The best friends of diamonds

Against the backdrop of falling demand for jewelry, more and more market participants are expanding their non-core assortment. So, Sokolov began selling bags, wallets and other accessories. Some other large jewelry chains are also following the development trend of selling related products.

Jewelry manufacturer and seller Sokolov has launched the sale of leather accessories – women’s bags, wallets and cardholders – under its own brand, Kommersant was told online. So far, the products of the pilot collection are available in ten stores in Moscow, Yekaterinburg and Sochi. According to Sokolov CEO Nikolay Polyakov, the share of accessories in the future may reach about 10-15% of the company’s turnover. By the end of the year, Sokolov also plans to release a line of cosmetics.

Sokolov’s competitors are already developing a non-core assortment. The 585*Zolotoy network says that they sell optics, watches, silk scarves, porcelain from the Imperial Porcelain Factory and other related products in their stores. Such products account for about 5–7% of the assortment, says Andrey Shlyaev, Director of Marketing and Retail Sales at 585*Zolotoy. According to him, non-jewelry products attract a new audience, increase traffic and increase the average check. It can also allow you to better compete with online platforms where you grow jewelry sales due to high discounts and the concentration of a wide range of goods in one place. Adamas declined to comment, Sunlight Kommersant did not respond.

Eduard Utkin, CEO of the Guild of Jewelers of Russia, links the expansion of the assortment of jewelry chains through additional products with the desire to support the declining demand for jewelry, which in 2022 decreased by about 15% year-on-year. According to him, in the mass segment of jewelry, buyers are most sensitive to changes in the macroeconomic situation, and the main spending of consumers today falls on essential goods.

At the end of last year, the number of buyers in jewelry stores in shopping centers in Moscow decreased by 18% year-on-year, from January to early March 2023 – by 16% year-on-year, Focus Technologies calculated. According to Sokolov analysts, the average check for jewelry in Russia in 2022 increased by 20%, to about 6.9 thousand rubles, which may be due to rising prices.

Mikhail Burmistrov, General Director of Infoline-Analytics, believes that the new Sokolov assortment generally meets the needs of the jewelry network’s target audience. And the launch of new categories in an experimental mode in a limited number of outlets will make it possible to understand what products can be left on a permanent basis throughout the network and online store, the expert notes.

Andrey Shlyaev adds that the new assortment should be in the same price category as the main product and match it in purpose, for example, serve as an addition to a gift. According to him, entering new non-core segments also often requires increasing the area of ​​individual stores and optimizing retail equipment to accommodate a larger number of products.

According to Sokolov analysts, jewelry sales in Russia in 2022 decreased by 9%, to 301 billion rubles, year-on-year, which they attribute to the departure of global brands, primarily in the luxury segment. In 2023, Sokolov predicts, jewelry sales in Russia will increase by 2-3% year-on-year.

Alina Savitskaya, Alexandra Mertsalova