Jewellery Trunk Show 3 -- An Actual Trunk Show

An example of an actual jewellery trunk show

I've just returned from the jewellery trunk show hosted by a long time customer of mine (over 10 years). They are the most successful and discipline outfit in their city and surrounding area. They have 2 locations ( 1 in a mall, and a street boutique in a nice residential shopping district). They carry designer brands from all over Canada and USA, and some Scandinavian countries. They specialize in sterling silver and focus on higher quality jewellery designs.

It was successful & they were very happy. I helped sell a lot of my jewellery pieces they already had in their store (although I don't have the total amounts for those). Of the new jewellery designs that I had brought to the jewellery trunk show, we sold (retail, net of 10% discount for the event) just over $4000. I had a lot of fun and spent some time to train each of the staff. This particular store does this often, with different designers & has jewellery trunk shows at least every 4 wks. They have created a large following over the years, and use the jewellery trunk shows events to increase store traffic.

This is what happened at the jewellery trunk show:

- The date for the jewellery trunk show was set over 8 wks prior to the event (Friday for Mall, and Saturday for street boutique location)

- The jewellery boutique operators placed a 3"x5" picture ad in local newspaper, printed small flyers & placed them in front the case where my designs are showcased (4 wks before the event), emailed notice to their customer list

- The jewellery boutique told customers about the upcoming event & introduce the flyer as customers are cashing out or leaving the store, so to bring them back again soon

- The jewellery boutique had printed large signs for the event and put it on a large easel for the mall location, and in the window of the street boutique location. They also had the ad on a large flat screen television in the store. The presentation was very impressive, and did draw a great deal of foot traffic attention for the jewellery trunk show.

- I provided the photography of my jewellery designs and the company logo

- I brought new & different jewellery deisgns, some very expensive show pieces, some 14kt gold, but also some others I've designed only for the show

- I ticketed all of the jewellery with retail prices and item codes.

- I worked selling from the cases, and also of regular merchandise, full day from opening, and at the mall location, only until 6pm.

- The boutique supplied extra staff for cashing out and to handle extra traffic created by the jewellery trunk show.

- The boutique emptied some showcases, right at the entrance to the store, for me to put merchandise for the jewellery trunk show.

- I also brought some jewellery displayers, and these were fully utilized because I had brought more jewellery than they had room to contain.

- When new merchandise ("show merchandise") was sold, they kept the tickets and totalled at the end of the day & I invoice later for it at wholesale(in one location, they preferred to enter everything into the computer properly & printed out extra copy of receipts for me for each sale that was for show merchandise).

- During the jewellery trunk show, when someone wants to special order something, they pay 50% down payment & I deliver it later, with contact name stapled to each item (I made notes & contact info, though they input customer info into their system & generated an order that they later faxed to our office - this is their procedure, but not necessary since I took very good notes)

- During the jewellery trunk show, I tried to encourage special orders and ad-ons, as a perk for them to attend "meet the designer" type of events. I'm willing to make things so that no one else will have it.

- The boutique's policy on jewellery trunk shows is to give 10% off of that jewellery designer's merchandise for that day only, and they absorb this fully. So, I invoiced the boutique at regular wholesale, 50% of the retail price before the 10% jewellery trunk show discount.

For more information on What are Trunk Shows and Their Benefits click here.

For more about the Do's and Don'ts of Trunk Shows click here .

For more about Trunk Show Practices click here .

Jewellery Trunk Show - Benefits

What is a jewellery trunk show:

A trunk show is a retail event at which the jewellery designer and or jewellery manufacturer brings in designs that are new or not otherwise available at the boutique. A jewellery trunk show can take place not only in a jewellery specialty boutique, but also in a clothing boutique, gift store, or even gallery. It is an exciting opportunity for the jewellery designer as well as the boutique owners.

Why put on a jewellery trunk show

Jewellery Trunk Shows are great for the jewellery designer because:

- The jewellery designer gets to meet customers and increase brand recognition and customer loyalty - increase demand for her brand of jewellery designs

- The jewellery designer gets to build boutique staff loyalty for her brand of jewellery designs - staff always promote those people they like

- The jewellery designer gets to train store staff about her jewellery designs (how to sell her jewellery, unique selling features, what is the designer's capabilities and possible special orders, answer any burning questions about her jewellery)

- The jewellery designer can display and sell showpieces - test the water for a different look, show off jewellery designing talent, show the retailer she can sell at a higher price point & help persuade the boutique owner and or buyer to expand purchasing. Often retailers don't want to invest in higher ticket items or they started buying from you a certain look of jewellery and don't want to venture out because of risk. A jewellery trunk show is a risk-free way for them to see what other jewellery designs you can make & what other jewellery can sell in their store

- The jewellery designer can get a good view of the jewellery design competition out there [note: don't copy, it won't do the jewellery designer any good because those designs are already in the store. As a designer, you don't want to be considered a follower.] It is one thing to see other jewellery designer's booths at a tradeshow or craft market, it is quite another to see how much retail store real estate is given to the competition. Sometimes it is humbling to see all the jewellery design talent out there, but almost always you get a sense of what is selling. The jewellery boutique staff always knows which look or silhouettes sell best and what jewellery customers are asking for. This feedback is invaluable and it will help the jewellery designer edit her designs and help guide for future jewellery collections.

- The jewellery designer can sell off samples or unsold jewellery. Chances are, it is a new set of customers, and they're seeing these jewellery designs for the first time. A jewellery trunk show is a great event that brings a large concentration of new customers - retail opportunity not otherwise accessible for the jewellery designer, for those designs.

- Jewellery trunk shows are fun! It is a great reason to go out of the studio. Almost always, the customers will have great praise for the jewellery designer's talents. It's wonderful validation.

- The jewellery designer can learn some invaluable lessons about people management, and that's what retail really is: people management. If the jewellery designer pays attention, she/he can learn what makes the store work, and what pitfalls to avoid. The jewellery designer can spend the time to speak to the boutique managers and individual staff. You can learn something new at every store, every time.

Jewellery Trunk Shows are great for the boutiques because:

- A jewellery trunk show is a risk-free trial of new jewellery price points, new looks. They can see what sells and what doesn't, and this would be great before a new jewellery buying season.

- A jewellery trunk show brings in extra foot traffic to the store that would otherwise not be there. It keeps store visits interesting for regular customers, thereby increasing their occurrence. It is also great customer service to bring in the latest goods and allow the customer to interact with the jewellery designer.

- A jewellery trunk show, if well planned, can generate a great deal of press for the store, as well as for the event. This will help the boutique become recognized as a boutique offering designer jewellery, and help enhance its reputation as the place to be.

- Hosting a jewellery trunk show builds loyalty from the jewellery designer. If the boutique brings retail customers and promote the jewellery designer's line, they are less likely to sell to the boutique's competitors. Also, when the jewellery designers form relationships with the store staff, the designer is less likely to say no to the store's requests (such as custom orders for customers, rushed delivery).

Hosting a jewellery trunk show helps boutique managers to train and motivate the store's staff. No one knows more about the jewellery than the jewellery designer. Who best to train the staff than the expert? Some jewellery boutique chains are known to pay a great deal of money to bring in industry professionals to help coach their staff on selling, product knowledge and trends. A jewellery trunk show offers much of this for free. Also, the boutique's staff knows the jewellery designer will be there the entire day and would notice any flaws in the jewellery displays, the staff's product knowledge and their sales approach. Most boutique staff would work hard to brush up and make a good impression on the jewellery designer. An appreciative jewellery designer would also be generous with praise, if not with complimentary jewellery pieces outright. These are great pride builders and motivators which the boutique managers would not be able to easily match, but even if he/she does, it will not be the same.

To read about the Do's and Don'ts of Trunk Shows click here .

To read about what happens during a Trunk Show, click here.

To read about Other Trunk Show Practices click here .