Breaking the Chain: Leading Your Business Through Jewelry Supply Chain Transformation
The diamond, gemstone and jewelry industry is at a pivotal moment.
Supply chains are consolidating, margins are squeezed, consumer demands are changing, and digital technology is driving unprecedented transformation in our industry.
The traditional business models that have worked for generations are now delivering diminishing returns. We can see that in malls and main streets the world over, with illustrious brands closing their doors. Businesses are struggling to maintain, let alone grow, their market share.
We’re standing at a crossroads, but this also presents a significant opportunity for businesses to choose the right path. How should you navigate the challenges ahead? What do you need to unlock your business's future growth potential? Is it time to transform your supply chain and set a new strategic direction?
We answer these questions and more in the inaugural edition of Hill & Co.’s new industry series, The Business of Jewelry Report. The report provides insights and actionable guidance to help you survive in this new market landscape and build a growing business that can thrive.
Breaking the chain
We selected supply chain disruption as the first topic in The Business of Jewelry Report series because it underpins many of the challenges facing B2B jewelry and diamond businesses in today’s market.
Consolidation is reshaping our industry, so it’s never been more important to develop a clear strategy that can adapt to the changes we’re seeing.
As a B2B manufacturer or designer, you face important challenges and critical questions: should you sell directly to consumers? How can you understand and reach them? Where do you start when creating a brand that captures their attention? How can you leverage the necessary technology to grow in this new world?
We explore all of these topics and more in the first edition of The Business of Jewelry Report. Hill & Co.’s team of in-demand experts and some of our industry’s best business minds, including Harvard’s Dennis Campbell, will show you the steps you need to take to deliver the next stage of growth for your business.
We’re standing at a crossroads, but this also presents a significant opportunity for businesses to choose the right path.
How did we get here?
Over the past decade, we’ve observed a steady transformation within our industry. As digital platforms have enabled a global expansion of the diamond, gemstone and jewelry market, we’ve also seen significant consolidation. Supply chains have shortened, larger companies have adopted vertical integration, and many B2B businesses are attempting to regain lost margins by shifting to direct-to-consumer (DTC) sales, bypassing traditional retail channels.
This industry evolution and supply chain disruption are driven by three interconnected factors:
Technology and digitization
Technology has revolutionized traditional supply chains and distribution models. The most progressive businesses are using digital tools, such as AI and blockchain, to better meet consumer demands and optimize processes to stay competitive in a rapidly evolving market landscape.
Consumer demands
Consumers are now more informed; they seek brands and products that resonate with their beliefs. Social media has made these consumers more reachable, diminishing the importance of traditional retail.
Increased competition
New market entrants and innovative sales models enabled by technology have squeezed margins for many B2B manufacturers and designers, demonstrating the need for a flexible business strategy that can respond by maintaining and growing market share.
“We understand that adapting to change at this scale can feel like an insurmountable challenge.
The old ways of ‘doing business’ have served traditional B2B jewelry players and retailers well for a century or more; it’s hard to let that go and move forward, especially without certainty on which direction to take.
However, businesses that embrace these changes and adapt their strategies accordingly will be well-positioned to thrive in this dynamic environment. The future belongs to you if you can innovate, stay agile, and consistently meet your customers’ evolving needs.”
What you can read in our first edition of The Business of Jewelry Report
Our objective isn’t just to highlight the trends and call out the challenges but to offer real value, practical guidance, and support. We want to help a generation of B2B jewelry businesses navigate the shifting landscape with confidence. That’s why we’ve broken down the many dimensions of this topic into simple sections that will resonate no matter where you are in your business planning cycle.
Finding Strategic Clarity
Dennis Campbell, Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School, and Disha Solanki, our Chief Growth Strategist at Hill & Co., share how businesses can find strategic clarity and prepare for the future.
The Brand Advantage
We explore how building a brand can create a powerful moat for your business, regardless of where you sit in the supply chain. Knowing where to start with brand-building is often the first challenge, so we will provide practical support and guidance for taking those first steps. If you plan to sell to consumers or grow your existing B2B operations, developing a brand is non-negotiable; it will always make you more memorable in a hyper-competitive market.
Decoding the Modern Luxury Jewelry Consumer
Changing consumer demands are driving much of the transformation we’re seeing, and understanding their needs and motivations is vital to adapting to this new market landscape. Whether you’re a B2B business wanting to sell to them directly or improve your relevance to your existing retail customers, you must be able to walk in the consumers’ shoes. Our Principal Consultant, Andrea Lucille Pooler, gives her take on who these consumers are and how you can get to know them better.
The Consumer Connection: Does ‘Direct to Consumer’ make sense for every business?
We know that businesses think that ‘Direct to Consumer’ can be a solution to every problem, and it can be incredibly effective if done in the right way, but it’s also easy to get burned or waste a lot of money chasing a DTC strategy. Our Principal Consultant, Nan Lung Palmer, offers her insights about what you should consider if you are serious about DTC. We explore what you need to know to make informed choices, from how to get started to understanding who you’re selling to and how to tell a compelling story about your collection.
The Technology Transformation
None of these changes would be possible without the digital technology revolution we’ve seen over the last decade. Many elements of our industry, which have traditionally moved slowly, are now experiencing rapid transformation, and we know it’s challenging to keep up. We’ve invited Dominic Hill, founder and CEO of the jewelry software and technology company Loupe, to give his vision of how technology has changed our industry and how businesses can adapt and grow with the transformative tools now available.
The jewelry industry is poised for a new era. The convergence of technology, changing consumer behaviors, and heightened competition are not only reshaping but also redefining our industry. You will be rewarded if you’re prepared to meet these challenges and turn them into opportunities for growth.
