But then when channels start to go down the "lets sell a bit of everything" route, their competitor becomes Amazon - and the likes of TJC, Gemporia, etc will never compete with them either.
There's no reason why Gemporia can't survive as solely a Jewellery channel still - but not in its current form. They really need to go back to basics - create nice designs again, stick to Silver, Gold or Platinum without the tacky 'tone' junk, offer good quality jewellery, at reasonable prices (where there's profit to be made but without blatantly taking customers for mugs), cut out the dubious sales tactics and just let the products sell themselves without the waffle and BS.
Most importantly, just be content with a website and two channels. Their downfall in the past has been wasting money trying out short-sighted projects and getting a bit too big for their boots. Stop attempting world domination by setting up other channels abroad. Stop trying to flog jewellery in Virgin Atlantic flight brochures. Stop trying to flog jewellery in shops like their ill-fated attempt before. Stop wasting money on vanity projects like studio revamps and on-air graphics. I've lost count of how many revamped studios Jewellery Maker and Gem Collector have had - in addition to studio sets being created for The Lounge, Diamond Room and Rocks TV, only for them to close those channels down again.
Even when their business was healthy, they didn't seem content with just making a profit. They seemed to want to branch out with overseas channels and other sales outlets. Then when it all backfired, Steve seemed to lose interest.
They started their own decline needlessly in my opinion by trying to grow too quickly, too fast - and then their bread and butter UK channels and customer service started suffering in addition to the 'new' channels being unsuccessful.
Get your main bread and butter part of the business 100% right before attempting world domination with everything running at 60%.
