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January Jewelry Sales: More Dollars Spent, Fewer Units Sold Sherry Smith unpacks independent retailers’ January performance and gives tips for navigating the slow-growth year ahead.
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A Conversation with Dialog Solutions
Do you always want the right diamonds at the right price in your store? Introducing Dialog, the world’s first diamond subscription service.
Brought To You By Dialog Solutions
We are excited to share our conversation with Dialog! We sat down with Dialog to learn all about their program and how it can help our retailers.
Tell us about Dialog and how the business came to be?
Our company is a third-generation diamond business and we have operated in Canada for over 40 years. I start this way to say that we have seen many economic trends in the diamond business and have a unique perspective not operating in traditional diamond centers.
We have been noticing gaps and trends in the diamond industry and among our customers for years. Many diamond retailers seemed to be divesting out of loose diamonds and diamond jewelry and filling much of their showcases with fashion jewelry and watches. As a result, we noticed that a large percentage of diamond sales came from call stones. We would get a call for the same diamond from multiple retailers in the same city and it became apparent that a customer was visiting retailers looking for a specific diamond. We thought to ourselves – did all of these retailers lose that sale because they didn’t have the merchandise available for sale when the customer walked in the door?
We felt there was a gap between what customers wanted and what retailers could provide, for a variety of good reasons. What if each of those retailers had exactly the right merchandise at the right time, when their customers needed it? We really felt we could come up with a solution that could help retailers service their customers and give them the best purchasing experience possible.
How does Dialog work?
We like to compare Dialog to Netflix or Spotify, but for diamonds and diamond jewelry. Just like with movies and music, rather than purchasing the content that you want to consume, Dialog users subscribe to our extensive inventory catalogue and use only what they need. Dialog is the world’s first diamond subscription service.
Retailers subscribe to the diamond inventory level that is appropriate for them – anywhere from $100,000 up to $5M or more – and select the diamonds that have been perfectly curated for their customer base. These diamonds are stored in the retailer’s showcases, available for sale when their customers want to make a purchase. If a diamond is sold, then a replenishment diamond is sent within 24 to 48 hours, with the idea being that the perfect merchandising mix must be available at the store at all times. When a diamond is sold to a consumer, the retailer receives a sales rebate from Dialog that is deducted from their subscription fee, sometimes even lowering the fee to zero. We have one customer that Dialog owes money to each month! Diamonds only are paid for if they are sold to a consumer.
Retailers simply pay their subscription fee and have access to millions of dollars of beautiful diamond inventory that has been extensively quality controlled by seasoned diamond experts. At the end of the term, any unsold diamonds just have to be returned back to Dialog.
What goes into the inventory selection process for each retailer?
We believe that the retailer has the greatest chance of success if it has a perfectly curated diamond inventory for their particular store, based on their customers. For multiple door retailers, this means a different merchandising mix per store, especially if the stores are located in different geographical locations.
In order to achieve this, Dialog employs full-time PhD level data scientists, computer engineers and other experts to analyze our customer needs. We provide a deep dive analysis for all of our customers to understand which product will help them maximize their sales. At the end of the day, Dialog succeeds only if the retailers succeed.
Once the retailer agrees to their inventory selection, they simply go online to the Dialog platform and select the inventory they desire. All of our diamonds are GIA certified and have 360 videos so they can be carefully viewed and selected. The retailer is free to exchange their selection for other diamonds at their will and convenience, much like a diamond library. The goal is to have the right inventory in the store so any learnings can be implemented in real time.
What are some of the ways you’ve seen Dialog’s impact on your subscribers’ businesses?
This has been the most fulfilling part of Dialog. Retailers subscribe to Dialog for a variety of reasons so we have seen different impacts.
For many independents, Dialog has provided a way for them to have an impressive diamond inventory which can help them compete with the majors in their region. This was especially true during the pandemic. We love that we can support the independents in our industry who have devoted their lifetime to their business. For some owner-managers of independents, much of their personal savings is invested in their inventory. Dialog provides them a way to take that capital out and invest it in other initiatives – such as renovating their store, expanding into other locations, using it for marketing budgets, or simply retirement!
For the chain stores, we love the impact we have as well. Rather than spending time, money and resources on multiple buying trips all around the world, procurement initiatives and QC, buyers, owners and executives can now focus their time, money and attention on providing their customers with the best purchasing experience. Dialog can take care of all the rest.
What would be your message to any retailer that wants to try Dialog but isn’t sure?
Our message is that Dialog is only a success if the retailer succeeds. Because of this, we offer a 6 month risk free trial. This means that if Dialog is simply not working, we allow the retailer to opt out of the program with all their fees refunded. We would say just try it. There is no risk, no hidden fees, no catch. We simply want to help retailers and truly believe we have found a way to do so.
Get started with Dialog at dialogvault.com!
Get started with Dialog at dialogvault.com!
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