Rocksbox eyes national brick-and-mortar expansion

Dive Brief:

Jewelry retailer Rocksbox is expanding its footprint by opening brick-and-mortar stores throughout the country. The company declined to comment on the number of locations it aims to open. 
Rocksbox held the grand opening of its latest store in the SoHo neighborhood of New York City on Wednesday, according to a press release. 
Prior to that, the company turned a San Francisco pop-up location, first launched in November as a six-month pop-up, into a permanent store. 

Dive Insight:

Rocksbox is accelerating its store strategy just as parent company Signet Jewelers is pulling back. 

Signet is closing over 150 underperforming locations over the next two years, with nearly 100 shuttering within this fiscal year. Those closures are concentrated in underperforming mall locations with lease terms expiring, Signet’s Chief Financial and Operating Officer, Joan Hilson, said on the company’s latest earnings call with analysts. 

Meanwhile, Rocksbox, which first launched with a try-on subscription model, says its shoppers are responding to its brick-and-mortar experiences. Within its stores, most products in open-concept displays. Trays are provided for shoppers to build their looks, and vanity mirrors are set up throughout so they can see how products look when worn. Stores sport 18 designer brands, including two private labels, and pre-owned fine jewelry. Price points are mostly under $300. 

Other than its new SoHo store, the retailer currently has one location in San Francisco and another in Walnut Creek, California. Store openings are based on a number of factors, including past Rocksbox performance and parent company market data. The retailer is also focused on markets where millennial and Gen Z consumers shop. 

“Rocksbox’s curated multi-brand assortment and boutique-like environment are resonating across our target audience of fashion loving self-purchasers, and with the growth currently being driven by this segment of the market, retail is a very exciting opportunity for us as a brand,” Allison Vigil, Rocksbox president, said in a statement.

The company began in San Francisco in 2012, when founder and then-CEO Meaghan Rose wanted to create “the Sephora of jewelry.” Customers were sent jewelry and then had the option to either buy it or send it back. 

In 2021, Signet Jewelers announced the acquisition of the company. The deal played into Signet’s growth strategy at the time, which included boosting its e-commerce and introducing new services. Rocksbox dropped the subscription option last year and rebranded as an e-commerce site, selling both new and pre-owned items.