NEW YORK — Apparel and accessories buyers struggled with the weak dollar-to-euro exchange rate during the European runway and trade shows last month, and now it is the fine jewelry industry’s turn to battle it out.
With the Baselworld Watch & Jewelry show less than two weeks away, fine jewelry and watch retailers are taking different approaches to dealing with the strong euro, which was valued at $1.33 on Friday. The weight of the euro is enough to keep some retailers home during this month’s show.
“While we are certainly committed to working with numerous vendors in Italy,” said Michael Pollak, president of Hyde Park Jewelers, who is not attending the show, “we’re not interested in exploring new relationships in light of what the dollar can buy overseas.”
Pollak said he often uses the trip to find as many as six new collections, but with the poor exchange rate is not interested in acquiring new lines from Europe.
He will go to Hong Kong for the first time in September to source from alternate vendors.
“[Going to Basel] would be like hitting my head against a brick wall,” said Jamie Camche, co-owner of JL Rocks, which has two locations in Connecticut. “European companies are coming to us because they’re realizing the small businesses aren’t making the trip.”
Camche is also “very seriously considering” traveling to Asia next year to look at new lines.
“We’re also working with Vancox [in Brazil],” she said. “India is another alternative to the Italian jewelry market right now. We’re doing very well with that ethnic look.”
Camche’s two Connecticut stores draw a small, local clientele. As such, she is hesitant to buy product from the same lines she’s been carrying but at a higher price.
For other retailers, the show is a must, and the price situation is just something they’re working out.
Danny Govberg, owner of Philadelphia’s Govberg Jewelers, will be attending as he has for the last 20 or so years. He will not be on a tighter budget despite the higher prices of goods.
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“We’re not changing our buying habits at all [because of the exchange rate],” he said.
Govberg could place his order for brands that have an American office from home, he said, but would not consider it.
“I look at not going to Basel like it’s a snub on the industry,” Govberg said. “Do buyers from Neiman’s not go to Milan because they can buy fall here?”
Ruediger Albers, U.S. president of watch and jewelry chain Wempe, said he could not buy product anywhere other than Basel.
“With some brands, if you get there too late, you don’t get the allocation you’d like, and some of the pieces you almost have to fight for,” Albers said.
This year, Albers is bringing a team of four executives compared with three last year.
“Seeing the product firsthand and getting the background information, for salespeople that plants a seed of inspiration that they can then convey to a client,” he said. “[The Basel trip] will probably be the best money ever spent. It’s money saved in the wrong place if you don’t see what’s there.”
Albers also has no hesitation investing in European product. His budget is bigger than 2004, he said, and he’ll be looking for innovation from brands like Cartier and Jaeger-LeCoultre.
“Last year, we saw double-digit increases in sales,” he said. “We’re very optimistic about this year.”
John Green, president and chief executive officer of Lux, Bond & Green, which has nine locations in Connecticut and Massachusetts, will be attending Basel, but on a tighter budget.
In the past, Green had bought pieces from Europe, but later regretted it “because Asia and other countries were making the same product” and he could have bought it at a lower price.
He recently returned from a show in Hong Kong to which he hadn’t traveled in years.
Quality in Asia is improving, many retailers said, and the stigma of something being made in China does not really exist.
“There’s no stigma because the customers don’t ask,” Green said. “We do, but they don’t.”
Mark Udell, co-owner of London Jewelers, said: “I think a lot of the European designers and manufacturers are going to have to work to be more competitive if they want to have a business. It’s my job to go into the worldwide market and do my homework to bring back the best value to the customer.”
Udell will also travel to shows in Bangkok and Hong Kong this year.
Stores reported that customers have noticed the price increase, but are willing to overlook it if the product is from a brand to which they are loyal.
“When you take it out of the brand,” Green said, “that’s where we’re cautious. If it doesn’t have brand equity, you really need to take a second look and ask if it’s worth the price.”