Self-service vs counter
Shrewd display solutions are crucial for jewellery companies wishing to maintain their share of the pie in an increasingly competitive market. Retailers too, are under pressure to generate big revenues from small spaces. The question is, what kind of display works best? Lisa Phillips talks to the companies on the front line.
From a supplier's point of view, there are still those very much in the staffed counter display camp who maintain that quality service and upmarket displays are crucial for the image of their brand, and allow for up-selling and an added-value experience. Others would choose self-service displays every time, which take up less space and retailer resources, and allow time-starved consumers to make quick buying decisions, thus upping sales volumes. In reality, a mix of the two seems to be generating the best results. Brand owners who are prepared to be flexible and look beyond their preferred method of display are the ones seeing good returns.
“We still prefer a beautiful display that is well-laid out under glass, like in downtown jewellery shops – alongside friendly and competent sales assistance,” says Swarovski’s vice president for travel-retail, Peter Zottl. “This is particularly the case for high value and statement pieces in the €300-€400 range. If this sounds like a fairy tale,” he adds, “it is obviously true, so we opt for our next best option, which is self-service.”
This is not to say that self-service is not a viable and useful model for selling Swarovski jewellery. In fact Zottl is keen not to get into an either/or discussion. “As a brand owner,” he says, “I want to have both.” In Zurich, a stronghold of the Swarovski brand, the company operates its own boutique, which is complemented by more than a dozen self-service spinners located in last-minute outlets and gate shops. This, of course, is the ideal, and difficult to achieve even for top names in the industry.
Nevertheless, many companies are aspiring to this ideal, developing manned and branded counter displays that work alongside self-service units. For Thomas Sabo, also a strong advocate of under glass display, its most successful self-select units have been those placed inside or next to its branded corporate corners. “The benefits [of self-service] are clear,” says head of travel retail and inflight, Jordi Valls. “You can generate a high turnover in a very small space and with extremely low investments, both for the vendor and the operator. The risk is that if not well done it can damage the image of the vendor.”
Other companies echo this view, stating that self-service does not mean unstaffed. Units still need to be maintained and re-stocked on a daily basis, ensuring tidiness and newness of assortment. As with any business, there are retailers who do this well, and those that do not. Careful monitoring of self-service units is important for suppliers wishing to ensure their brand integrity. “Customers will always have questions,” says Annette Møller Andersen, travel retail manager for Pilgrim, which has developed a range of customised display units combining self-service with well-lit and eye-catching glass displays. “And whilst it is convenient for a customer to help themselves, a sales person can add so much more value to the customers’ retail experience, and ultimately increase the value of the sale. For example, with our jewellery, the customer may be interested in the necklace, but with a little interaction from a sales person, they could be presented with the option of buying the matching earrings and bracelet, therefore upping the transaction value for both us and the retailers, and increasing the satisfaction level for the customer.” In order for self-service units not to be a “victim of their own success”, says Møller Andersen, adequate staff training, and frequent, careful attention to the quality of the displays are crucial.
These issues are increasingly relevant with the emergence of more mid-range fashion collections that suit self-select, particularly as new brand names may not be as well known as the stalwarts of the past. “Some of the customers may not be too familiar with our brand name and they may have some hesitation about our products,” says Toscow’s Francis Ng, a strong believer in the benefits of self-service. “Once they touch or even try on our products, they will be impressed by our quality and design, which will certainly help to motivate them to make a purchase.”
Conversely, Zeades believes that the relative newness of its brand name lends itself better to staffed counters. The see-through boxes which stock self-service units do not always show the product off as well as well-lit glass displays. “It’s an impulse buy,” says marketing director, Danielle Devreese. “If you just put jewellery flat on the table, it does not have the same look as it does when it is displayed nicely and with care.”
Ultimately, the choice of display is very much down to retailer requirement. Most, if not all jewellery companies around would prefer a spacious staffed corner supplemented with well-tended self-service units. Where a retailer has opted for a more qualitative approach – that is fewer brands with better space – this is a definite possibility, particularly for tried and tested names. But in airports where space is the big issue, self-service is often the only way forward. “Self-service units represent a great opportunity, as they allow us to get into airports where we couldn’t be with traditional glass displays,” says Misaki’s general manager worldwide, Philipp Wille. “However, it doesn’t really contribute to increasing brand awareness, so it is very important in the conception of the display to carefully consider the branding. Ideally we prefer to have the combination of both under glass and self-service displays to get the best of both worlds.”
The retailers’ view
While self-service will never be the sole method of display for retailers, it is definitely a trend that is gaining momentum. For some, like Aelia and Heinemann, self-service is still very much a testing ground. Aelia, for example, is experimenting with units from Swarovski and Hot Diamonds in its multistore shops in the UK, and plans to develop the whole category of self-select in the future, while Heinemann is already operating under an 80% counter display, 20% self-service split. Where the German retailer is effectively using these displays depends on the passenger profile. “For some target groups, we have to create a higher price environment,” says purchasing director accessories, Nicola Meier. “These customers prefer to be served personally. However, depending on the location, self-service displays are generating additional turnover.”
It is this extra turnover which is fuelling the increase in self-service displays for other retailers. Alpha Retail, which has recently publicised plans to significantly increase its jewellery self-select category, has experienced a sales increase of around 200% of those brands that have moved from under counter to self-service. Currently around 45% of its jewellery displays are self-service, generating greater volume and value than their under glass counterparts. “Benefits include easy access to products and speed,” says Helen Boyle, Alpha Retail’s buyer for jewellery and watches. “Customers are able to browse freely, touch products and take them directly to the till point without waiting to be served. The main risk is theft. However, with the necessary precautions, the gains far outweigh the risks.”
Aer Rianta’s buyer for jewellery and watches, Suzanna Kelly, is of the same opinion, and is now displaying 68% of the category in self-service units. The company has recently installed a Swarovski self-select unit, increasing sales of the brand by 40%, and is introducing a new self-serve gondola from Pilgrim. The risk of pilfering has been offset with a price ceiling for self-select products of €100, a figure which Kelly says the company can manage. The trend for self-service in jewellery has been instigated by perfume and cosmetics, and to a lesser extent, liquor, which are core businesses for the airport, and yet rarely under glass.
But what of the risks of losing the added-value service aspects unique to buying a piece of jewellery? Packaging and branding are still paramount, says Kelly, as evidenced by brands like Swarovski, Hot Diamonds and Sabo. “We still have our staff on the floor,” she adds. “Jewellery will always be perceived as a service department. But where in the past we could serve one person at a time, now we can serve three or four customers at the same time.”
What’s new in self-service display?
• In addition to a new free-standing gondola offering both glass display and open hanging space from Pilgrim, the Danish brand has recently launched the first Pilgrim Charms Collection, creating a special counter top display for it. It holds 30 charms, three chains and two bracelets. A magnetic, rectangular picture panel to the right of the stand allows it to be updated with each season’s new image.
• Swarovski is launching into self-service rings in travel-retail with a new display that incorporates a ring-size tester. Under development now, the top name brand hopes to launch this into travel retail soon. In addition, it is also extending its self-service concept to a selected range of gift items.
• In addition to revamping the display materials in its cabinets, Zeades is set to introduce its first branded self-service unit into Changi airport in Singapore.
• Misaki’s display focus is very much on large shop-in-shop concepts. Its latest venture – two 25sqm openings in Shanghai Pudong T2 will combine its “best of both worlds” under glass displays with cash and carry units.
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