Ernest Jones (inc. Leslie Davis)
Click to view our virtual store tour
View the Ernest Jones retail website
View TV advertisement
Click here to see Ernest Jones locations
| 2006/07(2) | 2005/06 | 2004/05 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total sales (£m) | £217.6 | £208.5 | £221.1 |
| Average sales per store in thousands(3) | £1,079 | £1,065 | £1,150 |
| Average retail price of merchandise sold(4) | £163 | £148 | £141 |
| Total open at the end of the year | 206 | 207 | 204 |
| Total opened during the year | 1 | 5 | 7 |
| Total closed during the year | (2) | (2) | (-) |
(1) Including Leslie Davis.
(2) 53 week year.
(3) Including only stores operated for the full financial year.
(4) Excluding accessories, repairs and warranties.
Introduction
Ernest Jones is the largest upper middle market speciality retail jewellery brand in the UK with a near 8% share of the total jewellery market. It sells a broad range of diamond and gold jewellery as well as prestige watches such as Breitling, Cartier, Gucci, Longines, Omega, Rado, Raymond Weil, Rolex and Tag Heuer. It also sells contemporary fashion watches such as Burberry, DKNY, Emporio Armani, Hugo Boss and a range of traditional watches including Accurist, Rotary, Seiko and Tissot.
Ernest Jones had 206 stores at 3 February 2007 and is represented in nearly all large shopping centres. An e-commerce capability was launched on ernestjones.co.uk in September 2006 and is meeting its investment targets. It is the third most visited UK speciality jewellery website according to Hitwise.
Customer service
Ernest Jones’ positioning as ‘The diamond and watch specialist’ means that the product knowledge and customer service skills of the store staff is very important. In 2006/07 a new training system called ACE was introduced. This provided improved training on how to identify and respond to each customer’s individual requirements. It is intended that ACE will be further developed in 2007/08.
Merchandising
In 2006/07 diamond jewellery accounted for 38% of Ernest Jones’ sales, up from 33% in 2001/02. This helped increase the average unit selling price to £163 from £119 (click here to see Merchandise mix). Within the diamond category the average selling price increased to £413 (2005/06: £395).
Diamonds remained an important focus for Ernest Jones. The Leo range, exclusive to Ernest Jones in the UK, was further developed in 2006/07. White metal ranges have grown significantly. A number of new collections were also introduced. The watch selection saw significant innovation, including the launch of some lines exclusive to Ernest Jones.
Marketing
For most of the year, the primary marketing channel used by Ernest Jones is a series of catalogues distributed as inserts in newspapers and magazines, as well as by mail and available in all stores. During 2006/07 the quality of the catalogues was improved and their distribution was better targeted.
For Christmas 2006 regional television advertising support continued for Ernest Jones at a similar level to that of 2005/06.
Store design
Every diamond is unique and the typical consumer has very limited product knowledge. Therefore a trained sales person’s ability to identify the customer’s requirement and explain the merchandise selection is a very important element in closing a sale. As a result a store designed to facilitate the interaction between the consumer and the sales person is important.
Experience from the US has proven that the use of low level displays, which also act as service counters, are very effective for displaying diamond jewellery. The US design has been adapted for use in Ernest Jones, where watches, which require strong branding, use the walls of the store.
The revised design has been used at a number of trial sites and at a limited number of refits and new stores. Some design enhancements will be tested in 2007/08.
Real estate
Ernest Jones’ normal refurbishment cycle is every ten years and the majority of its stores are due for refit in the period 2008/09 to 2010/11. Nearly all Ernest Jones stores will be converted to the more customer focused format. In 2006/07 there were minimal refits and resites and at 3 February 2007 38 stores, accounting for some 19% of sales, traded in the revised design. Eight refits are planned to be completed in 2007/08.
The number of Ernest Jones stores has increased by 22 over the last five years, and the number of stores is expected to gradually increase, depending on the availability of suitable sites and prestige watch agencies.
Leslie Davis
Where local market size and merchandise considerations allow, a two-site strategy is followed using the Leslie Davis trading name. While having a similar customer profile as Ernest Jones, Leslie Davis is differentiated by a greater emphasis on fashion brands. There were 16 Leslie Davis stores at 3 February 2007.