Independent jewellery retailer John Greed is cutting ties with Pandora. Photo: The Lincolnite
Lincoln-based independent jewellery retailer John Greed is cutting its ties with Pandora, a move which is expected to lead to redundancies.
John Greed revealed to The Lincolnite that the company will soon be ending its retail and online relationship with Pandora but that discussions are ongoing.
No redundancies have been made by the time of writing.
The company has also said it is “committed to saving jobs wherever possible”.
John Greed will move away from selling Pandora in-store and online to concentrate on other brands including Nomination, Thomas Sabo, Swarovski and in particular its own John Greed.
The Lincoln company, which owns two Cornhill stores and leases one to Pandora, said negotiations over the Pandora shop are ongoing.
The lease may continue with Pandora, or be taken up by ‘another interested party’.
The John Greed shop will remain open as normal and the business will continue to operate from its headquarters at the Firth Road Business Centre in Lincoln.
John Greed. Photo: Steve Smailes for Lincolnshire Business magazine
Longevity and security
The business is run on a day to day basis by John and Laura Greed. The online side of the business also based in Lincoln is the largest part of the company.
In a statement issued to The Lincolnite John Greed said the “longevity and security of any retail business can only ultimately come from developing your own brand and identity”.
John Greed now wants to focus on its own brand.
The business started on Steep Hill in 1994 and has grown into be what it believes to be one of the largest independent jewellery retailers in the UK.
It seemed like the right time
John Greed Jewellery LTD and John Greed Retail LTD have been selling Pandora jewellery for 15 years both online and instore.
John Greed said: “Our Pandora High Street store franchise will soon come to a natural end and so it seemed like the right time for us to decide for a variety of reasons to also stop selling Pandora online.
“We will continue to sell other great Brands such as Nomination and Thomas Sabo but we really want to bring our own jewellery to centre stage.
“We grew into a large jewellery business keeping up with the customers’ demand for Pandora jewellery and so sadly our new business vision might require initially a much smaller focused workforce and so redundancies at the online business, unfortunately, might be inevitable.
However, we are committed to saving jobs wherever possible.
“We are still in negotiations with Pandora as regards them leasing our High Street building which would allow them to continue with the current Pandora store after our franchise ends.
“We are also in negotiations with other parties as regards the use of our building so we will have to see what happens.
“Retail and especially e-commerce is changing rapidly and we must change with it in order to secure a long term future for our business.
“We have in recent years invested heavily in new e-commerce technology and in finding the right people to help us create our vision. The retail environment is currently really tough and that isn’t going to change any time soon.
“We need to continue to develop our unique proposition and have already put a huge amount of effort in over the last 18 months to take our own brand, John Greed, to the next level.
“Although we don’t plan on being a Pandora online retailer in the future we are still on very good terms with them and are still very passionate about their brand.
“We are currently in discussions on working together on some very exciting projects which really capitalises on our specialist skills and expertise, so watch this space.”
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Leader of Lincolnshire County Council Martin Hill said his party retaining control of the authority was “a resounding success” for the Conservatives.
The Tory group passed the 36 seat mark, giving them overall control of the council following the local elections on May 6.
Councillor Hill said: “This means we have a manifesto which we will then deliver for the public of Lincolnshire and we have a stable situation of the county council and can continue the running of it as a Conservative council.
“Thank you for giving the Conservatives once again a resounding thumbs up, we will work hard for you and take the lessons learned so far.”
He promised to move forward on tackling potholes and fly-tipping as well as campaigning for more funding for the authority.
At the time of publication, Labour had two seats, Independents had five seats, Liberal Democrats had three seats and South Holland Independents have one seat.
A Year 9 student at Cleethorpes Academy has tested positive for coronavirus, resulting in 28 pupils now self-isolating as a precaution.
Principal Mrs Janice Hornby sent a letter to parents/carers on Thursday, May 6 and said the school is continuing to monitor the situation and is working closely with Public Health England.
The students who are self-isolating will continue remote learning at home for 10 days.
The school remains open to other students who should continue to attend if they remain well.
Janice Hornby, Cleethorpes Academy Principal, said: “We want to reassure parents that we have followed advice from Public Health England and the DfE in responding to this matter immediately.
“My senior and pastoral leaders work quickly to identify all close contacts and telephone every family to explain the requirement to self-isolate. Students are isolated in school until we contact the family.
“All students who are required to isolate will return to remote learning until we can welcome them back into school.
“We have continued to follow national public health guidance around preventing the spread of coronavirus in school. Social distancing, frequent hand washing, wearing of face coverings and regular cleaning is being rigorously practised right across the Academy, and we have robust risk assessment processes in place.
“I urge all staff and students to remain vigilant at all times and to continue to follow the guidelines to ensure that we can keep each other as safe as possible. We wish our student a very speedy recovery.”
Cleethorpes Academy is currently the only school within the Tollbar Multi Academy Trust with a case of coronavirus.
The Conservative group on Lincolnshire County Council have retained overall control after gaining 36 seats in total already.
At the time of publication, Labour had two seats, Independents had five seats, Liberal Democrats had three seats and South Holland Independents have one seat.
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