Established at the heart of Bangkok since 1977, the family-run fine jewellery company Blue River has become widely renowned for detailed design and exquisite craftsmanship. Firmly established locally, the company also seeks for opportunities worldwide promoting its culture of jewellery making. With the long-standing brand history, the jeweller knows their customers well and caters to their needs by offering the “always enchanting” jewellery experience.
Blue River’s sales and marketing director and the second generation of the family Nitchaya Ekaraphanich told Hong Kong Jewellery, they are very well-known in highly sophisticated jewellery with detailed design, superb craftsmanship, unique settings and shapes, and innovative ideas. They launch collections three times a year in Bangkok and Hong Kong. “We create the culture of jewellery making for Thailand and the Asian market, combining designs with the best craftsmanship to beautify the masterpieces for our customers. It’s truly the heart and soul of our brand. I could say when customers seek for Blue River’s jewellery, they are seeking for delicate design and excellent craftsmanship,” she elaborated.
Blue River is the oldest export company offering high-end jewellery internationally in Thailand. The company has its own jewellery making culture, from initial design to final quality control, every step is made under the most stringent and efficient way.
At the beginning of the brand establishment, Blue River focused on customer needs with a design-oriented group, dedicated to offering high-quality services. “We have been in this industry for a long time, and working with our clients across Asia and Europe. So we are sure that we know our customers well. These people buy jewellery through the trust of our brand. That is why we are trying to express the message that Thailand is the land of gemstones and craftsmanship which is the best of the world,” Ekaraphanich explained.
Formerly known as Blue River Diamond, Blue River sells high-end diamond and gemstone jewellery with contemporary designs and delicate Asian craftsmanship. The company also owns Bridery by Blue River and B Narida brands: The former mainly engages in diamond jewellery for newly-weds at seven stores throughout Thailand; the later offers high quality silver and 18-karat pink gold jewellery for children. According to Ekaraphanich, the company aims to express the true identity of the brand that they focus not only on high-end diamond jewellery, but also on other products. They have their own factories, facilities, and export business, and plan to establish a new factory at Bangkok’s industrial site next year.
In 2008, Blue River launched a strategic brand development campaign to strengthen the brand’s appeal among new generation fine jewellery buyers in Asia. “The main strategy is to create a memorable shopping experience to customers. For the new generation, they buy the whole package of services instead of only products. That is why the emotional side of the brand plays a very important role in their feelings. So we communicate with them through our collections, packaging, services, etc, to build the connection,” Ekaraphanich emphasised.
For the company’s international development, though without any sales outlets in China, they have a good presence by using Hong Kong as a door to the China market and participating in different exhibitions in Hong Kong and mainland China.
Nitchaya Ekaraphanich stated that even though everybody wants to go to China for a slice of the pie, they are conservative. “The current situation in China is not that bright. If you want to jump in there, you have to invest a lot of money at a long time saying 10 or 20 years in the line, with over a hundred stores. As we have worked with many luxury brands in watch business, we know that many brands do not suit the China’s market.” she said.
For the future plan of expanding market in China, she said: “We will sit and wait till we become a very strong brand. But for now, our Chinese market is well through exhibitions and private clients. Regarding the level of our production capacity and efficiency at the moment, we’d better concentrate on the China’s mainland market by establishing shops in Hong Kong.”
Under the influence of the local political instability and the worldwide economy slowdown, many local jewellers suffered a tough year. However, with efficiency in cost control and conservative marketing budget, Blue River still got a double digit growth in 2014. Ekaraphanich shared the key of company’s success last year: “I think every company has to go back and look at themselves, and try to improve as much as they can. For this matter, they have to do whatever they are good at, evaluate themselves on the strains, and improve on the cost focusing on the market and efficiency. Those are what we did and are doing now.”
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