It can be difficult to purchase an engagement ring, especially if you don’t have any knowledge of diamonds. Current studies indicate that there are 1.7 million engagement rings purchased per year in the United States (74% of brides, from 2.3 million weddings), with an average expenditure of approximately $2,000 per diamond engagement ring.
With the revolution in connectivity and interactivity through the Internet, potential buyers can learn more about the characteristics of diamonds they intend to buy before going to jewelers. In this case, we solve that very problem of “knowing so little” about the characteristics of the merchandise. Now people can learn and gather information about diamonds before actually going to their neighborhood jewelers to purchase them.
Online retailers don’t want to have to learn and gather information. They want their learning and gathering to lead to sales. Selling diamonds online does not mean that you can’t sell books online. Customers want to see the actual product before buying. What happens if the brilliance displayed on the Internet is not the same as the one I have?
It is about how to leverage the “high-touch” of high-end internet retailers. We are struggling to find the right formula that will bring these high end loose diamonds to customers, while other low-end jewel retailers have been focusing on selling quantity.
Rocks by Request, (RBR), can help. RBR was established in the Bay Area three years ago, by a third-generation jeweler, Rock Stone. RBR plans on expanding its operations outside of California after the three-year-old operation. RBR is a simple concept. RBR leverages local jewelers as its “front-end”. This strategy helps RBR address both ‘#8220credibility” and ‘#8220high touch” issues when it comes to selling its high-end merchandise over the Internet.
RBR is changing how it positions itself in the aftermath the dot.com bust. While maintaining connectivity, interactivity, and speed, RBR will also “humanize” e-commerce by combining both technology and tradition in diamond retail industry.
This strategic plan describes how to further optimize connectivity, interactivity as well as speed in developing recommendations that will guide RBR’s new strategy.
1.1 Objectives
- To devise an additional course of action and recommendation to RBR in order to expand RBR’s market share in the loose-diamond e-tailing sector.
- RBR will be provided with industry insights and market trends. A psychographic study of the current market and potential engagement markets is required. This study will also describe the business’ competitive landscape.
1.2 Mission
Our mission is expand our current 2% market share in online diamond shopping. When we look at the diamond retailing industry itself, the current 2% is rather low compared to the number of diamonds sold yearly in the United States. RBR must expand its network of jewelers, strengthen alliances and partnerships with media and Internet vendors to meet its growth criteria. RBR also needs to increase its R&D efforts to bring the most recent technology to e-commerce.
1.3 Keys for Success
RBR’s key factors for expanding its operations include:
- Extending its network of family jewelers across the U.S. and globally.
- In order to meet future needs, additional warehouses will be built.
- Improved supply chain and logistical efficiency that allows for quick delivery and return.
- Repositioning the look of the current website by upgrading graphic elements and state-of-the-art navigation.
- In order to promote loose diamonds, we have formed alliances with media outlets and the Internet.
- Incorporating more product categories in the loose diamond category such as gold settings, pendants, rings and earrings, and gold trinkets/accessories for younger customers.
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