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Brand News: Gregg Ruth Departs Namesake Company; De Beers Names CFO; More December 09, 2015 (0 comments)
Gregg Ruth Departs Namesake Company; Stuller Alumnus Becomes CEO
Malibu, CA—Gregg Ruth announces the departure of eponymous founder and president Gregg Ruth and the appointment of Daniel P. Schneider (left) as CEO. The change is effective immediately. Ruth is leaving to pursue other business opportunities, according to a release from the company.
“I have nothing but the greatest respect for Gregg Ruth, and thank him for his leadership and service to the company,” said Sanjay Kothari, vice chairman of the KGK Group, which owns the Gregg Ruth company. “We wish him the very best in his future endeavors.
“Daniel P. Schneider will be responsible for managing the company’s growth, while prioritizing strategic and tactical efforts in a fluid and competitive North American market,” continued Kothari. “Daniel’s career spans more than 25 years in the jewelry industry and he brings a wealth of expertise and experience to the KGK management team.” Daniel joins Gregg Ruth from Lafayette, LA-based Stuller, Inc., where he led a variety of turnkey initiatives for retailers.
Gregg Ruth’s accounting and financial operations will continue to be managed by the current COO, Harsh Sacheti, reporting to Schneider.
De Beers Names New CFO
London, UK—The De Beers Group of Companies has appointed Nimesh Patel as chief financial officer. He succeeds Gareth Mostyn, who was promoted to executive head of strategy and corporate affairs. Patel moves over from Anglo American, where he was group head of corporate finance for De Beers’ parent company. He also spent 15 years in investment banking at JP Morgan and UBS. He will report to Philippe Mellier, CEO.
Color Craft, Hallmark Cards Team Up For Jewelry Offering
New York, NY—Color Craft recently signed a licensing agreement with Hallmark Cards, Inc., launching a new Hallmark Jewelry collection in all 223 Meijer stores in time for Sweetest Day, celebrated in October in certain regions of the United States.
The new Hallmark Jewelry program features an accessible, open-sell, top-of-counter presentation. The assortment of necklaces and earrings are crafted in sterling silver with accents of diamond and gemstones, featuring popular icons and themes. Each piece is sold complete with Hallmark branded gift packaging and complimentary sentiments on every box.
Color Craft president Todd Wolleman said, “ Hallmark Jewelry is a unique selling concept that combines emotional connectivity with carefully designed and curated fine jewelry, for a unique gift giving opportunity perfect for any occasion.”
The line is already seeing positive sales, he added.
New Free Mobile App Allows Retailers To Source Diamonds By Price, Availability, Four C’s, And Certs
New York, NY—Virtual Diamond Boutique (V.db) has launched a new, free, easy-to-use digital application for smart phones and tablets that enables retailers to virtually and visually source diamonds by price, availability and all the "C’s" (carat, color, clarity, cut and certification). The new V.db app, available for iPhone, iPad, and Android devices, is free for retailers and offers the potential for significant cost savings on both shipping and inventory.
Founding partner Gil Ohad calls it “the Instagram of the diamond world.” The technology is exciting because it gives the retailer the ability to communicate with today’s consumers on their level, he said.
With the app, retailers can virtually enhance their inventory with literally thousands of available diamonds via high quality photos and videos, which allows the sales associate to pre-sell the stone(s) before requesting samples, reducing shipping costs and security risks. The app is visually designed with the end consumer in mind, starting with budget and easily navigating through shape, size, color, clarity and more. Data saving, sharing, and reminder options are available, granting sales associates the ability to save customers’ favorite stones and share or remind them via email, Facebook, and other social media outlets.
The app also serves as an efficient training tool, with visual imagery that makes it easy for new sales associates to learn standard diamond terminology and information. For a minimal fee, retailers can also add their own inventory to the application, making their stones available to other retailers to increase turnover and the overall volume of unit sales.
Each diamond listed on the V.db app has its relevant certification documents uploaded within the app, and its availability is updated instantly via the vendor’s inventory software systems. V.db also includes each stone’s unique Gemprint, an optical fingerprint of the diamond, which strengthens consumer confidence and generates an insurance discount for the customer with most reputable insurance companies.
V.db offers retailers the flexibility to sell from anywhere in the world from their mobile devices. Retailers can also connect their smart devices to airplay on AppleTV or GoogleTV to feature high resolution video and still imagery on in-store large screen monitors at point of sale.
The app is currently available on the App Store for iPhone and iPad or the Google Play store for Android. Training videos, imagery and text are also available on the Virtual Diamond Boutique website.