PGI China Win the China International Business Awards 2022 for Its Culture of Innovation

In 2019, Platinum Guild International (PGI®) initiated Project Reboot, a programme that aims to capture more younger consumers into platinum’s market share in jewellery. The success of this programme led to PGI being awarded the China International Business Awards 2022 for the Non-Profit Organisation category. The China International Business Awards is organised by Asian Business Review to honour notable achievements of outstanding international firms in China, particularly achievements anchored by innovative business strategies that adapt to changing business landscapes. 

“As a niche category, it’s PGI’s responsibility to ensure that platinum remains a priority for incumbent partners, while presenting an attractive opportunity for newcomers. Dedicated to making platinum the jewellery category’s premier innovator, PGI will continue to strengthen its collaboration with partners and work together towards a sustainable success for platinum in jewellery,” said Huw Daniel, CEO of PGI.

Precious jewellery in China made from gold, platinum, silver, and precious stones saw a negative CAGR of 6.3% from 2017 to 2019. As a niche category with just an 18% share of acquisition, jewellery retailers rarely refresh their platinum inventory which results in younger consumers needing help to find a design that they like. Department stores are another business struggling for traction with young consumers who prefer specialty stores. 

For platinum, jewellery retailers and department stores faced a similar struggle to attract young consumers, so PGI China launched Project Reboot to enable all three parties to reboot their appeal to this critical consumer segment as well as establish platinum’s priority amongst PGI’s retail partners.

Project Reboot’s innovation and foundation of success were based on each party focusing on one part of the consumer journey under one single promotional platform to deliver specific results to each. To attract young consumers, PGIcreated a promotional platform with the theme of Pt Art Space, which celebrates the tenacity of up-and-coming young artists by promoting their work through digital and social media. PGI was responsible for the media buy, content development, PR and event management. 

The physical Pt Art Space took the form of a pop-up art gallery event and art installations at participating department stores. Pt Art Space also showcased the latest platinum jewellery designs and has various interactive activities for participants to win promotional vouchers for platinum jewellery. The department stores contributed event spaces, mall media, and access to their social media and loyalty programme members to drive footfall to jewellery retail stores. Retail stores did their part by refreshing their platinum jewellery inventory through a stock swap programme with selected PGI manufacturing partners, funding the sales promotion, and supplementing media coverage.

Project Reboot has adopted tactical tweaks since 2019 to capture more opportunities which have resulted in 1,179 doors from 59 jewellery retailers across 3 provinces and 49 cities participating in the event by its third edition in 2021. Project Reboot is still going strong in 2022, selling over 46,000 pieces of platinum jewellery for over RMB 140 million in revenue to date. The organisation has high hopes that it will continue to contribute towards stimulating the local economy amidst COVID-19 challenges.

“In the future, PGI will continue to innovate Project Reboot as it addresses the three growth drivers for the jewellery category, which are young consumers, omni-channel marketing and branded collections. Together with other programmes and activities driven by its culture of innovation, PGI’s ambition is to make platinum the jewellery category’s premier innovator,” said Pui P. Poon, Managing Director of PGI China.