Houlden Members Report Healthy Uplift in Christmas 2022 Business
24 Jan 2023
Despite the ongoing industrial disputes and adverse weather conditions leading up to Christmas, Houlden members reported an uplift in business during the festive period. Whilst some retailers experienced a dip in footfall, overall transaction values were up despite a fall in the sales of lower priced and entry level jewellery and watches.
Chief Executive, Helen Haddow provides an insight into how the Houlden Group and its members view the year ahead, with observations and key lessons learnt in 2022.
“Having experienced favourable business in the lead up to Christmas, members are approaching the coming year with cautious optimism, against a background of easing supply chain pressures and commodities cost inflation. Moreover, with the slew of rail strikes in 2022, many consumers are now realising the advantages of shopping locally – which plays to the strength of some Houlden retailers based in key regional high streets. With revenues also boosted by the purchase of more expensive items, members are however concerned about the potential impact of the economy on the volume end of the market, as experienced over the Christmas period.
On the Houlden side, we will continue to place sustainability at the top of the agenda in 2023. This will include the ongoing development of our Taking Greater Responsibility project and advancing the due diligence of the Supply Chain initiative, with a focus on both sustainability and corporate and social governance. We encourage best practices that companies of all sizes can implement as, in our view, the next generation of consumers will expect proof of sustainable practice, so we are taking the small steps now which will make a big difference in years to come.
At the same time, we will be keeping an eagle eye on the economy and its impact on the luxury goods and jewellery sectors, flagging-up commercial opportunities to help members develop their current strategies for future success.
As part of this, our first members’ meeting of the year in London in February (5th to 7th) is designed to provide a proactive forum for not only the exchange of knowledge and ideas, best practices with a focus on accelerating further online and digital presence, and expert commentators on retail and the economy, but also as importantly networking and buying.
Nearer to home, in the Spring, the Houlden team will be moving into our new permanent headquarters in Glasgow city centre. Refurbishments are currently underway, and we are all looking forward to working in this modern sustainable office environment.”
Looking back on 2022
Record-breaking business, adapting to sustainable thinking and the benefits of the Houlden Advantage were the key focusses and highlights of 2022.
“Despite the challenges presented by the cost-of-living crisis, rising inflation, the aftermath of the pandemic and the fallout from Brexit, a review of Houlden business conducted over the past twelve months indicates excellent results - up 20% vs the previous record-breaking year of 2021.
Last year witnessed two highly successful meetings for our members with business conducted at each surpassing all previous levels. The meetings provided a platform to both inspire and highlight the value of being part of this proactive membership, demonstrating the collective power of coming together to share ideas and strategies and find solutions to help navigate the present challenges retail businesses are facing.
In addition, we continued to run our successful Discussion Group Series, exploring topics that could actively benefit members – from Social Media Paid Advertising and Laboratory Grown Diamonds to Finance and Upselling. We also partnered with key brands, supplier partners and service providers who used the Houlden platform to inform members of their strategies and involve them in the decision-making process, with the objective of achieving mutual success.
With growth seen across all categories of purchases, specific increases were recorded not only in sales of natural diamond rings and jewellery but also in Laboratory Grown Diamonds. Many Houlden members are now including this product as part of their offering, and we see this as an area for future expansion provided it is marketed appropriately.
We continued to advance our technology to enable more effective forms of communication in line with our vision to ‘support, inspire and connect’. We delivered strongly improved financial results whilst accelerating our digital journey to take our finance system fully into the cloud. At the same time, we gained support for our ambitious commitments to advance our sustainability initiatives by sharing with our key supplier partners.
Throughout the year, we assessed ways of further enhancing and evolving the Houlden Advantage for members – the added value proposition which lies at the heart of everything we do and is the backbone of the business. This included driving efficiencies through the digital transformation of our Finance and Operations offering, progression of the Jewellers of Excellence Training platform and furthering our advances in online communication via the Houlden app.”
Looking Ahead
“Based on a deeply rooted culture driven by the belief in the strength of collective power, values and innovation, I am confident that this will stand Houlden in excellent stead going forwards. We have experienced a steep learning curve since the start of the pandemic in 2020, but we enter 2023 not only more agile and adaptable but also with a roster of prestigious members and brands, together with a host of key supplier partners. All of which will help Houlden members collectively achieve long term growth and success.”
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Source: Houlden