Sir Winston Churchill once said that however beautiful the strategy, you should occasionally look at the results. Well from the results flowing in from Andrew Warner’s new strategies for Identity the Jewellers, things are looking pretty damn beautiful in Derby.
While the previous year was all about building up the business, the past 12 months have been far more strategic for newlywed Andrew, who has been analytical in his approach to refocusing the direction of the retail business.
“We have raised the average retail price point whilst selling the same quantity of watches as before; we have become more efficient in our service and rebalanced the stock so that it is faster moving; and our targeted customer is now spending between £200 and £1,000, which is an area that is not targeted well in our local area,” lists Andrew.
He is also working hard to discover and promote watch brands that offer an alternative to the usual suspects of the high street.
“We are giving a platform to brands that are establishing themselves in this country such as 88 Rue Du Rhone and Buddha to Buddha watches, as I see these as powerful forces in the future.”
For established brands, Andrew is plotting to follow a shop-in-shop strategy; something that has worked very successfully for its core brand Bering, for which it is now the largest single-store stockist in the UK. He says that we can expect to see more shop-in-shop units popping up at Identity very soon, and no doubt some more customer-winning turnover-increasing strategies as this rising watch retail star continues to sharpen his business acumen.
