How high-end fine jewelry business recovered post-covid with Alibaba.com

"Speed is crucial for recovering from the pandemic, and Alibaba.com has given me that speed in the form of time savings and new distribution channels."

- Wen Wong, Founder, King O King Jewellery Co. Limited

Story

Wen Wong is committed to building a successful high-end fine jewelry business despite the high price tag associated with luxury jewelry. His approach has been to build client trust by providing premium services and going above and beyond to satisfy each client’s requirements.

King O King Jewellery Co. Limited has been in the high-end fine jewelry sector since 2013, selling 18-karat solid gold, natural diamonds, and gem pieces to buyers and resellers in the United States, Dubai, Australia, and numerous Middle Eastern nations. Before the pandemic, Wen traveled to these countries to make supplies in person to make buyers feel more secure.

This was not an issue for him until the pandemic imposed limitations on travel and decreased international trade. As a result of this difficulty, the company's revenue fell by 70%. Wen Wong, being an innovative supplier, needed to find a different solution and discovered Alibaba.com.

“After COVID, I had to stop business travel. The business dropped 70%. It was still profitable, but I had to let go of some staff."

Solution

Joining Alibaba.com was the single move that helped Wen’s business recover after the pandemic. He has been able to resume international trade, and this time, he doesn’t even have to travel around to close sales. Instead, the customers request a paid test sample, and when they’re satisfied with the quality, they place their bulk orders.

"Mainly, the buyers want to test if my product is real solid gold or if it is a real diamond. When they receive the sample product, they send it to an institute to test it. Once I receive the trust, it’s much easier to do business in the future."

Being a seller on Alibaba.com for two years now, Wen has been able to close deals with buyers from the US and Columbia. He is astounded by how smoothly the transactions go each time and he recognizes the platform's potential to increase his future earnings. He looks forward to Alibaba.com's trade exhibitions because they help him connect with buyers whose trust he has earned through Alibaba.com.

Wen expressed his delight at how much time Alibaba.com saves his company, giving him more room to interact with customers and meet their needs. He is especially pleased with Alibaba.com's catalog feature because it saves him from having to develop a new catalog each time a client wants one.

Success

King O King Jewellery Co. Limited is already a four-star supplier on Alibaba.com, with over 130,000 completed transactions and $5 million in annual revenue.

Wen is optimistic that he will earn more revenue from Alibaba.com in the future. He has closed deals on Alibaba.com with buyers from countries he never dreamed of. By employing the sponsored advertising option, he could target buyers in specific countries, greatly expanding his business’ reach.

The fine jewelry industry has benefited greatly from Alibaba.com as more consumers spend time on their mobile devices. According to Wen, companies will need to leverage the platform online and also continue sales during the trade shows to be successful. The site provides sellers with visibility.

Nevertheless, Wen explains that for sellers to benefit from this visibility, they would need to prepare. He acknowledged that being well-prepared is the key to his success and stressed the need for suppliers to plan how to handle orders before they start to roll in.