Jewelry retailer Zale Corp. named interim chief executive officer Mary “Betsy” Burton to the post permanently and launched a search for a new chief financial officer. Zale’s board tapped Burton, a director, as its interim CEO in late January after forcing the resignation of Mary Forte, CEO since 2002. Zale’s board made the change following the failure of Forte’s campaign to shift the advertising and merchandise at the retailer’s flagship Zales Jewelers to appeal to a more upscale and fashion-conscious clientele.
Zale, Irving, Texas, has annual sales of over $2 billion. In the United States it operates under the Zales Jewelers, Zales outlet, Gordon’s Jewelers, Bailey Banks & Biddle and Piercing Pagoda brands. In Canada, its brands are
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“You don’t have to go inexpensive to show great value,” she says. Forte also claimed that Zales was able to offer better quality jewelry because it had finally started to buy products directly from overseas supplies. “We were working to improve the business and these things take time,” Forte says. “We were staring to hit our stride, but direct sourcing was still new was just beginning to infiltrate the inventory”.
Since taking the reins, Burton, years old, has scrapped Forte upscale strategy, recast Zales Jewelers’ advertising campaign to focus on value rather than fashion and shifted the division’s merchandise back to a heavy focus on diamond rings and jewelry. She also overhauled Zale’s training and commission programs.
Zale put former chief financial officer Mark Lenz on administrative leave in May 2006 for allegedly failing to inform Zale’s auditors that roughly $8 million in payments to vendors recorded prior to the end of Zale’s fiscal year on July 31 2006 were actually received by the vendor in August. Zale has since April faced a Securities and Exchange Commission investigation focused on multiple topics, including vendor payments, warranty programs, leases, and executive severance and stock
S(trengths) – Foxy Originals has saturated the Canadian market, which presents an opportunity for growth. The two owners have extensive experience in designing jewelry, having done so since they were in high school. They’re good at what they do and have had time to perfect their trade. They also have a firm grasp of who their target market is, so they are able to offer “fresh, fun, and funky” products at a reasonable price. With such a specific product (rather than just general jewelry), it creates a niche market that will generate loyal customers.
Zauner Ornaments was a large manufacturer of crystal and glass products based in Vienna Austria. The company had an international reputation of producing high quality glass and crystal at affordable prices due to the skill of its master artisan and using innovative technology in the manufacturing process. Its product was used in fine restaurants, hotels and residencies around the world.
Deborah Finn’s Rittenhouse Jewelers is a jeweler that is located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They have been in the industry for more than 40 years. Deborah Finn’s Rittenhouse Jewelers specializes in diamonds, pearls, colored gemstones, jewelry care, and weddings and engagements. Their services include jewelry facelift, estate jewelry, repair and restoration, and shipping. Since 1983, Deborah Finn has been certified in diamonds by the
In 1837, a man named Charles Lewis Tiffany founded the company Tiffany, but it was not until 1853 when the same man decided to rename the company Tiffany & Co. and make the switch from being a company that sold stationary objects, to a company that focused on the creation and distribution of luxury jewelry (Agrawal). Since the reconfiguration of the company, and over 150 years later, Tiffany & Co. has transformed from a regular retailor like the well-known Macys, JcPenney’s and Kohl’s, which all offer jewelry for sale, to a distinguished brand that is the leader of the specialty jewelry industry (Tiffany). The quest to becoming such an iconic brand, can be linked to the market structure in which Tiffany & Co. encompasses and how the company surpassed its competitors, maneuvered through the entry barriers, established market power and differentiated its standardized products to its consumers. However, before analyzing the market structure in which they reside one must understand all of the market structures.
There is an incredible selection of a variety of styles. There are several precious metals to choose from as well as high-quality gemstones that are expertly set into the jewelry pieces. There is also expert customer service that will assist shoppers from selection to sale. If there are any questions a customer service representative will be happy to assist. Don't settle for discount jewelry that was not designed to last. Shop with a reputable jeweler that takes pride in the pieces that they offer their customers and work hard to ensure that each transaction goes smoothly and meet and exceeds the expectations of shoppers. Never compromise quality for price because jewelry should be made to last and impress. Visit us to see the incredible selection of beautiful jewelry pieces in stock. There is something for every individual style and age in the selection and every item is designed to bring beauty and style to the customer for years to
Executive Summary:Foxy Originals has been becoming a popular jewelry brand in Canada with their low-priced high-class products. With fast pace growing in local market, Foxy’s jewelry
Maupassant effectively portrays a marriage that is misunderstood through manipulation, distrust, and deception. He does this by describing each individual, the couple in relation to one another, as well as their lifestyle.
Humans started to learn how to use items to decorate themselves in the distant past. They used items they found like fish bones, stones and shells as ornaments worn on their bodies. Later, they started to use pearls, gemstones, gold and silver as the raw material of jewelry. In ancient Egypt and Greece, they worked with a great quantity of gold to make jewelry. Although jewelry of these two countries were made of the same material, they had a different meaning and function that was sometimes influenced by the structure of government. In Egypt, the Pharaohs were considered gods and had absolute authority. Slavery was very common and provided cheap labor (Mark). It was
Zappos has created a very structural attractive company. There is a lot of room for growth with the recent purchase by Amazon.
Imperial Jewelers is not like your average jewelry store. We specialize and focus on one specific element of jewelry and that are earrings. We believe if you focus and put all your effort in on one aspect the more that product will be noticeable and purchased because of how much work and dedication has been put to it. How elegant yet extravagant designs make us a very popular and high-end brand that carries earring suitable for all occasions in various sizes and craftsmanship. What makes us different than other jewelry stores is that we focus on the detailing and work of our product very significantly as our final product must be a perfect finish with all the right work. We only carry and use high quality material and diamonds incorporated into our products to give our consumers the best look possible.
Zara’s product differentiation strategy is based on high quality and low prices. The company wants to be fashionable and desire for everyone. This is the reason of their strategy (low price and high quality).
Zara is an apparel company and the leader brand of the Spanish retail mogul, Inditex. zara was established in 1975 in Spain by Amancio Ortega who is currently the 3rd richest man in the world, the first store was opened as an outlet but by 1979 the establishment already had six stores at different locations in Spain and by 1985 the company branched out to Portugal new york city and Paris. Today Zara has over 1900 stores worldwide which are located in 22 different countries; these stores render employment to over 125,000 employees. Zara depends on information they gather from customer and organizational feedback from all their stores on a daily basis this information is then forwarded to the supply chain, which works in synergy with the stores to keep the level of storage in stores down to a minimum. Zara owns the production, supply chain and in-house production, which lead to greater speed in output (M.A.Cano)
Zara’s business model can be broken down into three basic components: concept, capabilities, and value
Middle class is booming worldwide and with prosperity comes consumers ' desire to show that they are doing well, therefore super brands like Danish Pandora and British Signet also called “category killers”, has stormed the global jewellery market where there is money to fight for. Pandora competes in affordable luxury segment, which in 2009 totalled 83 billion USD, equivalent to approx. 57% of the total market for fine jewellery. Affordable luxury still gives consumers the feel of stardust.
Michael Hill entered New Zealand jewelry market by opening its own store, Michael Hill Jewellery in Whangarei in the year 1979. Since three decades Michael Hill International Limited along with its 13 subsidiaries has now become one of the largest wholesalers, manufacturers as well as the retailers of the jewelry collection in North America and Oceania. They are basically based in Brisbane but have their own name Michael Hill which is listed in NZX50 from 1987. Talking about Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the United States the number of stores under Michael Hill are over 240 and about 2000 employees. For them it is a moment of pride in being a customer focused company which produces finest jewelry that too at the lowest possible price.