Jewellery sales agent for designers and brands
A jewellery sales agent carries a designer’s collection to the retailers who should stock it, writes the orders and looks after the accounts that follow. Gemlea Commercial Studio provides that representation for jewellery designers and brands from London: selling in, wholesale and account management, strategy and business development, trade shows, and direct-to-consumer events and exhibitions.
What a jewellery sales agent does
An agent, or sales rep, stands between a brand and its stockists. The work is finding the shops, galleries and department stores a collection belongs in, getting the pieces in front of their buyers, writing the order, and then keeping the account: reorders, replacements, returns and the next season’s appointment.
Representation is the part of the work that happens in rooms, in front of buyers, with the collection in hand rather than in a deck. At Gemlea the collection is carried into the room by someone who can answer for it: what it is made of, what it takes to make, and what a buyer would be committing to. What comes back afterwards is what was said, rather than an impression of it.
Jewellery wholesale: selling in and account management
Selling in is the first order; account management is every one after it. Gemlea opens the account, agrees the terms, and stays with it through the reorders, the returns and the season the buyer forgets to call. A first order shows a collection can be bought; the reorders show it sells.
Terms are part of the account. Independent jewellers and galleries may buy outright, take pieces on sale or return (consignment), or mix the two, and each arrangement changes who carries the stock and when the brand is paid. The terms agreed have to be ones the brand can hold for a whole season.
How to prepare for a jewellery sales agent
An agent can only sell what a brand can deliver. Before representation starts, buyers will expect the commercial basics to be settled:
- A line sheet: every piece with its reference, picture, materials, wholesale price and suggested retail price.
- Wholesale prices that leave the retailer a margin at your retail price, and still leave you one.
- Samples of every piece offered, and a delivery date for orders that you can keep.
- Order terms: minimum order, payment terms, delivery window, and your position on sale or return.
- Precious-metal pieces hallmarked where UK law requires it, and packaging ready for a shop counter.
- Pictures a retailer can use, and a few lines about the brand and the maker.
What jewellery retailers expect from a brand
Buyers see many collections and keep the ones that make their job easy. They expect a coherent range with clear entry pieces, priced to sit beside what they already stock; the same quality in the delivered order as in the sample; delivery on the date promised; and someone to call when a piece comes back. Many retailers set their price at a multiple of the wholesale price, often at least double it, so the suggested retail price has to hold at that multiple in their shop.
They also expect not to be undercut. If a piece sells for less on the brand’s own website than across the retailer’s counter, the shop has little reason to reorder, so prices are kept in step across every channel a brand sells through.
Jewellery trade shows and events
Trade fairs are where many buyers place their seasonal orders. Gemlea works the trade calendar on a brand’s behalf: which fairs a collection belongs at, what has to be ready and by when, and who stands behind the table. The pieces are packed, presented and accounted for by the house.
Beside the fairs, direct-to-consumer events and exhibitions put the pieces in a room with the people who wear them, laid out to be handled rather than looked at through glass. What was asked about is recorded, which is worth as much as what left with someone.
Where a jewellery brand sells next
Representation without a plan spreads a collection thinly. Strategy and business development decide which doors to open, in what order, and what has to be true of the collection before they are worth knocking on, written down as a plan a season can be held against. Where the pricing or the line sheet needs work first, that work comes before the first appointment.
How it works
- 01
A first conversation
A video consultation to hear about the brand, the collection and where it sells now, before anything is agreed.
- 02
The plan
Which retailers and markets the collection belongs in, which fairs, and what must be ready first: line sheet, prices, samples and stock.
- 03
Selling in
The collection is presented to buyers in person, orders are written and terms agreed.
- 04
The accounts
Reorders, returns and next season’s appointments are looked after, and what buyers said is reported back to you.
Questions
What does a jewellery sales agent do?
A jewellery sales agent represents a designer or brand to retailers: finding the right stockists, presenting the collection to their buyers, writing orders, agreeing terms and managing the accounts afterwards, including reorders and returns. Many agents also work the trade fairs on the brand’s behalf.
Can you represent our brand at trade shows?
Yes. Gemlea Commercial Studio provides commercial representation for jewellery designers and brands, including wholesale and account management, strategy and business development, trade shows, and direct-to-consumer events and exhibitions. At a fair, the house decides with you which fairs to take, what has to be ready, and who stands behind the table.
How are jewellery sales agents paid?
In the jewellery trade, agents are commonly paid a commission on the wholesale orders they write, sometimes with a retainer or show costs on top. Gemlea does not publish its terms: fees, minimums, lead times and NDAs are agreed in the brief, project by project, depending on what the brand needs.
What do I need before approaching jewellery retailers?
A finished line sheet with wholesale and suggested retail prices, samples of every piece you are selling, a delivery date you can keep, clear order and payment terms, and hallmarked stock for any precious-metal piece above the UK exemption weights. Retailers also look for the same quality in the delivered order as in the sample.
What is the difference between a sales agent and a distributor?
A sales agent sells on the brand’s behalf: the retailer buys from the brand, and the agent is paid for the orders written. A distributor buys stock itself and resells it in its territory at its own margin. Gemlea Commercial Studio provides representation: it sells collections in for designers and brands and manages the accounts.
Do you represent new jewellery brands?
Yes. Gemlea can start with a brand at any stage, from a single brief to a whole collection taken to market. A new brand may start with strategy, pricing and a line sheet before representation begins; an established one may come for selling in, account management or a single trade show.