A REAL GEM
Looking for a stylish, boutique franchise? This growing New Zealand business could offer a sparkling opportunity.
Kiwi retail concept is a sparkling opportunity.
Buying a life-celebrating piece of jewellery is a significant event. Imagine a business that offers bespoke rings to suit any taste and any occasion – without a jaw-dropping price tag.
Well, that’s how Polished Diamonds founder Daniel Joines started the New Zealand-based business 15 years ago. Ready to pop the question to his longterm partner, Joines was frustrated at the lack of variety in engagement rings and set up to create a business delivering customised jewellery. He saw an opportunity to design and accurately size rings and gemstones and turned to computer aided design (CAD) for the tools to achieve this effectively and at reasonable costs.
Customers can choose from a portfolio of about 300 prototype ring designs held instore or bring their own inspiration to be translated into a bespoke ring.
“There are endless design choices,” Joines points out. “We can bring up a design in a CAD model to see how it looks at the desk and while sitting there can add diamonds to the band, change the figure size, change the ring to rose gold, for instance.”
Joines is confident in the product. “It’s proportionally perfect, the world’s most accurate copy, and we can produce it at extremely good value.”
Polished Diamonds sources directly from diamond cutters so it has access to a diamond pool with a net value of about $7.5 billion without the commensurate financial overheads.
It avoids conflict diamonds by sourcing from BHP, from Rio Tinto, and the Russian state mining company.
“These large mining firms are listed on stock exchanges so dealing with diamond roughs by a corporate company ensures the diamonds are mined in a way that is ethical,” says Joines.
A local supply chain in New South Wales will cast, set and finish each gemstone ring and ship to stores across Australia.
The business also offers remodelling and resizing through its contractor jewellery workshop.
“We do a lot of resizing. We have a cool MRI scanning system, can put in a ring, produce a perfect digital imprint and ensure it’s the same.”
Plans to introduce an artificial intelligence tool are underway with an expected launch in autumn 2020.
While the design and ordering process is high tech, the ambience of a Polished Diamonds outlet is far from minimal. Franchisees operate from a small design studio with a video screen, and a display cabinet and baroque mirror that set a luxurious tone.
What started out as a small retail concept in Christchurch, New Zealand, today operates online across 13 countries and has plans to expand its bricksand-mortar stores yet further.
Joines says “We’ve won best retail category at retail awards. The business works extremely well. We have a huge amount of intellectual property and know-how based in small Christchurch and we replicated that in the slightly bigger Auckland. Now we want to replicate that into slightly bigger cities, Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane.”
The first foray into franchising was with an Auckland store less than a year ago. Now attention has turned to the Australian market with Joines seeking business-minded and marketing-savvy franchisees to run with the opportunity.
Joines says the first Australian franchisee will have the national rights until further franchisees come on board. So if the launch franchise is based in Sydney, the franchisee can operate Australia-wide. If the second franchisee is Melbourne-based, they will take over the rights to Victoria from the Sydney franchisee.
Location matters a little, but this is essentially a destination business. Typically a CBD location in a mall environment done “in a classy way” is ideal, says Joines.
The $50,000 franchise fee covers legal documentation and training costs.
“I want franchisees to feel really confident. And I’ll be there to support them. I’m not selling to anyone, I want someone with good business acumen and a spring in their step.”