NEW YORK, Dec. 13, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Leading diamond jewelry store ItsHot.com has recently announced its acquisition of IcedTime.com, a company that has pioneered women’s and men’s diamond watch sales online. This opportunity allows ItsHot to expand its selection of name brand diamond watches from Rolex, Audemars Piguet, Gucci, Cartier, and others. This acquisition comes at a good time for ItsHot as it sets out to revamp its customer experience, especially during the holiday season.
Both stores are located in Manhattan’s Diamond District, which is typically advantageous for keeping up with the latest market trends in the world’s diamond trade. However, when the COVID-19 pandemic hit NYC hard during the spring months of 2020, both IcedTime and ItsHot were among the many businesses to lose significant sales.
According to the June 2021 McKinsey reports, during the onset of the pandemic, “the fine jewelry and watches industries suffered revenue declines of 10 to 15 percent and 25 to 30 percent, respectively, putting further strain on slow-to-adapt players and crystalizing emerging trends in the market.” Although the pandemic inflicted lasting damage on many big-name jewelry retailers, ItsHot could recover quickly; its sales have doubled since the beginning of the pandemic.
According to Denis Stepansky, owner and founder of ItsHot, the pandemic accelerated the need for a game-changer. “The pandemic widened the rift between the companies who had begun to adapt to the new jewelry market trends and those who had procrastinated making the shift. Since ItsHot has always closely monitored reports on the luxury market, we had already begun to align our business with the changing customer demands, such as personalized jewelry, unique and affordable engagement rings, and a diverse online shopping experience.”
Stepansky explained that although IcedTime began as a pioneer of online diamond watch sales, they were unable to adapt to the rapidly growing demands of e-commerce.
ItsHot’s acquisition of IcedTime is expected to provide some of the following advantages:
- From IcedTime, ItsHot gains a new assortment of luxury watches to offer to its customers. This will allow the company to diversify product offerings and increase market share, providing customers with an improved online shopping experience and greater flexibility. We strive to be the jewelry retailer that delivers that meaningful and romantic gift for the holiday season and any occasion.
- IcedTime will benefit from ItsHot’s wider recognition and its keen assessment.
- Both companies strive to improve in multiple directions—the key focus being the customer journey and experiences, followed by the collection of luxury brands from various segments.
Stepansky went on to explain that he plans on integrating his pandemic recovery strategy for ItsHot with IcedTime. His game plan follows the approach outlined in the 2021 State of Fashion report by The Business of Fashion and McKinsey & Co. The plan begins with a “less-is-more” approach, which stresses the need for companies to simplify their tactics, take a demand-focused approach by increasing full-price sales to reduce inventory, and improve in-season flexibility for new products and re-stocking.
In this uncertain market environment, ItsHot sees an increase in buyers looking to purchase high-end watches as investment pieces and meaningful jewelry to wear for years to come.
About ItsHot – ItsHot (https://www.itshot.com/) is a premier manufacturer and provider of luxury jewelry and diamond watches. Since 2004, ItsHot.com has paved the way in online sales of hip hop jewelry and custom diamond jewelry. It has expanded its collection of diamond engagement and wedding rings, for which it received the 2020 WeddingWire Couples’ Choice Awards for quality, responsiveness, and professionalism. It has outfitted many celebrities, such as Meghan Markle, Manny Pacquiao, and Kim Kardashian.
