Ken’s Take: I watched with interest as my sons and their friends shopped for engagement rings online – all from Blue Nile. Struck me – an old-schooler — as a risky online purchase. But, they had great experiences – nice rocks (I think), secure delivery, and fast turnaround for resizing. Blue Nile seemed to be gaining some traction twenty-something guys, and an acceptable brand image with the ladies.
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WSJ, Blue Nile Gets Makeover to Please Ladies, Sept. 2, 2009
Blue Nile – an online jeweler founded in 1999 and IPO’d in 2004 — sold $295 million in jewelry last year, in a recession ravaged jewelry industry. While data on the diamond industry is incomplete, Blue Nile estimates its market share is roughly 4.5% to 5.5%.
Retooling to combat slowing grow, the company is unveiling a major overhaul of its Web site to broaden its appeal, especially to women. The changes are intended to make the experience more akin to window shopping.
But, it faces the tricky task of trying to make improvements without losing core customers.
The vast majority of those who buy rings and necklaces from Blue Nile are men, drawn to the extra information, control and discounts — they get by shopping online instead of at a high-pressure jewelry counter.
Yet most Blue Nile purchases are given to women, whom the retailer would like to have a more premium view of its brand.
Blue Nile also rebuilt a system for shoppers to create custom engagement rings — its largest business — based on criteria they can adjust with sliding scales while watching an image of the product evolve on the screen.
Shopping is now largely contained within a single page, to cut down on the confusion and tedium of clicking back and forth.
Blue Nile says that it has taken on a redesign now because of the market’s relative weakness, which has made competitors less likely to expand.
Full article:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125176820957074661.html
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The Homa Files 
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