Jewelry

[stevieb]

On 4/5/2014 ennui1 said:

On 4/4/2014 stevieb said:

On 4/4/2014 ennui1 said:

On 4/4/2014 stevieb said:

On 4/4/2014 terrier3 said:

On 4/4/2014 Favorite Son said:

Seriously, $120 million for that Skinny Girl stuff? I would have gone home and stayed there if I made that much.

That's about 5 times MORE than Judith is getting!

On the face of it, it doesn't seem like a whole lot of money, but I don't know, it seems to me she's essentially permitting her name to be 'licensed'. She's not so much offering up a product as an intellectual property.

I don't think she has anything to sell besides her name.

I don't know. I hear she's sitting on a gigantic Diamonique mine...

But ... but ... what happens if the mine is closed and we can't get any more ... !!

Not to worry... Should the absolute worst happen, we can always rely on a plentiful supply of drusy and black spinel, the supplies of which are seemingly endless, especially given they can be stretched by formulating them as doublets and triplets! Besides, who knows what fabulous gemstones those crafty QVC buyers might come up with, upon which our very own Queen of Hearts can work her magic!

[KathyPet]

sad to say but I must agree with those who think the quality will decline. I have never ever seen a deal like this for any line of goods where there was a improvement in the quality. There is a thread elsewhere that says that Elle Tahari is coming to Kohl's. Posters are excited. Why? You cannot uphold the current level,of your fabric, design and manufacturing standards and meet the price point requirements of Kohl's. Dana Buchman is a perfect example. She used to design beautiful clothes with top notch fabrics for high end dept. Stores. Then her brand was sold and marketed at Kohl's. Now her clothes are cheaply made out of cheap fabric. I am afraid that this sale to XCEL will cause the same to happen to Judith's jewelry.

[ladyluvsny]

Well I will not be buying any more Judith Ripka....not just because of the sale, the prices are way too high priced for me! I am sure it wont be the same either...When Tova sold her company to QVC it was never the same.....very said for us QVC customers! Its all about business and how much money has to be made. The hosts will still do their job of high selling selling and selling! I am done!

[skyblue]

This must be slightly sickening if you purchased lots of her high end jewelry knowing your special purchases are being knocked out for bargain prices and sold at discount chain stores.

[rudy]

There goes the neighborhood! Big buyouts never result in better products.

[Jannyg]

In essence, she'll now become a "spokesperson" for the company, rather like Issac Mizrahi is for the line with his name. The NYTimes did a piece about Issac a while back and it talked about the fact that he really doesn't do any designing any more. But, I have to say "good for JR." She started a business and certainly has found a way to take care of herself and her family. I suspect that her being on QVC was the key to making this sale happen. She was able to prove that her jewelry had mass market appeal and could sell in volume. But like others, I think it's downhill for the brand. . .or as others have indicated maybe it's "more downhill."

[motherinlaw]

Now would be a good time to scan the inventory for anything we might want to pick up. These pieces we know are Judith's but anything new coming down the road will not have her personal touch to them since the sale of the company takes that out of her hands.

It's more of an emotional thing but that counts too.

The change over may be gradual or it may be fast....we just don't know. Time will reveal that.

I was told yesterday that jewelry acquisitions and changes in product and manufacturing are not done overnight...we will see...but I am afraid it will come. It almost has to even tho we are always told nothing will be any different.

[BonnieBelle]

I'm so glad now that I never bought any of her overpriced jewelry.

[Favorite Son]

On 4/5/2014 skyblue said: This must be slightly sickening if you purchased lots of her high end jewelry knowing your special purchases are being knocked out for bargain prices and sold at discount chain stores.

I don't quite agree. I think that most of us buy jewelry because we LOVE it, and that is especially the case with Judith Ripka pieces. The customers here are savvy enough to return an item that doesn't meet their standards, and to head on over to eBay to buy older pieces that they missed.

I think that Judith's business higher end suffered a decline in sales several years ago, as evidenced by the closure of dedicated stores and the product that began popping up at Sam's Club and TJMaxx, along with the explosion of inventory levels here. And those who purchased the really high end 18k pieces are probably still wearing them every day with no concern for what is happening to the lower end of the line.

[Squirrel Lover]

Not that I can afford it, but where did all of the 18k gold pieces go? Where will it be sold? Will Judith close her flagship stores in Manhattan and the line only be sold on her official website?