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Brand News: Fope’s Flagship In Venice; Jewelers Mutual To Give Away $2 Million; More June 29, 2016 (0 comments)
Fope Opens First Flagship Store
Venice, Italy—Italian jeweler Fope opened its first retail shop this past spring, in one of the most highly-trafficked tourist areas in the world: Venice’s Central Piazza San Marco (St Mark’s Square.) Left: exterior of the Fope flagship seen through the famed arches surrounding St. Mark's Square.
It is a new step for the brand, which was founded 87 years ago and boasts 1,000 stockists around the world. The new shop is located under the arcades of the Procuratie Vecchie, and has two large windows overlooking the main square of Venice. It is a strategic position guaranteeing the brand maximum visibility in one of the world’s most key destinations.
Fope worked with architect Flavio Albanese to redesign and retrofit the existing premises in a way that respects the history of the building but lends a contemporary touch, with two cozy rooms incorporating wooden niches, Venetian fabrics, and Fope’s signature pattern on the wallpaper.
Interior of Fope's flagship in Venice, Italy.
Jewelers Mutual Creates National Push To “Band Together” and Give Away $2 Million To Charity
Neenah, WI—Jewelers Mutual Insurance Co. is tapping into both its own history of giving back and Millennials’ expectations of the companies they do business with to give back, with a new promotion this summer that aims to give $2 million to three causes and four organizations.
“Band Together” is asking consumers to vote online for their favorite charity among Feeding America and Food Banks Canada, Habitat for Humanity, and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
Voting opens July 11 and runs through July 31. Consumers across the United States and Canada can cast ballots—once daily—by clicking here (the page will go live on July 11 for voting to start) to support the charities. Each nonprofit will receive a portion of the $2 million; how much depends on the votes it gets. The cause that receives the most votes by the end of July will receive a $1 million donation from Jewelers Mutual. The runner-up will get $700,000, and $300,000 will go to the third-place winner.
In addition to the monies given to charity, every individual who answers the call to “Band Together” and vote online will be eligible to win a set of three stacking bands from Stacked New York. Jewelers Mutual is giving away three sets throughout the campaign. Winning participants will be randomly selected during each week of voting.
“Jewelers Mutual has a long history of supporting organizations both locally and nationally. The Band Together campaign represents a major expansion of our corporate social responsibility efforts throughout the U.S and Canada,” said Scott Murphy, Jewelers Mutual president and CEO. “This year, we are excited to be donating the biggest one-time gift in our history. To add to the excitement, we are encouraging our customers and their friends and family to actively join us in determining how to distribute this gift."
Trina Woldt, JM vice president of marketing, says there’s opportunity for retail jewelers to get involved as well. “If we can get the whole jewelry industry supporting these causes, many of which they’re passionate about as well, it’s a way to engage with their customers on a whole other level.” Retail jewelers can participate by sharing Band Together posts on their own social media pages, or by calling their agent or Jewelers Mutual directly for further involvement.
The donated money will help:
- Find a family a decent place to live. Habitat for Humanity serves nearly 1,400 communities across the U.S. and is in over 70 countries. Financial support and volunteering can add a voice to support affordable housing, stability and self-reliance.
- Provide food for more than 46 million people through 60,000 food pantries and meal programs across the U.S. Feeding America has a nationwide network of 200 food banks that help educate the public about hunger problems and start conversations with legislators about protecting people from going hungry.
- Feed at least 850,000 Canadians each month. Food Banks Canada provides over 200 million pounds of quality food annually and advocates for policy change to make sure no one is hungry.
- Find cures for life-threatening diseases and save children’s lives. St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital provides support and treatment for childhood cancer and other life-threatening diseases.
Winners will be announced on August 1.
Rolex Tops Online Watch Brand Websites
New York, NY—New research from Karus Chains identifies the top 10 watch brand websites, as well as the top 10 watch brands on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube and Pinterest. Extensive research on 85 watch brands yielded these and other results:
- Rolex tops four out of the seven categories. It is the number-one watch brand for website traffic, Facebook fans, Pinterest followers, and engagement levels on Instagram.
- Hublot is the number-one watch brand for Instagram and Twitter followers.
- Tag Heuer is the number-one watch brand on YouTube.
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