Gemstones’ Fabergé doubles revenue compared to 2020
Fabergé is one of the world’s most-recognised luxury-brand names, underscored by a well-documented, rich, illustrious heritage. As a wholly owned subsidiary of Gemfields, Fabergé provides direct access to the end consumer of coloured gemstones through directly operated boutiques and international wholesale partners, as well as boosting the international presence and perception of coloured gemstones through its consumer-focussed marketing campaigns.
For the six months to 30 June 2021, Fabergé directly operated three points of sale: a concession in the Harrods Fine Jewellery Room, London, UK, a mono-brand boutique located in The Galleria Mall, Houston, Texas, USA, the state’s premier retail destination, and a mono-brand boutique located in the world-famous Dubai Mall, Dubai, UAE. At 30 June 2021, Fabergé products were available in Australia, Andorra, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Belgium, Canada, China, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, India, Italy, Jordan, Japan, Kuwait, Malta, Moldova, Norway, Holland, Qatar, Romania, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, Thailand, UAE, UK, Ukraine and the USA.
The total number of Fabergé outlets increased from 81 to 86 during the period. In addition, Fabergé products are also available for purchase online via Fabergé.com, Net-A-Porter and a host of other third-party online marketplaces.
FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE
Fabergé achieved revenue of USD4.9 million in the six months to 30 June 2021, compared to USD2.5 million during the same period in 2020. The increase in revenue is primarily the result of increased consumer confidence, as key customer locations for Fabergé have opened up following the easing of Covid-19 restrictions around the world.
The coronavirus restrictions in 2020 hampered Fabergé’s ability to deliver sales during various national lockdowns and adversely affected operations at all of the company’s outlets. During the same period, Fabergé recorded an EBITDA loss of USD1.5 million, compared to an EBITDA loss of USD2.5 million in 2020, with average monthly operating expenses of USD0.6 million and a sales margin of 46% (six months to 30 June 2020: 53%). The loss for the period after tax amounted to USD2.1 million, compared to a loss of USD12.7 million in 2020, which included the USD11.5 million impairment loss recognised in 2020. No further impairments have been recognised since June 2020.
PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT
To commemorate 100 years since Peter Carl Fabergé passed away, Fabergé crafted an extraordinary, one-of-a-kind egg objet. Handcrafted in 18k yellow gold, and weighing an astonishing 10kg, this unique objet took inspiration from the first-ever Imperial Egg, the 1885 Hen Egg, as well as the 1887 Third Imperial Egg.
The Centenary Egg, set to be a future heirloom, features gold fluting, a technique for which Peter Carl Fabergé was renowned, and which featured heavily in his early works of art. The Egg is also set with spectacular Gemfields Mozambican rubies and Zambian emeralds, giving it a contemporary and colourful twist and complementing the white diamonds which line its circumference.
Fabergé also introduced the latest addition to its Visionnaire timepiece collection, the DTZ Dynamist, a new creation fusing the energy of movement with surprise and featuring an award-winning movement developed exclusively for Fabergé. This timepiece elegantly merges modern technology with Fabergé’s culture and heritage.
The design boasts a case comprised of ceramic and titanium, complemented by a classic black fascia which, when coupled with the yellow gold elements, makes for a strong, contemporary, bold colour combination. During the period, Fabergé also expanded upon its chic, contemporary Colours of Love collection to include new multicoloured, fluted rings containing an array of vibrant coloured gemstone combinations.
MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS
In April 2021, and in keeping with Fabergé’s iconic legacy of creating exquisite objets d’art, Fabergé announced to the world’s press the commissioning of its next Imperial Class Objet Egg, through a unique collaboration with Warner Bros. to commemorate the extraordinary story of HBO’s award-winning television series, Game of Thrones.
This surprise collaboration will fuse Fabergé’s superior craftsmanship and artistic ingenuity with one of the 21st century’s most popular shows. Throughout the same period, Fabergé maintained a blend of digitally focused marketing to support online sales.
THE YEAR AHEAD
Fabergé will continue to mitigate the market downturn, driven by the national lockdowns and ongoing global travel restrictions caused by Covid-19, by continuing to apply greater focus than ever before to digital marketing and online sales. A number of selling events and exhibitions are planned for the second half of the year and it is anticipated that the wholesale division will once again be able to travel and that the directly operated retail boutiques will be able to remain open during this period. The combination of these factors should drive sales to pre-covid levels and beyond.
