Visitors to this year’s International Jewellery London will have the opportunity to discover Persona – a silver jewellery brand that’s already making waves in North America and Canada, and looks set to grow in the UK and Europe in the coming months.
The brand is exclusively distributed worldwide by First Jewelry Limited, an experienced specialist in developing and marketing sterling silver jewellery brands for unique market segments. With their expertise, Persona is now stocked in more than 1,000 retail locations.
To discover more about this growing brand, International Jewellery London spoke to Neil Travis, President and CEO of First Jewelry Limited, to discuss design inspirations, sub-collections and quirky collaborations…
Q: What three words would you use to describe Persona?
Personal. Fashionable. Affordable-Luxury.
Q: Who is your target customer and what attracts them to Persona?
The typical Persona customer is a 30-54 year old, married woman with children at home and a full-time job. She is fashion-conscious and likes to wear jewellery every day. Each and every Persona woman is unique. That is what they all share in common. The Persona Woman always wants to look and feel her best. She appreciates brands that help keep her in the latest fashions at affordable prices.
Women are attracted to Persona because it inspires them to express style and personality through beautiful, affordable jewellery that reflects the values, moments and milestones that make each woman’s story special.
Q: How did you develop the concept and ideas for the brand?
People are always looking for a new way to express their individuality, which is why personalisation became such an important factor in jewellery. With Persona, women have the ability to display their style, values, and memories in a beautiful and fashionable way, that is the core principle upon which all of the Persona brands’ products are conceived.
We’re thrilled with the success of our collaboration with the iconic PEANUTS brand, which aligns perfectly with the values we represent here at Persona. The reception in market has been incredible and our retail partners’ interest in the collection continues to grow as does our community of loyal PEANUTS and Persona customers.
Q: Can you tell us more about the different Persona sub-brands, which are all aimed at different consumer niches?
PersonaPhi: Persona is about providing jewellery that inspires women to express their unique style and story – PersonPhi builds on that. It’s a collection of small, meaningful charms that reflect the moments, symbols and values that give meaning to our lives. The finer chains and bangles are ideal for layering, allowing wearers to enjoy the ‘more is more’ trend in both necklaces and bracelets.
PersonaPhi products are sold in a unique ‘message in a bottle’ package. Each piece has a special meaning, which is included on the product card. Like finding a message in a bottle washed up on shore, a PersonaPhi piece creates a special connection between the sender and the receiver making it an exceptional gift for someone special – including yourself!
Persona Jewellery: From simple and subtle, to dazzling and dramatic, Persona Jewellery will make every woman feel her most beautiful. The new Persona Jewellery collections feature rings, pendants, earrings and bracelets with designs ranging from timeless classics to bold statement pieces evolving from organic shapes and nature. Our design team stays ahead of the latest fashion trends to keep our collections fresh, relevant and inspiring.
Our bestsellers are certainly the timeless stackable rings. This collection is a wardrobe staple for the contemporary woman, Persona stacking rings and bangles mix and match perfectly. All styles are handcrafted from sterling silver accented with rose gold overlay, shimmering crystal, sparkling CZ, gemstones and hand-painted enamels.
PersonaGirl: The PersonaGirl collection is for the young fashionista. Perfect for the girl that loves to be on-trend without compromising her own unique style. This ‘internet born’ tween is media savvy but still enjoys timeless kid pursuits. The PersonaGirl collection offers her a fun, fashionable, high quality collection of beads and charms made with the same standards of the Persona collection, in petite sizes.
Q: What are the retail price points of Persona jewellery?
Persona beads and charms range in retail from GBP £12 to £75, making them ideal for impulse and multiple purchases.
Q: What made you decide to exhibit at IJL this year? Why have you chosen now to grow in the UK and European market and what are you hoping to achieve here?
In the past year, the growth of Persona has been exceptional, in large part as a result of partnerships with beloved and iconic brands, such as PEANUTS. The diversity of our assortments and our extensive marketing support give us something completely unique to offer UK and European jewellery retailers and their discerning customers.
Q: What do you credit as the main factor(s) that have led to the fast growth and quick success of the brand?
Persona’s success in 2016 was the result of exceptional marketing – including consumer print and digital campaigns, along with leveraging our iconic licensed brand partnerships. We saw better than expected growth on a same store basis and expect that to continue this year with our latest collections of beads and charms. PersonaPhi, with its low price point and on-trend design, presents a huge opportunity for additional growth, and breaking into new markets.
Q: What distribution channels and geographic markets are you looking for?
PersonaPhi is available in North America through an expanded network of distributors, adding gift and speciality stores to the more than 1,000 jewellery stores that already offer the Persona bead and charm collections. The complete Persona portfolio will be marketed in the UK starting with our launch at International Jewellery London as part of the company’s international expansion.
Q: How does Persona build a loyal following in a market with a number of charm silver jewellery brands?
It is important to us that we always keep our product offering fresh and on point. With six product launches each year, Persona wearers love that our jewellery helps them reflect their personal style while keeping up with the latest trends. Our commitment to quality and fashion are reflected in the range of colour, materials and meaningful designs in our collections — our customers value that.
Say hello to Persona at International Jewellery London from 4th-6th September 2016 at Olympia Grand. Find them on Stand D31.
Register to attend International Jewellery London here.
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