Marketing communication plan

The Jewelry industry in China is one of the biggest worldwide and the jewelry market is generally a growing market (HKTDC Research, 2018). However, due to the economic slowdown over recent years, the demand for jewelry in China has declined. Many of the investors shifted their focus mainly from gold jewelry to gold bars leading to a decline in the market. Jewelry in the Chinese market is divided into metal jewelry, precious stones, and others. The metal jewelry comprises of jewelry made from precious metal s like gold platinum and silver. Government regulations are always a hindrance to new businesses and thus the government regulations on e-commerce are a threat to Signet Jewelry. • Legal issues The legal system for the e-commerce system in the China Jewelry market is not fully developed yet.

The people of China do not still have much experience in drafting e-commerce legislation such as protection rights or even tax. This is an opportunity for Signet Jewelry because the company will have a few legal issues to deal with while expanding to the China jewelry market (Tian, 2007). b) Economic China has recently experienced a significant growth rate of GDP and based on statistics, China is likely to exceed U. This is a great opportunity for Signet Jewelry expanding to China. • Age distribution fluctuation The fluctuation of age distribution is also another factor that provides an opportunity for businesses in China. Varying age groups provide a large market for jewelry which enhances the demand for gold and diamond jewelry in the country.

This is an opportunity for Signet Jewelry (Hsu et al. d) Legal The legal factors impacting the China Jewelry market include; • Legal channels The Shanghai Diamond Exchange is the only legal channel that deals with the import and export of gold and diamond for the purpose of general trading and also for domestic sale of the diamond. • Government involvement in the jewelry industry in China Threats • Stiff competition is the greatest threat to the China Jewelry market • The fluctuating prices of gold are also another threat (Holmes, 2017). Strategic Recommendations: Expand into China Key Internal Factors Key External Factors Strategy No market share in Asia • Increase E-commerce sales • Competition with main competitors • The high growth rate of the jewelry market Expand into China Linking Table for Expand into China Strategy Currently, Signet is the largest jeweler retailer in US and UK by sales, yet we have not entered into the Asia market.

If we compare to one of our top competitors, Tiffany, they are incurring 27% sales are from Asia and Greater China represented approximately 60% of Asia-Pacific's net sales in 2017. In 2017, the global jewelry sales detailed $157 billion, of which, China (Mainland and Hong Kong) contributed retail offers of $99. 9 billion clearing a worldwide share of 51. 9% to reach $23. 5 billion in 2014 (marketline. com). Chinese consumers are increasingly buying luxury goods abroad, which may affect domestic sales figures going forward. Jewelry sales had the highest value in the Chinese jewelry & watches market in 2014, with an equivalent to 93. com targets household retailers and remote retailers that as of now have a Chinese element. Tmall. hk, or Tmall Global, targets outside organizations with no official nearness in China and enables them to sell straightforwardly to purchasers in China.

Signet would be involved with Tmall. hk. S. dollar in the monetary year 2015, the interpretation of outside based net deals into U. S. dollars will diminish our detailed net deals. Right now, U. Tmall charges $33,000 annually along with an additional service fee per year. Also, Tmall will charge 4% for each order. This strategic move will help us better determine where our physical market entry should take place. It can also help the company to determine the rate of which we should expand in China, including how many stores we need to open for the next few years. Based on Signet’s non-existing presence in the Asia market, our initial 4-year plan is to increase 20% total sales of e-commerce with Tmall (Seen in Appendix 7).

Through the span of five years, precious stone jewelry has developed from around one-fourth of China's aggregate retail gems industry to roughly 33%. Quite a bit of this development has originated from tolerating the Western custom of giving precious stone engagement rings and also wedding rings. In China, the estimated number of brides each year is 13 million (Qiu, Zhili). The expansion into China aligns with our vision to be the best in bridal, with the largest number of upcoming brides. For funding the decision to move into China, free cash flow can be used to cover initial costs of $20. For our post-sales service, we would consider offering our customer an extension warranty and promotional repair service as another internal change. For education and growth, before we can expand into China we have to establish a team to do research and set up an online supply chain.