The energy and activity in The Plumb Club during JCK Las Vegas 2019 reflects retail jewelers’ appetite for new on-trend products and technology for the fourth quarter and beyond. The Plumb Club Pavilion unveiled a new look as the show moved back to the Sands Expo & The Venetian after eight years.

“Being back at the Sands was refreshing and sparked new life into the show,” cheers Cora Lee Colaizzi, marketing director and senior merchandiser for Quality Gold in Fairfield, Ohio. “The change in the atmosphere had attendees in good spirits and in the buying mood. Throughout the show, attendees were heard commenting on the overall presentation of the new pavilion and its fresh and open design.”

Modern and easy to navigate, The Plumb Club pavilion kept the overall original concept that people liked, but beautifully remodeled, applauds Kathy Grenier, vice president, business development for Imperial in Providence, Rhode Island. “The people who came bought. We were consistently busy, with positive responses to all of our new jewelry and bestsellers. We also opened new accounts. One of our best JCK shows!”

The new digs had everyone talking about The Plumb Club, says Dana Cali, marketing and communications for the New York based Mastoloni. “The new signage and lighting in the pavilion, and the monster billboards above each booth made things easy to find. It was comfortable to be there, very cool! People were coming just to see everything we had going on. It was a destination, an attraction, a trendsetting resource, off the charts!”

Market Innovations

Colaizzi described the environment in the pavilion as “exciting, interactive and engaging – like a think tank”!

Among the latest innovations showcased at The Plumb Club were augmented reality applications by Augmentes, including an online and in-store platform that allows customers to virtually “try on” jewelry; as well as kinetic retail display technology by Converge Retail, allowing users to hover a digital device over a particular item to call up product information.

While just a small part of what they do, digital marketing firm GemFind presented their custom jewelry design platform. This platform can be integrated with the retailers existing website, be used in-store and/or online, and is customizable and scalable. In addition, GemFind informed the retailer about “Geo-Fencing”, which is location driven, targeted advertising, through commonly used apps that consumers use every day.

The Plumb Club also featured “Glossy”, an exhibition by Ombré Gallery, a museum-like experience where jewelry is art. On display were bespoke art jewelry pieces, crafted from traditional and unexpected materials, techniques and subjects. And, attendees interacted with Pepper the humanoid robot, designed to serve as a kiosk to provide information.

The pavilion even had a planetarium that featured five-minute presentations taking retailers on a thrill ride through the universe, imparting insights into the iconic trends, while showcasing jewelry from the collection. “[It] was a good draw and the roaming robot definitely garnered attention,” says Cynthia Speight, marketing manager for IB Goodman in Newport, Kentucky. “The retail concepts were well executed. It will be interesting to see how the tools are implemented into retail in the future. The Glossy exhibit also provided an excellent opportunity to see innovative jewelry with sculptural and artistic influence.”

Market Research

The group debuted its comprehensive new research and retail initiative, “Radiant Universe,” at JCK. The Plumb Club commissioned trends-forecasting agency, The Futurist to source consumer data and information useful to the jewelry market, providing insights on trends, consumer behaviors, and in-store and online sales information for its member companies.

The Polar Star and Sun, as well as constellations are identified as significant trending iconic motifs that resonate with consumers. As a result of this research, The Plumb Club created a program through which its members can individually express this theme through their own collections, collectively named “Radiant Universe”. Plumb Club members featured the jewelry at JCK Las Vegas under the group’s trademark “Radiant Universe”.

This research and collection initiative is huge for an organization of competitors to come together for a specific unified purpose,” says Colaizzi. “We loved seeing how each entity interpreted the data provided and cultivated a collection to be part of the overall line.”

She underscores that buyers are always asking what’s on trend, and want to know what consumers want. “Anytime as an industry we can provide jewelers with data and information to assist them in selecting merchandise it benefits us all,” Colaizzi advocates. “The research reinforces our mission to educate and connect to the marketplace in an area buyers say they want more assistance.”

The Plumb Club received feedback from retailers that there is a gap in the trade for aggregated, up-to-date consumer research that’s valuable to them. “We’re excited to be able to not only provide such research, but to transform it into physical assets that will resonate in-store,” explains The Plumb Club Executive Director Lawrence Hess. The group created branded marketing materials, including counter cards, in-case signage, social media templates, posters and postcards, to support the collection in-store and online. A look book is available here.

“The work compiled by the Futurist was outstanding,” cheers Speight. “It was comprehensive, detailed and provided excellent insights beyond the Radiant Universe Collection that will help Plumb Club manufacturers plan for future lines and designs.”