jewellery in austria

7/25/2019 Jewellery in Austria

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Source: CBI Market Information Database www.cbi.eu Contact [email protected]

Publication date 30.11.2011

Costume jewellery inAustriaThe costume jewellery market in Austria continued to grow during the economic

downturn. In reaction to the oversupply of cheap imported pieces with parts of glass

from China, Austrian women are critical about design and look for pieces that are

more stylish and original. This impliesa grading up to higher quality jewellery items.

However, consumers remain very price conscious. An impetus to the future market is

the sustained rise in number of tourists. Opportunities can be also found by offering

production capacity for local companies as Austrian manufacturers expand in export

markets such as the BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa).

Market characteristicsConsumers expenditure increased slightly abovethe EU average.The Austrian market for costume jewellerywasvalued at 59 million in 2010, a 1.9% average annualincrease since 2006, representing 2.0% of EU market

value. This growth rate was slightly above the EU as awhole, which registered a 1.6% annual increase. OtherEU Member States with a higher performance includedPoland, Italy, Spain, Finland and many of the easternEU countries. See the module Costume jewellery Promising EU export markets with all trade statistics.

The Austrian jewellery market is characterised by amajority of consumers paying much attention tothe quality and exclusivity of a jewellery piece. Theyare less influenced by the fast changing trends infashion than people in other EU countries.Costume jewellery of metal (clad with silver or gold),

stainless steel or titanium with Swarovski crystals orThomas Sabo beads remains popular among younger Austrians.

The ratio of working women rosefrom 62.0% to 66.4%of all Austrian women between 2005 and2010 with the largest increases in the younger and older-aged groups. Young Austrian womenare an important segment of the work force now, and their growing affluence is stimulatingsales of well-designed jewellery both by Austrian and by foreign designers.

The costume jewellery segment has become more diverseand has benefited from a growinginfluence of fashion trends in clothing and matching accessories. Titanium necklaces,bangles and earrings with glittering or colourful crystals have been particularly popular.There has been a growing number of trend shops or lifestyle shops selling jewellery,watches, glasses and leather accessories.

Many designs are combinemetals with coloured glass, Venetian glass, glass beads, pearls,

rhinestones, silk, organza, leather, chiffon or any other material. Some popular brandsare Martina Rogy, Uliko, Mayi (fair trade), Ina or Kent.
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Costume jewellery in Austria



Future demand:Costume jewellery may grow further, although at a slower rate dueto the recession. There will be a grading up to higher quality jewellery items. Austrianpeople will look more for well-designed costume jewellery as an alternative for thehigher priced precious jewellery.

Impulses to the total jewellery market may come from more personalised jewellery,DIY jewellery, increased tourism, mens jewellery and Internet sales, which is relativelyhigh compared to other EU countries.

Production continued to increase.Austria is the largest EU producerof costume jewellery,valued at 241 million, representing 20.5% of EU production. Note that Austria is thelargest EU costume jewellery producer with the presence of Swarovski (crystals) andThomas Sabo (eye-catching personalised charms, mainly of silver). See also the CBIfactsheet Silver jewellery in Austria.

Austrian jewellery production decreased by -2.5% annually since 2006, compared with

-0.1% for the EU as a whole, which can be mainly attributed to less exports to EUcountries. The Austrian jewellery industry is long-established and is based onqualitative competition. This implies that it will not be trying to compete on pricewith low cost manufacturers. The industry has invested in environmentally friendlymachinery, in design and in modern production methods. Some manufacturersspecialise in particular products, materials, special crafts or in special techniques

Outsourcing is well advanced in Austria being mainly done in Asia, as productioncosts are lower and quality standards can be quite high. The producers retain theirhead office in Austria, and control design, marketing and distribution from here.

Imports. DC imports (value) show a substantial growth.Austrian total imports of costumejewellery were valued at 196 million in 2010, a 3.9% annual average increase since2006 (representing 2.7 thousand tonnes, a -1.4% decrease in volume). DC imports

increased by 3.7% over the period, compared with a -9.3% decrease in volume to thousandtonnes being mainly due to less imports of imitation jewellery of other material. In 2010,DC imports accounted for 55% of all Austrian imports by value (41% by volume). Austriawas a medium-large sized EU importer of costume jewellery.

Figure 1 Top 5 DC suppliers of costume jewellery to Austria

Source : Eurostat (2011)

Leading DC suppliers(by value) were Thailand (34% of total, 1.8% average annual growth),China (19%, 6.9%), Mauritius (1.1%, 14.3%), Jordan (1.0%, +43.9%), India (0.8%, -20.7%),Philippines (0.6%, -6.8%), Indonesia (0.4%, 7.0%), Turkey (0.2%, -12.4.0%), South Africa(0.2%, 8.9%), Brazil (0.1%, 49.0%), Colombia (decreasing), Chile and Vietnam (bothincreasing).

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20

40

60

80

Thailand China Mauritius Jordan India

Value million 2006 2008 2010


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Imitation jewellery represents a total 94.5% of all costume jewellery imports.Imitation jewellery of base metal, clad with parts of glasswas the largest import sub-groupby value (55%) and 46% by volume. Around 72% of these imports stem from developingcountries (DCs).

Figure 2 Austrian imports of costume (imitation) jewellery by material

Source : Eurostat (2011)

Imitation jewellery of base metal, clad (with silver, gold or platinum)was the second largestsub-group representing 17.3% of imports (+22.9%), of which 58% come from DCs; followed

by Imitation jewellery of base metalwhich represented 15.1% of imports (+6.9%), of which12% were from DCs.

Austrian imports of cuff links and studs accounted for 0.5% of jewellery imports (value).Hair accessoriesrepresented 5.0% and increased in significance by 6.3% year-on-year.The largest sub-group consisted of combs, hair slides of hard rubber or plastics, representing3.1% of imports by value, 48% of which came from DCs.

Prices.Average DC import prices increasedslightly from 58.24in 2006 to 99.31 per kg.in 2010, equivalent to an average annual growth of 14% being largely attributed tohigher prices from Thailand and China (higher quality items, higher wages). Averageintra-EU prices increased from 51.94 to 47.24, making intra-EU import prices aroundhalf the average of DC import prices.

Retail prices of costume jewelleryare moving up along with the growing popularity ofdesigner jewellery. However, large differences remain. Most costume jewellery sold inAustria was between 20-55. Whereas higher priced jewellery was sold above 100.

Key opportunitiesCostume jewellery is expected to improve in quality. Austrian working women and singlehouseholds now look for more style and personality in their outfits. This implies goodopportunities for costume jewellery of a good design.

In a competitive market with large supplies from China, the best opportunities for DCexporters are in costume jewellery in the medium to high price ranges. You could offer jewellerywith original (ethnic) designs with colourful beads, shells, charms, imitation pearls orsemi-precious stones in fashionable colours.

Austrian women also look more for pieces that can be worn longer, opposite to the fastchanging fashion trends. In order to offer more value for money, you could offer modular

17%

7%

15%

55%

metal, clad, with glass

metal clad

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other material


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or convertible systemsin your jewellery collection. For example, a long neck chain that canbe shortened; a neck chain that can be turned into a bracelet; hoop/creole earrings thatcan be strung together; interchangeable charms or collectible bracelets.Opportunities can be also found in:

In offering jewellery parts(beads, charms) for the Do It Yourself jewellery market, whichis growing.

The increased tourismfrom Russia, particularly in the cities of Vienna, Salzburg, Bregenzand Kitzbuhl. In 2010, Austria had 13.5 million tourists.

As internet salesof jewellery is relatively high, direct selling to consumers is a futureopportunity for developing country exporters.

A rising number of immigrants, especially from the new Eastern EU Member States,which leads to demand for more diversified costume jewellery.

Young men have become impulse buyersnow and prefer steel or titanium rings (engraved

or with a stone), steel neck chains, pendants, texture leather bracelets and ear studs. There is an opportunity for low-medium priced fashion jewellery designs suitable

for impulse buys. In order to differentiate from China, take inspirations from classicAustrian designs, which remain popular with consumers.

How to approach the market The main trade channels for market entry are either via wholesalers or via importers

that sell on to specialist retailers. More information on the choice wholesaler orimporter can be found in the module Silver jewellery Trade structure and channels.

Some of the specialist retailers are linked to (multi-sector) buying groups. Internet salesof jewellery has developed quickly in the past few years. You could also sell direct tolarger retailers if your size allows it. In Austria, department stores, clothing stores,trend shops and gift stores are important non-specialists and take up a large proportionof the market.

Wholesalers of jewellery can be found via the portal http://www.fashion-industry.at

Agents are important and they can be found via http://www.coesch.at. However, theirrole is diminishing as the trade becomes more concentrated.

Sizeable jewellery specialistinclude Juwelier Thomas - http://www.juwelier-thomas.at,Dorotheum Juwelier (28 outlets), Weiglein (9 outlets), Diadoro juwelier, JuwelierHuemer -http://www.juwelier-huemer.at, Juwelier Horben and Christian Odor.

Jewellery chains selling much silver jewellery aimed at cheap and accessible jewelleryinclude Bijou Brigitte -http://www.bijou-brigitte.com (21 outlets), Clairs Accessories(30 outlets) and the discounter Bijoux Terner.

In the non-specialist sector, the leading retailers were: Department stores (KaufhausSteffl, Gerngross, Kastner & hler, Tchibo/Edusho) and clothing stores (H&M, Mango,Palmers, Esprit, Zara and Orsay).

You need to decide whether to approach this market directly or indirectly. See the moduleon distribution strategy for more information. Information on buyer requirements can befound in the module on buyer requirements.

If you make a direct approach, it is recommended that there is some personalcommunication before a trading relationship commences. Developing country exportersmay approach customers in Austria through direct (e-) mail, personal visits (as follow-up),inviting potential customers to visit you in your country, building a network and visitinginternational trade fairs.
http://www.cbi.eu/http://www.cbi.eu/http://www.cbi.eu/http://www.cbi.eu/mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]://www.fashion-industry.at/http://www.coesch.at/http://www.juwelier-thomas.at/http://www.juwelier-huemer.at/http://www.bijou-brigitte.com/http://www.bijou-brigitte.com/http://www.juwelier-huemer.at/http://www.juwelier-thomas.at/http://www.coesch.at/http://www.fashion-industry.at/mailto:[email protected]://www.cbi.eu/


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Other interesting contacts Interesting trade fairsinclude the Creativ Salzburg which is an International Gift fair that

includes costume and traditional jewellery items and takes place at the end of August -http://www.creativsalzburg.at.

The main trade associationis the Austrian Association of Gold and Silversmiths and WatchManufacturers (Bundesinnung der Gold und Silberschmeide, Juweliere undUhrmacher) which can be reached via mailto:[email protected].

Leading trade pressinclude der Juwelier - http://www.derjuwelier.at being the main tradepublication in the jewellery sector.

There are links via http://portal.wko.at tomembers and listings by product.

This survey was compiled bySearcein cooperation with Mart Krijger

Disclaimer CBI market information tool: http://www.cbi.eu/disclaimer
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