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- Source/Brand Observer
- Author/Brand Observer
Introduction: On March 15, 2024, the website of the Ministry of Civil Affairs released the "Civil Affairs Statistics for the Fourth Quarter of 2023".
According to official statistics, in 2023, the number of marriage registrations nationwide will be 7.680 million, and the number of divorce registrations will be 2.593 million.
In contrast, the number of marriage registrations nationwide stopped falling and rebounded, increasing by 845,000 couples, an increase of about 12.4%; The number of divorce registrations decreased by 286,000 couples, a decrease of about 9.9 per cent.
When it comes to getting married, three gold jewelry must be on the agenda.
● Source: Internet
Everyone has different views on true love and marriage.
DR diamond rings, which once relied on the name of "only one person in my life" and signed a "true love agreement" before purchasing, began to expand rapidly.
In 2013, Dia opened its first offline store, and by 2021, the number of stores has reached 461.
According to the "2022 Hurun Global Self-Made U40 Rich List", Zhang Guotao and Lu Yiwen ranked second on China's self-made rich list with a net worth of 42 billion yuan.
01, I only love one person in my life, and I'm going to fall
Recently, the parent company of DR diamond rings, Dia shares, released its 2023 financial report, which shows a significant reduction in the company's profits.
According to this annual report, Dia shares achieved a total operating income of 2.18 billion yuan in the past year, but this figure fell by 40.78% compared with the previous year, showing a significant slowdown in revenue growth.
the net profit attributable to the parent company was 68.9576 million yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 90.54%; Basic earnings per share was 0.17 yuan, down 90.66% year-on-year.
●Source: Dia share announcement
In the first quarter of 2024, DR's performance is a little less promising, and there are two major pitfalls to blame.
On the one hand, the diamond-encrusted jewelry market continues to be sluggish.
In addition, the price of gold rose sharply a while ago, approaching 700 yuan a gram.
The increase in revenue from gold products has led to changes in the revenue and cost structure of diamond rings.
On the other hand, last year, the company optimized its store layout, closing a total of 184 stores, while opening 24 new stores, a net decrease of 160 stores.
By the end of 2023, the number of DIA stores is 528, all of which are self-operated stores.
By 2024, the wave of "store closures" of Dia shares will continue, and 37 stores will be closed in the first three months alone.
● Source: Internet
A diamond lasts forever. One of the biggest points of contention about diamonds is the IQ tax.
At the end of the day, it's a stone.
The price of diamonds has dropped a lot now, and another reason is the rise of lab-grown diamonds.
● Source: Internet
At present, in the market, the price starting point of customizing a one-carat lab-grown diamond ring is roughly around 6,000 yuan.
In contrast, the starting price of a one-carat natural diamond of the same size would be as high as 30,000 yuan, and the price gap between the two is quite large.
In the context of the economic downturn, consumers' demand for cost-effectiveness and value for money is becoming stronger.
As a result, some people have turned to lab-grown diamonds, which has led to a relative decrease in the number of people buying natural diamonds, and the overall price of diamonds has fallen.
In the era of mobile Internet, consumer habits and trends continue to evolve, new brands and new business ideas are constantly emerging, and DR companies are also facing the risk of reducing the attractiveness of brand concepts.
released the "love only one person in your life", but can DR still hold on to the sea until the sea is rotten?
02, once romantic marketing! It became a big obstacle
The brand concept of DR diamond ring is "a man can only customize one piece in his life", and this unique agreement reflects the profound connotation of the brand.
It also satisfies the longing for love of the young man who longs for love.
When a man steps into the store to buy a DR diamond ring, he also needs to sign a special "true love agreement", which is not only a ceremony, but also a "promise".
Once the man agrees and signs the agreement, he will be entitled to a personalised service.
This commitment means that in the future, for any reason, men will no longer be able to customize a second DR ring for someone else, and the purchase history will be permanently stored in the system and cannot be deleted.
●Source: DR official website
Once, DR won wide favor and prosperity in the market with its unique romantic marketing strategy.
According to the data, DR's investment in marketing in 2023 will be as high as 1.23 billion yuan, accounting for half of the total operating cost and reaching a sales expense rate of 56.4%.
Traditional jewelry giant Chow Tai Fook's sales expense ratio was only 10.53% in the same year.
Rather than simply thinking of DR as a diamond brand, it is more like a brand that is good at using diamonds for marketing.
In an environment where there are widespread concerns about the risk of overstocking, DR has cleverly adopted external processing to produce its polished diamonds.
Due to its unique customization model, the samples available for customers to try on in the store are not real diamonds, but zircon as an alternative.
● Source: Internet
Today, however, consumer awareness, on which marketing is strongly reliant, is gradually changing.
Shaping women into characters waiting to be loved, love becomes a bondage and charity, and establishes undesirable values.
In this era, products tied to love will not succeed.
The days of using a stone to deceive people's brains are long gone.
Romanticism will eventually lose in the development of the times, because romance often comes at a price.
If the cost is too great, then it is no longer the romance that people yearn for, but just an unrealistic and naïve fantasy.
03. Successful marketing needs to capture social emotions
In the early days, DR diamond rings opened up a path of differentiation among other jewelry brands with their unique brand concept.
Although at the time of the brand's inception, the DR diamond ring had not yet built a solid brand moat, and it was still at risk of being imitated by competitors.
The traditional business model often pursues the maximization of product sales, and the business model of "only one person in a lifetime" adhered to by DR diamond rings is obviously contrary to this.
● Source: Internet
In today's world of marketing, it's crucial to follow social sentiments.
The romantic vows that were once all the rage are now not enough to support the DR brand to continue to lead the market trend.
When marketing wizard Tiffany & Co., with its "Tiffany & Co. Lead" idea, successfully brought Internet memes to the Internet, sparking widespread discussion and resonance, DR brands should draw inspiration and warnings from them.
●Source: Little Red Book
Marketing in the name of love is the biggest scam.
Diamonds have a price, true love is priceless, and it is the first person to give the value of diamonds.
Well, now there's not just the "love only one person for your life" declaration of engagement rings.
Recently, there has even been a peculiar category of "divorce diamond rings".
●Source: Little Red Book
If the engagement is a happy affair, then divorce symbolizes a "new life after change".
In the final analysis, it is still important to emphasize "self" and "self-pleasing".
In today's society, the consumer trend is increasingly inclined to the concept of "pleasing oneself, loving oneself, and expressing oneself", and it seems to be more and more difficult to accept the "decision-making power of consumption and expression" in the hands of others.
Especially in gender relations, where the concept of equality is frequently emphasized, this transfer of power is particularly inappropriate.
● Source: Internet
Looking at current trends, whether it's the new trend of self-pleasing consumption or the unique narrative of dealing with diamond rings in divorce, they all reveal the following facts:
The traditional connection between love and diamond rings is gradually dissolving.
However, this is not surprising, because the binding between the two is essentially more due to the carefully planned marketing methods of manufacturers in order to compete for market share.
For this DR's sharp store closure, it's not that DR has messed up, it's just that the consumption + credit-based economy relying on women has collapsed.
However, with profit as their core purpose, are businessmen really qualified to judge consumers' values?
DR, a brand that has emerged with its marketing mythology, is still narrowly locked in the field of "weddings" and tries to "teach" consumers what true love is.
After all, consumers buy products to meet their own needs, not to receive a baptism of moral education.
It's too tiring to spend money on something and be judged.
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