In This Episode
You’ll hear JCK editor-in-chief Victoria Gomelsky and news director Rob Bates talk about how COVID-19 is affecting India, the Kay + Zales combo stores, and the De Beers Forevermark rebranding.

Show Notes

00:30 While New York City and Los Angeles are doing okay in terms of COVID-19, the situation in India is looking bleak.
06:27 Rob discusses what stock prices are looking like in India despite the pandemic.
12:36 Kay and Zales have come together to form Kay + Zales. Rob and Victoria offer their thoughts.
18:32 Forevermark rebranded recently. Why? And what does Gen Z think?

Episode Credits
Hosts: Rob Bates and Victoria Gomelsky
Editor: Riley McCaskill
Producer and engineer: Natalie Chomet
Plugs: jckonline.com, @jckmagazine

Show Recap

Stuggles In India

Victoria and Rob talk about how things seem to be going back to normal in Los Angeles and New York City, as people start leaving their homes more after being inside for so much of 2020. Unfortunately, the same can’t be said for India, where 132,788 new cases of COVID-19 were reported on June 1. Victoria recently reached out to Tarang Arora, who is part of the family that owns Amrapali. He’s involved in an initiative called Find a Bed, which helps place people in hospitals in India.

Where Are India's Stock Numbers?

Rob looks at India from an industry perspective and reports that its stock levels in jewelry were very high before the country was hit so hard by COVID-19. In fact, its stock numbers were higher in March 2021 than they were in March 2020, before the country experienced a spike in COVID-19 cases. Victoria wonders whether India is now experiencing the same things the United States did in 2020 as far as buying and selling—such as people being home more often and buying jewelry to pass the time. Rob also relays an interesting news story about fraudulent letters and bank loans from one Indian company.

Combining Forces: Kay + Zales

Victoria asks Rob to explain a story he wrote recently about a Kay and Zales combo-store concept, Kay + Zales. Since malls haven’t been getting the same traction they once did, the two competitors (both owned by Signet) decided to combine forces and share the same store space. Will this idea be successful? Time will tell. You’ll also hear from who Rob calls his “JCK spy." They visited the store to see what the commotion was about, and he relays his informant's thoughts. Victoria applauds the stores' innovation and willingness to try something different.

What's in a Name?

Recently, Forevermark rebranded itself as De Beers Forevermark. The reasoning behind this move, Rob explains, is that LVMH once had rights to use the De Beers name commercially, but once De Beers bought the company out, De Beers wanted to consolidate its brands under the same name. We have yet to see if the De Beers name will make any difference to the Forevermark brand. Victoria wonders what members of Gen Z know of the brand name De Beers, if they know it at all.