The trouble with one-offs

Time and again we come up against the same problem when sourcing new jewellery lines at pressies4princess (the gift retailer I manage): one-off designs. But, a part from being jolly inconvenient for us, let me explain why I don't think they're best for customers, retailers or designers.

Customers, you'd think they would appreciate having a one-off piece of jewellery. Well, yes of course they would. Trouble is, they want the one pictured on your website. The one you already sold to someone else. "What, I can't have that but I can have something similar? When would that be? I need it today! Have you got a picture.. no, so how can I buy it?!" Trust me, if you're selling online, that's far too complicated. It's one thing for the odd customer to ask for something special; it's entirely another to put every would-be buyer through that.

Retailers, they're going to hate your one-of-a-kind jewellery. Because, as much as they adore the designs, they can't stock them. It's here and gone in a heart beat. Every piece needs a unique SKU (stock keeping unit) - even though there's only one. Every piece has to be priced and entered into their IT systems. They can't sell the same stock at multiple stores. And, how do they handle buying?

Normally, a buyer will search and select a range of products knowing that the time and effort spent will be amortised over a successful selling season (or more). Typically, a retailer might not breakeven in terms of purchasing and 'on-costs' until several items of jewllery have been sold.

With one-offs they have to buy into the designer, rather than the jewellery samples. They're relying on you having more up your sleeve. They are hoping you'll continue along the same vein with similar designs. Start drifting off into a new direction and your jewellery might not be right for their market.

And, then there's price points. Buyers typically want to assemble a range around retail price points and stock ranges accordingly. So, either you promise to keep hitting all their price points (unlikely) or all their category management aspirations go out the window. It's now a lottery.

Catalogue and internet retailers probably won't be able to work with your one-off jewellery designs, full-stop. At pressies' we don't. The on-costs are too high. Every piece has to photographed and written about. That takes time and costs money. All that and then it sells the day after it hits the website or catalogue. A range of ten items become nought in a week and then the retailer has to think about adding ten more - getting them photographed and 'databased'. They've got to be serious high pound-note margin (not percentage) to make that worthwhile.

Jewellery designers - why aren't one-off pieces best for you? If you were an accountant, trust me, you'd know the answer. Businesses - big businesses - are successful because they successfully replicate a winning formula time and again. So, when you create a winning design, isn't it sheer lunacy that you can't repeat it? Repeating it costs probably less than 25 percent of the resource of creating it in the first place. And, everytime you do it, you will get better and that time will come down further. After a dozen, making it will be like shelling peas. You can even automate parts by using a casting company. The next 88 will be where you make most of your profit.

If you're thinking making 100 of anything is a lot, don't forget that on this tiny island there are 60 million people, 20-odd million households, probably 10 million wives or girlfriends. Clearly, your jewellery will still be reassuringly uncommon!

Creating one-offs can be economic and has its place - of course it has. But, that's jewellery for multi-millionaires or billionaires. I mean, even haute couture dresses are made by the handful!

Spending all your time designing and not amortising that investment across and sensible production run is going to make turning a profit an uphill battle. It will also play havoc with your marketing efforts. Imagine buyers' frustration when they find they can't buy the bracelet that was featured in Marie Claire, for example. And, you spent ages getting that press release published.

So next time you are designing, design with a little compromise. Do the right thing for your business. Make sure you can produce at least a dozen with those vintage beads you have. After all, truly good design is the best compromise between idealism and practicality. Anything less is just vanity.