Many Want To Hide The Unsavory Aspects Of How Business Is Conducted In The Jewelry Industry

Business, Small Business.

Blue ocean strategy for responsible sourced jewelry - the most useful business book i have come across since jim collins' "good to great" is" blue ocean strategy" , by w. Blue Ocean strategy is about breaking through structures that primarily exist in how you perceive your company and the market.

Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne. - the strategy helps you to see new opportunities. It is analogous to jumping through a cubic centimeter of opportunity to find an entirely" blue ocean, " opportunity. Once you see them, you have access to a world without competition. One example of success sited in the book is Circ du Soliel, opera and theatre, which combines circus. Another example given is the brand, which differentiated itself, Yellow Tail wine from the highly competitive wine business by altering the image of what it means to drink wine.

Circ essentially took an old, out of date event - the circus - and redesigned it into a power brand. - in contrast, what we have in the jewelry industry, particularly the 63 billion dollar diamond industry, is" red ocean" competition. A diamond is simply a commodity and only price counts. The term red refers to the blood of rival sellers. Grading certifications favor the large volume discounter who sells online. How many diamonds does someone buy in their life, anyway? The number of independent jewelers who closed down last year illustrates the danger of Red Ocean diamond business, yet many jewelers continue to base their entire business on diamonds.

What are the long term prospects of competing with internet sales among the next generation of buyers who do so much of their shopping on line? - diamond dealers will continue to fight to the death for a shrinking profit pool. How long will it take before independents realize that they have to create an alternative strategy to drive people into their store other than diamonds? Yet within the diamond industry, Hearts on Fire has executed a Blue Ocean strategy by creating a brand that gets fantastically high margins. Many other companies have the" heart. " However, only Glenn Rothman was clever enough to create a power brand, which he supported through his" university" and extensive sales training and marketing. We know that the cut on the Hearts on Fire diamonds is not unique to their particular factory in China. He took a product and redefined it, targeting the psychological profile of a particularly affluent customer one who is obsessed with brand and" perfection. " Fair Trade, Eco - friendly jewelry may very well be another Blue Ocean opportunity even more accessible and less costly to the average jeweler.

The people who merge values and purchasing decisions are not so concerned about the" cheapest price" and they often want to" buy local. " Here is a four action framework from the book that helps us understand more about how a Fair Trade, Eco - friendly and Socially Responsible brand might pursue a Blue Ocean strategy. 1) Which of the factors that the industry takes for granted should be eliminated? - offering fair trade and socially responsible eco - jewelry would separate any store from its competition and bring in foot traffic from a segment of society that might not necessarily come into a jewelry store to look for a gift. Many want to hide the unsavory aspects of how business is conducted in the jewelry industry. We want to differentiate ourselves by being upfront and having full disclosure. But a Blue Sky approach would have us differentiate ourselves by eliminating anything that disguises, hides or obfuscates practices within our industry. As I explain in my ten ways for a jeweler to sell to customers passionate about socially responsibility a customer can handle the truth and will appreciate all sincere efforts to change things and will support those companies that are proactive. 2) Which factors should be reduced well below the industry' s standard? Practicing strong environmental standards is an easy way to differentiating one' s company from the competition.

We reduce, any way we can, practices which are harmful to the environment in our own company. - we also reduce any ambiguity in the labor and environmental practices of our supply chain. The goal is to replace our suppliers who do not adhere to fair trade, environmental standards. We do this by investigating the practices of those we purchase from. Some of these changes can only take place when we garner support of the market. For example, some gems are available right now on a fair trade basis and they are reasonably priced.

But there is low hanging fruit. - if we are not sure about where our diamonds come from, then simply buy canadian. 3) which factors should be raised well above the industry standards? In fact, this has to be a major focus of how we redefine ourselves. Any action that moves us toward fair trade and ecologically responsible production and socially responsible business should be raised well above industry standards, which is very easy to do these days. Many articles on this site show how this can be started with little additional expense and huge potential payoff. 4) Which factors should be created that the industry has never offered? We can create this brand by that is supported by a network of suppliers who share these common values. Fair trade, as a market, ethically produced jewelry category, has never been offered.

In addition, we put forward this new brand in our marketing efforts.