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Brand News: Belle Étoile Saves Sea Turtles; Jewelers unBlocked Offers Rental Insurance; More July 12, 2017 (0 comments)
Belle Étoile Launches New Program With Sea Turtle Conservancy
Emeryville, CA—Following the success of its recent partnership with the Sea Turtle Conservancy, jewelry designer Belle Étoile is introducing a new sea turtle adoption program to boost awareness for sea turtle conservation as well as offering customers a fun incentive. When a consumer purchases a full set of the brand’s Sea Turtle Collection, Belle Étoile will adopt a sea turtle in their name. Once a purchase is registered on the Belle Étoile website, Belle Étoile will email or mail a certificate to that customer, featuring their adopted sea turtle along with an annual membership to the Sea Turtle Conservancy.
“Our partnership with the Sea Turtle Conservancy is growing stronger than ever and Belle Étoile wants to explore creative ways to give our customers more while helping our environment,” says Carolyn Thamkul, executive vice president at Belle Étoile. Sales manager Bryce Harenburg adds, “The response from both the retailers and consumers has been extremely positive. From the recent sales of our Sea Turtle Collection through the Sea Turtle Conservancy, we have seen that people are excited about helping. This new program is our way of thanking them.”
The Sea Turtle Collection features scenes of ocean life highlighting sea turtles, seahorses, and tropical flora and fauna in hand-painted Italian enamels on pavé-set sterling silver. “Turtles have been longstanding symbols of wisdom, fertility, good health, and life. This underwater paradise reminds us of the preciousness of these spiritual creatures and how imperative it is for us to care for them and their habitats,” says Thamkul. Retail price points for the collection start at $225.
Bracelet, ring, and pendant from the Sea Turtle collection.
Contact sales@belleetoilejewelry.com or call (415) 626-9223.
Jewelers unBlocked Launches New Jewelry Rental Insurance Program
Mahwah, NJ—Jewelers unBLOCKed is rolling out a new program designed to help jewelers grow business in the new “sharing economy.” The program will provide their qualified jewelry clients with insurance coverage for the rental of fine jewelry, allowing jewelers to offer a new option to consumers besides purchasing outright.
According to Investopedia, a sharing economy is defined as “an economic model in which individuals are able to borrow or rent assets owned by someone else. The sharing economy model is most likely to be used when the price of a particular asset is high and the asset is not fully utilized all the time.” AirBnb, Rent The Runway, and Lyft are examples of the many successful companies using the sharing economy businesses model.
According to Patricia K. Low, Jewelers unBlocked president and CEO, “In the past decade we’ve seen huge success for companies such as Rent The Runway, Style Lend and Le Tote, who rent high-end fashion items to consumers. We are now seeing this phenomenon extend lucratively into the jewelry category. Therefore, we developed our program as a way to provide another valuable tool to assist the industry in meeting the needs and desires of the new consumer, while minimizing the risk involved.”
The timing is right for this program, says Low. A recent PricewaterhouseCoopers survey shows 86% of respondents agree that the sharing economy makes their lives more affordable. Furthermore, the company predicts the sharing economy will grow to a $335 billion industry by 2025, while Time magazine says 44% of U.S. adults have already participated in the sharing economy in some fashion.
Although the basic characteristics of the program are set across the board, Jewelers unBLOCKed will work with each client individually to tailor parameters that best fit specific needs. For more information, contact Laurette Merusi, lmerusi@jewelers-unblocked.com, or call (201) 794-7705, ext. 122.
Louis Vuitton Launches Branded Smartwatch
London, United Kingdom—Louis Vuitton has launched the Tambour Horizon, a new luxury smartwatch. The watch, which runs on Google’s Android platform, is customizable with three different case styles, 60 interchangeable straps, and downloadable digital watch faces. Prices will start at about $2,511 for a case and $303 for a strap, making it an entry-level purchase for the Vuitton brand.
In an interview with Business Of Fashion, Louis Vuitton chair and CEO Michael Burke said he believes the industry of connected objects is going to be massive.
The Vuitton-branded watch is a latecomer to the smartwatch market, even behind other LVMH brands. Tag Heuer, Bvlgari, and Montblanc all have smartwatches in the market, though the Apple watch is the dominant player by a large margin.
Still, says the article, the paradox for luxury brands entering the smartwatch arena is that they must balance their traditional positioning as a timeless heirloom or investment with rapidly changing technology, a blend that’s not easy to get right.
With its entry-level price points, analysts don’t anticipate the Louis Vuitton smartwatch to be a major revenue generator for the brand; instead, it may function mainly as a buzz-builder.