through in their shopping 

decisions, or does the intention-action gap come into 

play? 

In other words, ‘it’s all talk’. 

“Provenance is a tricky question because of the 

Russia-Ukraine situation. From our perspective, we 

probably get one, maybe two customers each month 

who ask us where the diamonds come from,” Garry 

Holloway, owner of Holloway Diamonds, tells Jeweller. 

85



results and subsequent failure suggest a misguided 

business model, a ‘solution looking for a problem’. 

An administrator's report indicated that over the 

previous five years, only a tiny portion of Everledger’s 

total revenue ($AU5.3 million) had been generated 

from its jewellery industry products or services. 

During the same period, the company incurred losses 

in excess of $AU8.2 million. 

"It doesn't hurt to be 

able to show diamonds 

with verified provenance." 

ROB BATES 

JCK ONLINE 

“Even then, I don’t think anybody has ever specifically 

asked [us] if the diamond they were inspecting 

came from Russia. Most people don’t know where 

diamonds come from. Most people don’t know that 

Russia is the world’s biggest source of diamonds in 

terms of nations.” 

Holloway wasn’t the only person consulted for this 

story who questioned general consumer knowledge 

of Russia’s importance in the international diamond 

industry. 

Rod Criddle is a director of the Independent Diamond 

Values International (IDVI), a US-based company that 

offers industry consultancy services. 

“Provenance is a fascinating topic that will increase in 

stature over time. How many people know diamonds 

come from Russia or that they are the largest 

producer? From my interactions - not many,” he says. 

“If you were to ask a consumer, ‘would you buy this 

diamond if it supports the Russian war in Ukraine’ I 

would think most people would say they don’t want it. 

“Currently, I see few at retail stores differentiating 

diamonds, which suggests most retailers are 

unaware of the provenance of specific stones. I can 

see it potentially being a real selling point in the 

future.” 

Political perspective? 

During this research, Jeweller offered a simple 

hypothetical to several members of the diamond 

industry to consider the typical diamond ring 

customer, perhaps a younger woman who is recently 

engaged. 

They were asked: How much do her political views 

outweigh her desire for a large diamond ring – 

regardless of the origins of the stone? 

Paul Zimnisky, analyst with PZ Analytics, an 

independent diamond industry analyst and consultant 

covering the diamond industry, says this was a 

perspective that needed more consideration within 

the industry. 

“It’s a fair question and one that should probably be 

discussed more thoroughly by the industry,” he says. 

"People gift diamonds 

because they make a 

statement or communicate 

a profound message." 

PAUL ZIMNISKY 

PZ DIAMOND ANALYTICS 

“As far as the point concerning signalling a political 

affiliation, this is something interesting to think 

about. The human desire for rare and valuable things 

goes deep with humans, though, and I certainly know 

people who tend to be quite progressive and still want 

a natural diamond.” 

Holloway agreed with Zimnisky, suggesting that 

political interests far outweigh consumer concerns in 

the push for provenance. 

“In answer to the initial question – who cares? – 

from a consumer point of view, there’s significant 

anecdotal evidence that the only people in the world 

who care about diamond provenance live and work in 

Washington DC or Canberra,” he explains. 

“It’s not just the politics; it’s about the type of person. 

I’m not saying that’s wrong; it should be that way. 

Everybody should care, but not everybody does.” 

Fiery crash 

"I still think that until the consumer 

really insists on knowing where their 

diamonds come from, this focus on 

origin will remain internal to the trade." 

ROBERT BOUQUET 

BOTSWANA DIAMONDS 

“Indeed, the trade 

discusses provenance 

much more than the 

consumer.” 

One of the most important stories of this year was 

the chaotic collapse of Everledger, a Brisbane-based 

technology company. 

The company preached bold ambitions, claiming 

that: “The diamond industry has reached a broad 

consensus that greater transparency is the right 

thing to do, with blockchain diamond tracking one of 

the key ways to achieving that end.” 

If provenance was, and is, a significant issue for 

consumers shopping for diamonds and jewellery, 

the success of Everledger would have been almost 

guaranteed. 

However, despite attempts to save the ‘diamond 

tracing’ company, Everledger Australia was placed in 

liquidation with unsecured creditors totalling more 

than $AU19 million. 

At the time, industry pundits speculated that an 

explanation for the collapse was that Everledger’s 

business model was flawed. Indeed, the financial 

In its initial round of fund-raising, Everledger raised 

more than $AU54 million. Therefore, it seemed 

surprising when it was revealed the company failed to 

generate a second round of funding and subsequently 

collapsed. 

Among the company’s most ardent supporters 

was Tencent, the owner of Chinese social media 

app WeChat. Tencent has a stockmarket valuation 

of more than $US400 billion, and it previously led 

Everledger’s $US20 million Series A funding round 

in 2020. 

In June, Jeweller contacted founder Leanne 

Kemp, raising this issue, and subsequently asked 

if investors withdrew funding - and therefore the 

ensuing collapse - because they had no confidence 

in the company’s management or withdrew because 

they had no confidence in the future success of the 

business model – or both. Kemp never responded. 

It stands to reason that, if provenance is such a vital 

issue to the industry, Everledger would not have been 

allowed to collapse. 

Despite the uncertainty around the failure of her 

company and questions about the legitimacy of 

claims about provenance, Kemp has continued to 

tour the world, attending various industry events to 

promote provenance technology. 

Hence, the point is whether such services are 

products looking to solve a problem or solutions 

looking for a problem. 

Who are the real beneficiaries of the debate around 

provenance? It could be argued that it isn’t the 

consumer, especially if they, ultimately, must pay for it. 

Robert Bouquet, director at Botswana Diamonds, 

suggested that the failure of Everledger might 

reveal a need for a realignment of values within the 

diamond industry. 

“The collapse of Brisbane-based diamond tracing 

company Everledger – entering liquidation with more 

than $AU19 million in debt – may support the idea 

that ‘movement’ around provenance is fleeting rather 

than permanent,” he says. 

“Indeed, the trade discusses provenance much more 

than the consumer.” 

What do the numbers say? 

The provenance issue should also be viewed from a 

data perspective. There seems to be little evidence to 

support the notion that provenance is as vital to the 

industry as some believe. 

Rob Bates, news director of JCK Online, says he’s 

unaware of any evidence that consumers prioritise 

provenance; however, he also suggested that it can’t 

hurt to have more information. 

“There's no real data, at least that's been shared 

with me, on whether consumers care about diamond 

provenance,” he says. 

“That said, it's pretty safe to say that they care about 

86



diamond provenance more than, say, gold provenance, 

even though there are plenty of issues in the gold 

supply chain. 

“If a consumer is choosing a lab-created diamond 

over a natural, it's quite possible that the fear of ‘blood 

diamonds’ is lurking in their minds, even if it's not 

explicitly expressed. It doesn't hurt to be able to show 

diamonds with verified provenance.” 

Earlier this year, the Natural Diamond Council 

highlighted a ‘mystery shopper’ study commissioned in 

the US that demonstrated that education for retailers 

is critical to sales. 

According to the report, 93 per cent of customers were 

more inclined to purchase natural diamond jewellery 

when they felt sufficiently educated by a salesperson. 

This was contrasted with 19 per cent of consumers 

who remained inclined to purchase despite feeling 

‘uninformed’. 

“This report highlighted the value placed on an 

understanding of their creation and provenance, as 

well as the beneficiaries throughout the world from 

each sale of a natural diamond,” Kellie explains. 

“This demonstrates that the biggest opportunity to 

increase sales in the industry is to ensure that frontline 

sales staff are properly equipped to share the true 

values and stories of natural diamonds.” 

This report could be interpreted as highlighting 

the value of provenance for jewellery retailers as a 

marketing tool, thus proving its significance beyond a 

method to mitigate consumers' fears around conflict 

diamonds. 

Secret weapon 

Many experts contacted during our research 

highlighted the value of provenance in marketing. 

“There is an opportunity for marketing and branding 

around provenance. Don't forget that diamonds are not 

a practical purchase; they are a discretionary item, it's 

an emotional purchase, people buy diamonds because 

they make them feel good,” Zimnisky says. 

“People gift diamonds because they make a statement 

or communicate a profound message. 

So, as with other luxury items, it's not just about the 

biggest and cheapest, or at least it shouldn't be, as 

that flies in the face of what makes luxury what it is: 

something special. 

“So, I just see provenance as another way for the 

diamond industry to convey that message while at the 

same time providing the customer with the assurance 

that they are buying the real thing and it's also not a 

conflict or illegally sourced stone.” 

Criddle says that marketing that highlights the 

specifics of a diamond could prove valuable to both 

major and independent retailers. 

“It’s about selling the story – from where it came from, 

both the location and formation over billions of years 

and the local communities supported by the industry,” 

Criddle says. 

“Information such as rough shape and weight, as well 

as how, who and why the diamond was polished and 

how it was made into the final piece of jewellery, is all 

valuable. 

“This information might be more valuable in relation to 

expensive diamonds or exclusive retailers, though I feel 

"Through the influence of the 

internet and social media, 

today’s consumers are more 

informed than ever before." 

DAVID KELLIE 

NATURAL DIAMOND COUNCIL 

it can certainly filter down to general retailers to some 

degree.” 

This message was reiterated by De Beers’ Zerouki, 

who says that retailers have a crucial role in sharing 

the entire story behind diamonds. 

“The good news is that the natural diamond 

industry has an amazing story to tell in terms of 

how these miracles of nature are supporting the 

lives and livelihoods of millions of people worldwide,” 

Zerouki says. 

"It stands to reason that, 

if provenance is such a 

vital issue to the industry, 

Everledger would not have 

been allowed to collapse." 

“Jewellery retailers are at the vanguard of 

consumer education, and jewellers need to consider 

the importance of their long-term futures in 

communicating these two positive and complementary 

propositions.” 

Voice of the industry 

Provenance may have an important role in the diamond 

industry's future; however, it’s unlikely to be in 

response to consumer demand. 

A second question in the retailer survey sought 

comments to clarify the following: My customers voice 

concerns about eco-friendly and sustainability issues. 

More than 16 per cent replied ‘never’ while a further 

38 per cent responded ‘rarely’. Only a little more than 

7 per cent of retailers answered ‘always’ or ‘very 

frequently’. The results were echoed by wholesalers 

and suppliers selling products to retailers. 

When asked to respond to the statement - my retail 

customers and stockists voice concerns about ecofriendly 

and sustainability issues regarding jewellery 

and watch products - only 3.85 per cent answered ‘very 

frequently’. Nobody responded to the question stating 

‘always’. 

On the other side, 65 per cent of retailers responded 

"It’s not just the politics; it’s 

about the type of person. 

Everybody should care, but 

not everybody does.” 

GARRY HOLLOWAY 

HOLLOWAY DIAMONDS 

‘never’ or ‘rarely’. 

So, who is pushing the issue of provenance if it isn’t 

consumers or retailers? Indeed, proof of origin may 

well be a solution to a problem that doesn’t exist. 

What did we learn? 

"We have made huge strides 

forward; however, regrettably, 

consumer perception of the 

industry has potentially moved in 

the opposite direction." 

FERIEL ZEROUKI 

DE BEERS GROUP 

Provenance may prove to be a powerful tool for the 

jewellery industry as far as marketing is concerned. 

That said, there’s no reason to pretend that provenance 

is vital because consumers require it. 

As Bouquet explains, there’s little evidence to suggest 

it’s a factor that weighs heavily on consumers during 

the decision-making process. 

“I still think that until the consumer really insists on 

knowing where their diamonds come from, this focus 

on origin will remain internal to the trade. We always 

hear consumers rarely ask where their diamond 

originates from,” he explains. 

“That said, this will change over time - and it makes 

sense. Our natural diamond industry has some 

compelling stories to tell regarding the positives of our 

business worldwide.” 

He added: “Indeed, the industry promoting information 

about natural diamond provenance could set the 

standard and almost drive the consumer to expect this 

information. Some vertically integrated retailers are 

already doing this.” 

The industry feared the worst when Blood Diamond 

was released nearly two decades ago; however, the 

trade was largely unaffected when all was said and 

done. 

It would seem reasonable to assume that by the 

time the conflict in Ukraine is resolved – whether in 

six months or six years – the reputation of natural 

diamond jewellery with consumers will be largely 

unaffected. Those who understand this relationship 

– diamond producers, suppliers, and the political 

class – have a vested interest in expanded provenance 

capabilities. 

It’s hard to find fault with a desire for more information, 

and retailers may well benefit from marketing created 

using improved provenance technology. 

With that said, there’s no reason to misrepresent 

this need for data as being consumer-driven if it 

simply isn’t. And if the industry continues to do so, it 

could result in more spectacular collapses such as 

Everledger. 

88

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2024 State of the Industry Report

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