Gem Stone KingExpanding global sales online

Company Overview

After establishing a global brick-and-mortar business, how do you then take it online to reach international consumers on the web? With the help of ChannelAdvisor Marketplaces, Gem Stone King launched on several new marketplaces to sell in regions such as China, France and more.

Gem Stone King is a leading online jewelry company that has been in the diamond business for more than 100 years. Gem Stone King started in Belgium and has opened locations in New York, Israel and Thailand. Charlie Hollander, Gem Stone King CEO, moved to Israel in 1966. From Israel, he exported diamonds to jewelry stores around the world. Today, the company’s office is located in New York City. The growth of the internet allowed Gem Stone King to sell directly to consumers. Today, the company sells from its website and through many online marketplaces.

The Situation

• Sold internationally through brick-and-mortar stores
• Wanted to complement this global brick-and-mortar business with an international e-commerce presence
• Struggled to upload product data on multiple marketplaces and keep inventory updated

About 15 years ago, Nir Hollander joined his father’s company to take the business online. Gem Stone King had always sold internationally through its brick-and-mortar business, and Hollander was tasked with expanding Gem Stone King’s global sales on the internet. During this process, Hollander discovered how difficult it was to list and manage the company’s entire inventory on multiple online channels.

“Selling online is very challenging. In order to have thousands of items online, you need a system that gives you a unified solution,” said Hollander, who now serves as Gem Stone King’s president. “We offer new looks and new designs nearly every day. It’s a lot of work to list all our products on so many different marketplaces.”

The Solution

• ChannelAdvisor Marketplaces to automate the process of uploading inventory to online channels and expand the company’s global reach

Gem Stone King began using ChannelAdvisor’s leading e-commerce technology to organize its product information, automate the inventory upload process and adjust product attributes and descriptions to meet each marketplace’s requirements.

“We always believed in having an international business, and we wanted customers all over the world to enjoy our products,” said Hollander. “With ChannelAdvisor, we created a system that manipulated our detailed product information so we could sell on many different marketplaces,” said Hollander.

The Results

• Began selling on Amazon, eBay, Newegg, Rakuten.com Shopping, Sears and Tmall Global
• Started meeting consumer demand in foreign countries

Gem Stone King has rapidly grown its presence on marketplaces since moving its inventory to the ChannelAdvisor platform. Most recently, the company launched on Tmall Global. “We’re using ChannelAdvisor to sell on Amazon, eBay, Newegg, Rakuten.com Shopping, Sears and more,” said Hollander.

The company’s success on marketplaces has broadened its international scope, allowing it to reach regions such as China, Canada, France and the United Kingdom.

“If an order is coming from the Chinese market, we have to check what’s available in our US inventory, which is all stored in ChannelAdvisor,” said Hollander. “Without ChannelAdvisor, it would take 10 people to manage this process.”