Archive for August, 2006
Jewelry store employee shot during a robbery in D.C.
JCK, PA
JCK-Jewelers Circular Keystone — 8/21/2006 12:56:00 PM
A jewelry store worker was shot and critically wounded Sunday afternoon in Washington, D.C. during a brazen midday robbery, The Washington Post reports.
The man, whose name was not released, was shot in the back and taken to Georgetown University Hospital, where he underwent surgery, the newspaper reports. A police spokesman said Sunday evening that he was in critical but stable condition.
The holdup happened at Georgetown Fine Jewelry and Art, 1265 Wisconsin Ave. NW, in the Georgetown neighborhood, the newspaper reports.
Police told the newspaper that at least two, possibly three men entered the jewelry store about 2 p.m. asking to see some merchandise.
What happened next is under investigation, police reportedly said. Police would not say whether anything was taken.
Police reportedly said the assailants fled in a white sedan.
Police reportedly described two suspects as men in their thirties. One was in an orange turtleneck and a dark sweatshirt. The other was pulling a wheeled suitcase with a duffel bag on top.
Police asked anyone with information to call 202-727-9099. Up to $10,000 is available for information leading to an arrest and conviction in a District robbery.
August 22nd, 2006
House of Taylor Jewelry Reports Operational Milestones, 2006 Second-Quarter, Six Month Financial Results
MSN Money
- Develops marketing infrastructure
- Establishes national sales force
- Launches national product rollout
- Q2 sales rise 207% over prior year
WEST HOLLYWOOD, Calif., Aug. 21 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — House of Taylor Jewelry, Inc. HOTJ, an international jewelry company whose principal shareholders include entities owned by Dame Elizabeth Taylor and Kathy Ireland, today reported its operational progress and financial results for the second quarter and six months ended June 30, 2006.
The company, whose shares began trading on NASDAQ in March 2006, designs, markets and sells branded jewelry to independent jewelry retailers. In May 2005, House of Taylor Jewelry was formed through exclusive licensing agreements with Dame Elizabeth Taylor’s Interplanet Productions, and SandBox Jewelry, LLC, a subsidiary of Kathy Ireland Worldwide. The agreements allow the company to sell fine and fashion jewelry under the brand names Elizabeth(R), House of Taylor Jewelry(R) and Kathy Ireland Jewelry(R) Exclusively for House of Taylor Jewelry.
“We have made significant progress laying the groundwork and establishing the infrastructure for rolling out our branded products to independent jewelry retailers throughout the United States and in select international markets,” said Jack Abramov, president and chief executive officer. “Initial response has been excellent, as evidenced by orders the company has received at recent jewelry industry trade shows and the early direct contacts our newly expanded sales force is making with store owners and buyers.
“Now more than ever, independent jewelers are seeking new co-op branding and marketing initiatives to bring visibility and traffic to their stores,” Abramov said. “We believe House of Taylor Jewelry is uniquely positioned to provide jewelry retailers with a competitive advantage to help them gain local market share. Through the use of our newly developed marketing materials and store displays, including licensed images, independent jewelers can now capitalize on the powerful consumer awareness of Elizabeth Taylor and Kathy Ireland.”
Abramov said House of Taylor Jewelry currently has relationships with nearly 135 independent retail organizations representing approximately 175 retail doors in major U.S. markets and abroad. House of Taylor Jewelry also has added new relationships with major suppliers to ensure a robust inventory which currently includes more than 600 newly designed jewelry pieces ranging from entry level to premium and couture. The company’s product expansion focused on diamond basics, loose diamonds, exclusive Elizabeth(R) one-of-a- kind jewels and new Kathy Ireland Jewelry(R) bridal and fashion collections. A select group of Elizabeth(R) items will be featured in a series of upcoming Christie’s Auctions beginning this fall.
Led by an expanded management team, which now includes a vice president of operations and vice president of sales and merchandising, House of Taylor Jewelry has recruited and trained an experienced, seven-person sales force that is calling on independent retailers in key U.S. cities. “These representatives bring to House of Taylor Jewelry deep industry knowledge and established relationships with retailers,” said Abramov. “The company also recently completed product packaging, retail point-of-purchase displays and co-op advertising programs for all three of our brands.”
For the three months ended June 30, 2006, net sales for House of Taylor Jewelry increased 207% to $2.5 million from $809,000 a year ago and increased 82% from $1.4 million in the immediately preceding first quarter. For the 2006 second quarter, the company sustained a net loss of $290,000, or $0.01 per share, including a gain of $2.6 million on an adjustment of a warrant liability. The loss principally reflects start-up expenses in connection with marketing and product roll-out and includes approximately $1.1 million in non- cash expense related to amortization of loan costs and intangible assets, and stock based compensation for services. In the prior-year’s second quarter, the company recorded a net loss of $487,000, or $0.01 per share.
For the first half of 2006, net sales rose 106% to $3.8 million from $1.9 million in the comparable prior-year period. The net loss for the first six months of 2006 amounted to $2.4 million, or $0.06 per share, versus a net loss of $836,000, or $0.02 per share, in the 2005 year-to-date period.
At June 30, 2006, House of Taylor Jewelry had cash, cash equivalents and marketable jewelry inventory of $11.1 million, compared with $6.4 million at December 31, 2005. The company has no bank debt.
During the second quarter, the company secured gross proceeds of about $11.6 million in a private placement of convertible notes and warrants, with funds being used for inventory purchases, marketing strategies, corporate partnering initiatives and general working capital.
“With our infrastructure now in place, management remains focused on execution of our marketing and rollout plan,” Abramov said. “We believe House of Taylor Jewelry has an extraordinary growth opportunity, bringing to market well-known, proven, world class brands in a wide range of price categories.”
About House of Taylor Jewelry, Inc.
House of Taylor Jewelry is a Los Angeles-based international jewelry company whose principal shareholders include entities owned by Dame Elizabeth Taylor and Kathy Ireland, along with members of the Abramov family. It serves fine jewelry retailers worldwide with diverse jewelry collections marketed under the brands Elizabeth(R), House of Taylor Jewelry(R), and Kathy Ireland Jewelry(R) Exclusively for House of Taylor Jewelry. More information on the company can be found at http://www.hotj.com.
Certain statements included in this press release, including, but not limited to, executing the marketing and rollout plan, a rapid sales ramp up in the second half of 2006 and achieving sales targets for September 30 and December 31, 2006, constitute forward-looking statements made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended. These statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements. Other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements include the availability of funding for current and future operations; the acceptance of the company’s branded products in the marketplace; and the characteristics and pricing of the company’s branded products as compared with competing products, as well as others discussed in House of Taylor Jewelry, Inc.’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release. House of Taylor Jewelry, Inc. undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. HOUSE OF TAYLOR JEWELRY, INC.
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
(unaudited)
Three months ended Six months ended
June 30, June 30,
2006 2005 2006 2005
Net sales $2,481,835 $809,488 $3,848,238 $1,868,270
Cost of goods sold 2,308,280 703,551 3,664,346 1,513,983
Gross profit 173,555 105,937 183,892 354,287
Expenses:
Selling, shipping and
general and
administrative 2,277,168 1,527,964 4,274,400 2,083,489
Loss from operations (2,103,613) (1,422,027) (4,090,508) (1,729,202)
Other income (expense):
Interest income 37,931 - 43,074 -
Discount received on
settlement of payable to
vendor - 981,980 - 981,980
Gain on change in warrant
liability 2,557,915 - 2,557,915 -
Interest expense (781,889) (43,661) (905,954) (88,290)
1,813,957 938,319 1,695,035 893,690
Loss before income taxes (289,656) (483,708) (2,395,473) (835,512)
State income taxes - 3,000 - -
Net loss $(289,656) $(486,708) $(2,395,473) $(835,512)
Net loss per share:
basic and diluted $(0.01) $(0.01) $(0.06) $(0.02)
Weighted average shares
outstanding:
Basic and diluted 38,728,399 34,626,647 38,394,543 33,813,324
Contact:
Angie Yang/Evan Pondel
PondelWilkinson, Inc.
Investor Relations
Corporate/Financial Communications
(310) 279-5980
© 2006 PRNewswire
August 22nd, 2006
Jewelry retailer Claire posted profit
Moldova.org
Claire’s Stores Inc., a jewelry and accessories retailer, posted a 1 percent increase in quarterly profit as cost controls and modest sales growth at North American stores more than offset weak European demand. For the current period, the company forecast earnings below Wall Street’s expectations, saying sales growth had moderated after several years of expansion and that it would remain conservative until those trends reversed.
Net income rose to $36 million, or 37 cents per share, in the second quarter that ended on July 29, from $35.5 million, or 36 cents per share, a year earlier.
Analysts on average expected earnings of 36 cents per share, according to Reuters Estimates.
Quarterly sales rose 7 percent to $349.2 million. Sales at stores open at least a year — a key retail measure known as same-store sales — increased 2 percent.
August 18th, 2006
Survey: Jewelry, watches top gift for grads
National Jeweler, NY
AUGUST 15, 2006 - Paso Robles, Calif. — After money, jewelry was the most popular graduation gift category this year, according to a new survey by the Jewelry Consumer Opinion Council.
The JCOC August Weekly Omnibus Study finds that more than one-third of respondents know someone graduating this year, and, of those, 60 percent planned to purchase a gift.
The study finds that 36 percent of those offering graduation gifts give money and 24 percent choose to give jewelry. Gift certificates represented the third most popular choice, selected by 16 percent of gift givers.
Necklaces, bracelets and earrings in yellow gold and white gold were the most popular graduation gifts for 2006. Most consumers spent up to $200 on their gifts, the study finds.
Independent jewelers and jewelry chain stores appeared the most common places to purchase graduation jewelry gifts, with 25 percent of those polled making their purchases at each. Department stores came in third, with 13 percent of consumers polled buying their graduation jewelry gifts there.
August 16th, 2006
DTC launches diamond jewelry concept
JCK, PA
The Diamond Trading Company, the sales and marketing arm of the De Beers Group, launched, Kya, the name given to a new concept for a collection of diamond jewelry which the DTC says captures the independent spirit of South African women.
“Our task was to create a South African diamond brand that would give a compelling reason to buy diamonds and create huge desire and preference for diamond jewelry amongst the domestic consumer target segment,” said Thoko Modisakeng, DTC marketing manager.
“The brand is meant to provide value to all the stakeholders in the value chain and bring diamonds into the news.”
This diamond jewelry concept celebrates the success and independence of South African women today, according to the DTC. The center diamond represents the power and individuality of women, while the smaller diamonds radiate the beauty, the mystique, the diversity and the brilliance of a diamond in the same way that South African women radiate eternal and everlasting strength.
The jewelry line is based on the philosophy of wearability, good design, and affordability, according to the DTC.
Kya is available through four DTC Sightholders: Geffens Diamond Cutting Works, Livingstones Jewellery, KGK Star Rough and Rosy Blue Manufacturing.
For more information on Kya diamond jewelry, visit www.kyajewellery.com.
August 16th, 2006
India : National Museum to exhibit Nizam’s jewelry
August 14, 2006/Fibre2fashion.com, India
Jewelry collection of the Nizam of Hyderabad will be displayed in National Museum and leading diamond jewelry retailer Jacob Diamond will also be the part of it.This exhibition will start in first week of November, informed National Museum Director General A K V S Reddy.
The museum, where this collection is to be displayed, will be given Hyderabadi look with royal architecture.
Government has spent Rs200 crore in 1995 to purchase this collection and to protect that, tight security has been arranged by CISF personnel.
August 15th, 2006
Safe containing 60 million yen, jewelry stolen from house of construction firm boss
Mainichi Daily News, Japan
EBINA, Kanagawa — A safe that contained 60 million yen in cash and about 20 pieces of jewelry was stolen from the home of a man who operates a construction business here, police said.
The safe was kept in a closet on the second floor of his home in Ebina. There were traces that the safe had been dragged from the closet on the second floor to the entrance on the ground floor.
Officers suspect that more than two people were involved in the crime because they found two types of footprints in the hallway of the house.
The man’s daughter noticed the safe was missing when she came home, and alerted police on early Sunday morning. (Mainichi)
August 15th, 2006
Jewelry demand helping gold price
CNN International
Consumption on rise in developing countries
By Bina Brown
For CNN
Monday, August 14, 2006 Posted: 0424 GMT (1224 HKT)
(CNN) — Along with higher inflation and global instability, one important driver of the gold price this year is expected to be the increasing demand for jewelry in developing countries.
Gold has already had a sensational run, with a 45 percent rise in gold prices in the last 12 months.
That may be dampening immediate demand for jewelry, but key social and cultural events later this year are expected to put extra shine on the precious metal.
According to the World Gold Council, jewelry already accounts for nearly 70 percent of total demand but the emancipation of women in developing countries is leading to enormous growth in potential markets for gold jewelry.
A recent WGC report found that women in the developing world have gained both greater responsibility for the way they dress and more disposable income, which has led to many more women falling into gold jewelry’s target groups.
More affordable
Citigroup analyst John Hill believes that increasing wealth in developing nations has also made gold more affordable to women who see jewelry as both a fashion item to enhance emotional well being and as an intrinsically valuable investment.
He says the most recent quarterly figures on jewelry demand suggest the sharp gain in gold prices is significantly reducing tonnage this year but that enthusiasm should pick up.
September and October are key holiday periods in China - the mid-autumn festival — and India — the revival of the wedding season — and precede Christmas purchasing in the OECD countries.
Even without the growing interest in jewelry the outlook for gold remains positive, thanks largely to expectations of higher global inflation, rising interest rates on account of strong economic growth, rising oil prices and ongoing tension in the Middle East.
It is not hard to find predictions for gold to advance to $800 an ounce in coming months.
One of the most bullish outlooks has come from the new chief executive of one of Australia’s largest gold companies, Newcrest Mining. Ian Smith said recently that if current trends acted as an indicator for future price movements, it was “not beyond the realms of possibility” that a price of $1,000 an ounce was achievable.
As Mark Skousen, the chairman of investment adviser Investment U, explains, gold is an inflation hedge. When the gold price declines, it means less inflation down the road. When gold goes up, it means more inflation ahead.
Skousen also predicts that the price of gold and inflation still have some way to run, based on war being inflationary.
Investment rationale
The reasons for investing in gold have remained much the same throughout history. As well as being a hedge against inflation, gold is a safe haven in times of economic and financial instability. It is also a proven asset-diversifier that, when included in domestic portfolios, reduces the portfolio’s overall risk.
There are a number of ways investors can gain some exposure to the gold price including buying gold bullion in the form of bars or coins. Then there is trading in gold or gold futures electronically, or investing in gold mining or refining companies.
Australian investment bank Macquarie Bank says the asset classes most frequently bought include:
• Investment in physical gold, including buying into Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs), which track the gold price. ETFs are vehicles which issue shares that are backed by physical gold;
• Investment in equities, either small or large gold producers.
The risks and returns an investor is exposed to will depend on the option chosen.
Macquarie says the small gold listed producers provide the biggest potential gains but they also carry the greatest risk.
According to Macquarie, some of the reasons why gold equities provide higher returns in the medium-term than gold itself include the revenue stream of mining companies being influenced by metals prices as well as gold production volumes which have been expanding over the past few years.
A further reason may be that companies are also usually leveraged; that is, they finance part of their operations through debt. Financial leverage has a direct impact on equity valuations. For instance, the interest rate charge is generally not affected by the gold prices, so in an environment of higher gold prices, any incremental revenue accrues to shareholders.
However, although equities generally outperform gold in the long term, this is not necessarily the case in the short run.
August 14th, 2006
Seized jewelry from drug arrest being sold on Internet auction
August 10, 2006/Boston Globe, United States
BANGOR, Maine –Hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of jewelry, coins and other valuables are being sold in an online auction after being seized from a jewelry store owner who was convicted of drug dealing.
The auction began a week ago and continues through Sunday on the Web site of Lone Star Auctioneers.The sale is part of a plea agreement in which Robert Brewer III forfeited the property from his Bangor jewelry store, the Diamond Connection.
Rings, pendants, watches, earrings, coins and similar items are grouped into 83 lots for the auction. A Justice Department appraiser valued the property at $743,697 in July 2003.
The U.S. Marshals Service has contracted with Lone Star Auctioneers of Fort Worth, Texas, to auction the property.
At midday on Thursday, the highest bid was $4,750 for a lot of 45 assorted gold chains. A lot of 17 gold coins had been bid up to $3,300, and a lot of 97 assorted rings and precious stones had a high bid of $3,325.
To participate, bidders must submit registration information along with a $1,000 deposit and a form containing an original signature to Lone Star.
It takes at least 24 hours or one business day to activate an account to bid on items. Buyers also may be subject to background checks.
Brewer was arrested with several others in April 2003 for his involvement in a long-running interstate drug business that ran drugs between Rhode Island and Maine. He pleaded guilty to selling oxycodone out of his store and is scheduled to be released from federal prison in October.
Proceeds from the sale are used to fund law enforcement programs.
——
On the Net:
Lone Star Auctioneers: http://www.lonestarauctioneers.com
——
Information from: Bangor Daily News, http://www.bangornews.com
© Copyright 2006 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
August 11th, 2006
Tape Shows N.H. Mother & Kids Shoplifting Jewelry
CBS4Boston, Boston
(CBS4) BEDFORD, N.H. Police in Bedford, New Hampshire are investigating a disturbing case of shoplifting. Surveillance tape from a consignment store shows a woman instructing her young children to grab jewelry from a display case.
Police say the three children, two boys and a girl, are all under the age of ten.
Another woman, possibly the grandmother, is caught on tape stuffing items down her shirt. The family of six stayed in the store for some 20 minutes.
More than two-thousand dollars worth of items was taken from the Consignment Gallery.
Bedford Police say the 26-year-old mother came to the police station after video of the children stealing jewelry was widely broadcast, then left and promised to return once the arrest warrant was issued.
August 10th, 2006
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