JNA January/February 2023 | 59 市场情报 NDC’s “push-and-pull” strategy to engage consumers in China includes dedicated content and assets for promotions. These are available as well to its two strategic retail partners, Chow Tai Fook and Zbird. NDC’s content has a daily reach of around 300,000 people in Tier 1 through to Tier 5 cities. Chow Tai Fook stores using NDC content grew from 3,000 in 2021 to around 6,000 in 2022, according to NDC. Zbird, meanwhile, features these in many outdoor locations in Central Business Districts and at airports. NDC intends to strengthen this strategy in 2023 and plans to invite 10 more retailers to avail of its promotional content and assets. “NDC’s task is to promote an industry, not a brand,” McCormick explained. In December 2022, NDC teamed up with Vogue China and the country’s top industry experts in fashion and jewellery to launch the 2023 Trend Report that identifies five distinct diamond jewellery trends in China – infinite natural, unlimited faces, imaginable shapes, pure sensations and golden wonders. The council forecasts that, while the pandemic hindered the development of its diamond market, China could overtake the US as the world’s biggest diamond market as early as 2028. Golden opportunities Diamond jewellery is gaining ground in the market, as indicated by its strong showing during the Double 11 shopping festival to celebrate Single’s Day. Aside from the usual Big 4 favourites – beauty products, fast-moving consumer goods, consumer electronics and apparel, 2022 saw the emergence of New Big 4 categories, namely toys, pet products, jewellery and sports and outdoor products. The popularity of these non-daily essentials attests to consumer trends – shoppers are younger overall, and self-reward purchases to improve quality of life and meet emotional needs are on the rise. Gold jewellery, traditionally favoured by Chinese consumers, did well during Double 11. JD.com started its promotions on October 20 while Tmall.com followed on October 24. By November 1, sales of gold jewellery on Tmall had grown over 30 per cent year-on-year, with six brands selling over RMB100 million (around US$15 million). MCLON, which carries a wide range of diamond jewellery, reportedly sold over RMB100 million (around US$15 million) worth of gold jewellery in two hours and 21 minutes. Other diamond jewellery retailers also sold plain gold jewellery during Double 11 to build a future customer base for their diamond products. Jinghua Jewellery, which has 23 stores in Qingdao, Shandong province, is part of the Jinghua Group, one of the first and shareholding members of the Shanghai Diamond Exchange. According to Jinghua Jewellery General Manager Wu Peng, its strategy for 2022’s Double 11 was to attract more traffic through the trade-in of gold jewellery. “We are also ready to roll out our service to trade-in and upgrade diamonds to further establish our brand. The jewellery industry is often the last to recover after economic turmoil, so we need to be extraordinarily patient,” he said. Phygital focus Blue Nile, which has had a presence in China for the last 10 years, is ending its Chinese operations on January 31, 2023. For its part, Zbird, which started as an online diamond retailer, shifted to a phygital model in recent years. It now operates more than 100 showrooms and experience centres in 70 cities across China, combining online sales and offline retail experiences. For luxury goods, offline stores go beyond sales and serve to establish the brand in the market. “Though online shopping has become mainstream, for high-value products such as diamonds, offline stores serve as both a business channel and the basis for brand communication and customer service,” said Zhang Peiying, an expert on the luxury market in China. He added that strictly online strategies are not feasible for diamond brands and recommended that offline initiatives should take precedence in online-offline models. De Beers’ Diamond Insight Report 2022 also noted that phygital strategies are a defining feature of the new diamond world, where dedicated and compelling omnichannel strategies are critical. The report revealed that the average online purchase value in China is RMB 7,400 (around US$1,100), compared to an offline average of RMB 9,500 Shining House’s 2022 Star & Dream series featuring the octagonal Shining Star diamond 钻石世家的2022年“星梦”系列，主打八边形极慕之星钻石
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