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Brand News: IDDeal Card Offers Up To $100K Credit; ALROSA Sales Top $3 Billion January 15, 2020 (0 comments)
Industry-Based Consumer Credit Card Offers Approvals Up To $100K
New York, NY—Diamond jewelry manufacturer IDD is offering a credit card with up to a $100,000 spending limit. To help independent and small chain jewelers better compete with the majors on credit, IDD partnered with Comenity Bank in 2013 to launch its consumer finance program, called “The IDDEAL Card." Image at left: Southern Jewelry News
The idea behind the IDDEAL card was to offer a credit program for independents and small chains to help close more high-ticket sales by offering a credit option that allows customers to keep those purchases separate from their general-purpose credit cards. Most independent retailers can't compete with the larger banners on credit, resulting in a significant loss of sales.
Since its inception, the IDDEAL credit card now has more than 24,000 consumer cardholders with an aggregate $72 million in open-to-buy credit, and is offered at more than 800 jewelry locations across the country. It has enabled its retail partners to close more than 300 million dollars in sales, says the company, and major brands also have selected IDDEAL as their exclusive card.
IDD also supports The IDDEAL Credit program with an in-house marketing department that creates customized ads, billboards, and social media bundles for retailers. Some other key features of this program are:
- No annual fees and no monthly requirements.
- No equipment needed; processing is done online.
- Customized finance programs with competitive rates up to 60 months.
- Fast and easy application process takes less than 60 seconds.
- Open-to-buy reports at your fingertips.
- High credit approvals up to $100,000.
- Customized marketing.
For information, call (800) 621-1162, visit www.iddny.com, or see IDD at Centurion Arizona.
ALROSA Announces Year-End Results; 2019 Sales Top $3 Billion
Moscow, Russia—ALROSA Group announced its total rough and polished diamond sales for both the month of December and for 2019 overall. Total sales in 2019 were $3.338 billion, with the majority ($3.273 billion) coming from sales of rough diamonds. Polished diamond sales totaled $64.7 million in 2019.
In the month of December 2019, ALROSA sold $363.8 million worth of rough and polished diamonds, an 11% uptick year-on-year vs. December 2018. Again, the majority ($352.1 million) were rough, while polished diamond sales accounted for $11.6 million.
“In December, we observed signs of stabilizing diamond demand that had emerged earlier in the second half of the year amid the gradual restoration of market balance. This was largely supported by a flexible sales strategy of mining companies,” said ALROSA deputy CEO Evgeny Agureev.
“Cutters and retailers entered 2019 with large stocks of goods, but their expectations of strong demand did not match the reality. Along with other factors, this triggered a massive destocking while also hitting the demand for rough diamonds. As a result, 2019 saw sales by diamond producers drop by almost a third from the previous year.
“At the same time, there is robust demand for jewelry from end consumers. The preliminary data on Christmas sales shows its year-on-year growth in some regions. This proves that diamond jewelry remains a key way of expressing one’s special feelings.”