Surge in sales for jeweller after lockdown

Beaverbrooks, which has a shop in Telford town centre, saw a 30 per cent increase in sales on opening day alone, as customers rushed out to purchase diamonds, jewellery and watches after three months of lockdown.

The family-owned business reopened 58 stores in England and one in Northern Ireland on June 15 and also reported appointments up 1,279 per cent, with 331 booked last week alone. Customers were also spending more in store with a 23 per cent increase in average transaction value on jewellery and watches.

Beaverbrooks, which celebrated its centenary in 2019 and recently marked its sixth consecutive most profitable year in its history of trading, is feeling ‘cautiously optimistic’ about life after lockdown.

Despite a brief closure of its online operations in March, the brand experienced a steady increase in demand for jewellery and watches while its 70 stores were closed.

Anna Blackburn, managing director at Beaverbrooks, said: “Customer feedback and inquiries over the past 12 weeks indicated that the demand was there for in-store shopping, but of course there was an element of uncertainty when we reopened 59 of our stores last week. However, the first week of trading has been incredibly positive, and we’re feeling cautiously optimistic that consumer confidence is starting to return.

“While we saw strong performance online throughout lockdown, the response from customers this week has demonstrated that there is absolutely still demand for that personal in-store shopping experience, particularly when it comes to sentimental items and considered purchases such as gifts.

“From the day we closed our stores in March, we started work on plans for reopening that would put safety first while ensuring we were still able to offer our expertise and the high level of personal service our customers expect, so we’re thrilled to have seen customers returning to our stores over the past week.”