Are Rocks & Co the First Casualties?

[Klosblue]

With John leaving and now Ruth, I think the signs are apparent that all is not well at Rocks & Co. If you look at their Programme Guide on their website, it appears they are now only going to be doing live Auctions for a few hours each day with the rest of the day showing "Rocks Replays"!!!!

Looks like they are the first jewellery casualties which I must say doesn't surprise me. They seemed hell bent on failing with the prices they were charging for highly treated, low gold weight pieces. Of course maybe if they'd sold some of their £20,000+ pieces they would have been ok :mysmilie_17: IMHO they have had delusions of grandeur for some time but sadly for them, those with the finances to buy all the expensive pieces they felt it necessary to try and sell, probably wouldn't buy from them. They have totally missed their target market imo. Also, if Tony Diniz hadn't been paying £1000 a carat for their Tanzanite (as we were often told) and buying all the Tanzanian Rubies himself then maybe things would be better for them :mysmilie_61:

Personally I think Gems TV will be next leaving the way clear for TJC to continue as they are and newcomers to TV, Rocks TV who I believe will be very successful as they cater for a different market. Good luck to them both I say.

 

[reanebeanie]

With John leaving and now Ruth, I think the signs are apparent that all is not well at Rocks & Co. If you look at their Programme Guide on their website, it appears they are now only going to be doing live Auctions for a few hours each day with the rest of the day showing "Rocks Replays"!!!!

Looks like they are the first jewellery casualties which I must say doesn't surprise me. They seemed hell bent on failing with the prices they were charging for highly treated, low gold weight pieces. Of course maybe if they'd sold some of their £20,000+ pieces they would have been ok :mysmilie_17: IMHO they have had delusions of grandeur for some time but sadly for them, those with the finances to buy all the expensive pieces they felt it necessary to try and sell, probably wouldn't buy from them. They have totally missed their target market imo. Also, if Tony Diniz hadn't been paying £1000 a carat for their Tanzanite (as we were often told) and buying all the Tanzanian Rubies himself then maybe things would be better for them :mysmilie_61:

Personally I think Gems TV will be next leaving the way clear for TJC to continue as they are and newcomers to TV, Rocks TV who I believe will be very successful as they cater for a different market. Good luck to them both I say.

Agree with everything you have said. I think TJC IMHO, are the best channel by far. Long may they continue!

 

[MissMagpie]

I did wonder about that, but according to the Rocks & Co e-mail newsletter which arrived this morning, the reason for the reduced hours is that they are in the process moving everything to the West Midlands - the studio (currently in London) and the Warehouse (currently in Tyneside) will both be moving. That sounds like a pretty major investment: I can't think they'd be doing that if they were going bust...

 

[jacqualina]

As I posted on another thread, I think it might all be due to the relocation and not everyone wants to live/work in the Midlands.

 

[Ballerina]

You are probably correct Jacqualina, a double relocation will not be a cheap endeavour and as you say, not all staff will be willing or able to relocate with them.

To date I have never actually bought anything from Rocks & Co. They don't get great ratings on this site and I find all of your comments very helpful in deciding where to and where not to spend my hard earned pounds! Plus, I do find the Diniz Brothers a bit irritating to watch, just a personal opinion but it does also influence my purchasing decisions

I can't say I would miss them as I have not supported them but I do like competition in the marketplace. If Rocks & Co. together with Gemstv do go bust, the TJC prices may shoot up as they will have a much larger share of the market.

We shall see what transpires!

Inge

 

[Sacha]

I did wonder about that, but according to the Rocks & Co e-mail newsletter which arrived this morning, the reason for the reduced hours is that they are in the process moving everything to the West Midlands - the studio (currently in London) and the Warehouse (currently in Tyneside) will both be moving. That sounds like a pretty major investment: I can't think they'd be doing that if they were going bust...

If I remember rightly it was this time last year that John (Scott) said his contract was finishing and so if the renewal was for a year that would explain why he is now leaving....to work in another London based studio.

Wonder if they are off to Redditch? :mysmilie_1529:

 

[Klosblue]

Well I could be wrong but I don't think so. However time will tell!

According to their newsletter, they list their times all for Freeview channels with exception of the 12am-2am slot which says Sky Fiver! So does that mean they are no longer going to be on Sky Channel 642? If these reduced hours are only temporary I'm surprised if they're giving up Channel 642!! I believe you can't just get a Sky Channel whenever you want - even if your name is Tony Diniz!

 

[Klosblue]

***UPDATE***

I just phoned Rocks & Co to ask if they will still be on Channel 642. The girl said "unfortunately not" and explained that they were moving to Birmingham. She said "everything will be back up and running after we move". I asked if they would be back on Sky after the move to which she replied "hopefully"!!

I am now even more convinced they are on their way out now and can't see how they could possibly survive on Freeview alone. Oh well, one good thing - at least I won't get raised blood pressure any more when I'm channel hopping because I won't be able to hop on to Rocks & Co!! :mysmilie_61:​

 

[Tabs]

***UPDATE***

I just phoned Rocks & Co to ask if they will still be on Channel 642. The girl said "unfortunately not" and explained that they were moving to Birmingham. She said "everything will be back up and running after we move". I asked if they would be back on Sky after the move to which she replied "hopefully"!!

I am now even more convinced they are on their way out now and can't see how they could possibly survive on Freeview alone. Oh well, one good thing - at least I won't get raised blood pressure any more when I'm channel hopping because I won't be able to hop on to Rocks & Co!! :mysmilie_61:​

WOW, No Sky channel? Thats a big sign in itself! I assume that Sky commands the higher price than Freeview for a channel to broadcast? Surely if they are losing the Sky channel there must be a big reason??
I've just flicked channels and they are showing "Rocks replay"? I thought they were "live falling auctions"? How can a buyer bid properly if the auction is not live? How can they do the price crashes corrrectly? This channel and its antics are one big headache!:mysmilie_81:

 

[PrincessRacer]

I did wonder about that, but according to the Rocks & Co e-mail newsletter which arrived this morning, the reason for the reduced hours is that they are in the process moving everything to the West Midlands - the studio (currently in London) and the Warehouse (currently in Tyneside) will both be moving. That sounds like a pretty major investment: I can't think they'd be doing that if they were going bust...

Depends...

London is probably the most expensive place in the world to be based, so a move to the midlands would save them money. The money it would cost to transport their 'belongings' would probably be recouped in saved rent within the first couple of months, so over a financial year, you are still going to show a saving.

They are also going to be paying for premises in Tyneside and premises in London just now. If they are amalgamating these operations to put them under one roof, this will again make a saving for them in overheads, plus make a saving in facilities and logistical costs.

Am intrigued by their giving up the sky channel though. That certainly makes me think they are scaling down their operations. I would suggest (and this is totally a guess!) that they are amalgamating their operations under 1 roof, and probably scaling down the physical size of their operation BEFORE they get into a position where their business is no longer viable. From here, they can start over almost and build themselves back up.

We shall see....

 

[Milly]

I see john is going to join Tjc

 

[MissMagpie]

I'm prepared to be wrong, but I'd be genuinely surprised if they were going under.

Look at it this way: we're all agreed that they're quite often overpriced, and yet their stuff seems to sell pretty rapidly. The high-end "ONE Collection" pieces are very overpriced, and yet even they sell. It might take two or three attempts on air, but they go eventually - otherwise they wouldn't keep bringing more and more pieces at similar price points. (And indeed I did once consider buying one of those pieces, but it had already sold.)

So their stuff is selling, even though quite often overpriced - so they must be making money!

Have I missed something...?

 

[genuineshopper]

...yes I know what you mean MissM. I've sent back probably about 6-7 items for every one I've bought from R&Co, so while I think they must have suffered from that (if everybody else is doing the same and I suspect they are) they could still keep things going - BUT, only if they run a very tight ship indeed. They clearly don't, being scattered all over the country and probably having cash flow probems. Consolidating the business is always a wise move. However, leaving Sky? Now that worries me.

My gut feel is either they are paving the way for a New Year's Eve announcement that they've gone, or they will scale down in Leamington Spa, create a nice little region-specific distribution/call centre business and be more attractive for a quick sale, stock and all (TJC?).

I'm owed over £800 by R&Co in returns. I feel quite twitchy. I finally got paid the other money they owed me - after 45 days! - and since then they have refunded within 2-3 weeks, so well within their 30-day T&C, which is heartening. But maybe that's also a sign that the business is sorting out its books for the year end....

Btw, I think I saw a rainbow moonstone on TJC the other day - I think it was you MissM who mentioned loving this in another thread. First auction I'd seen of it anywhere since Sept. Very nice indeed....

 

[Klosblue]

Well they say pieces are sold but do we know they are? I can't remember who it was but someone on the forum was watching online and they didn't mute the sound after an auction. The person distinctly heard the presenter ask if the item sold and was told it hadn't, yet they said it was gone!!

I can't understand why they are showing replays of previous auctions - it makes no sense to me! Perhaps someone can enlighten me?

Also why on earth would they give up Sky? TJC are now on Freeview for longer but there's no way they'd give up Sky I bet! If they had a good customer base from being on Sky, and sold all the pieces they say they did, then why leave?

Also why was I told by someone in the CS that they were moving to Birmingham yet now it's Leamington Spa? I believe they are 25 miles apart. Is it because Leamington Spa sounds posher?!

Sorry but something smells very fishy!

 

[MissMagpie]

Btw, I think I saw a rainbow moonstone on TJC the other day - I think it was you MissM who mentioned loving this in another thread. First auction I'd seen of it anywhere since Sept. Very nice indeed....

Oooooh, did you? - Yes, I'm the rainbow moonstone lover around here! Off to send e-mail to TJC Personal Shopper...

 

[genuineshopper]

...Rocks just re-ran and sold the Ametrine pendant I recently sent back so maybe my refund is on itys way after all....

 

[meerkat]

If tjc are the only ones left though, the lack of competition will mean they can charge anything, so on the whole, it would not be a good thing at all.

 

[meerkat]

I always understood that only a few million people had Sky...all the furore over test cricket being shown there insted of free to air, where they got several million less viewers viewers(including me...grrrrr.)

So almost everyone has access to Freeview, with a cheap box and maybe an aerial upgrade, so Sky is a very small market, or so I understood. Am I wrong?

 

[Graham]

Freeview is the most expensive platform to be on and the one everyone wants to be on.


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[Klosblue]

I don't think TJC's prices would change because of Rocks & Co's demise. As I stated in another thread, TJC are the most honest, genuine and ethical of the existing TV channels and are owned by one of the largest Jewellery Companies in the world. They have improved immensly over the last year selling pieces to suit all price ranges and really try to cater to their customers tastes.

I could be wrong but I believe TJC are not stupid enough to price themselves out of the market and have the 25+ years experience of their parent company to keep them right.