Planned to have your wedding in Samoa but along came COVID-19? A beautiful wedding ring set from Treasure Box could just be the perfect way to at least have a little bit of Samoa on your big day.
General Manager Stefan Szegedi claims unique and distinct Samoan and Polynesian-designed wedding rings are still a core component of Treasure Box’s business, despite the downturn in tourism. The export demand for wedding rings in 2020 was high, with most sales to Samoans living overseas and unable to return home for their weddings.
Most of the jewellery products sold online or in-store are designed and manufactured in Samoa, always with an eye on Pacific detailing. Treasure Box’s bespoke product lines with this detailing include black pearl jewellery, pendants, bracelets, earrings, and rings, including of course wedding ring sets. Treasure Box has been in the family for nearly 25 years, and now his parents are close to retirement, Stefan (junior) now manages all aspects of the business.
Despite a loyal local customer base, 30% of their business was attributable to tourism pre-COVID, so things have changed significantly. Tourist numbers are close to non-existent, and the available cash in the local economy for luxury or discretionary goods has diminished as a consequence. Identifying a shortcoming in their marketing, Treasure Box knew they needed help with their social media interface.
Business Link Pacific matched Treasure Box with business advisor Kevin Schuster of Events, Marketing & Distribution Company Limited (EMD) who pride themselves on providing innovative and quality marketing and communications for business. Acknowledging that a large percentage of business in Samoa is achieved through Facebook, throughout 2020 Treasure Box and EMD worked together to develop a social media marketing plan to increase the online visibility of Treasure Box.
New to Facebook, this was quite a learning curve for Stefan and his team.
EMD definitely has great ideas for how to promote a product, and these ideas can be translated to other products in future. They are able to package a product to be attractive to customers. It’s a good way to keep in touch with customers and remind them that we are here,” says Stefan.
Specific products are showcased through targeted marketing on Facebook. EMD and Stefan collaborate on identifying products to promote and the best angle to take. They take advantage of specific events – like Father’s Day – and develop an online advertisement for products that will appeal to men, such as watches.
COVID has really impacted the business, so we are always looking at ways to cut costs. The support of BLP is really helping us to survive. Many businesses in Samoa are surviving week to week or month to month, so any help is enormously beneficial,” claims Stefan.
“We have received excellent service and are very happy and grateful to BLP for providing the subsidy to us,” he adds.
Treasure Box has reduced its use of other forms of traditional advertising, such as newspaper advertisements because social media advertising is proving to be more cost-efficient than these traditional methods.
The support of BLP’s subsidy service has meant that Treasure Box has been able to access a specialist service that would have been prohibitively expensive otherwise. With most of its customers being local, it makes a lot of sense to Stefan to have specialised advice from a local supplier who knows the market and how to appeal to them.
The good news is the wedding business is alive and well in Samoa, and by partnering with EMD through BPL’s subsidy service, Treasure Box now has a degree of comfort in their future.