By Victoria Stone-Meadows
THE woman responsible for bringing the massively successful jewellery brand Pandora to Australia has partnered with a new jewellery brand and has opened the first Australian Alex and Ani store at Fountain Gate.
Karin Adcock, founder and CEO of House of Brands, launched the new store on the night of Tuesday 15 November and said Fountain Gate and the Narre Warren area was the perfect place to do it.
“We had a list of about 15 shopping centres we would like to be in and it is hard to get a good site in shopping centres because stores are always full,” Ms Adcock said.
“Fountain Gate came up with a good location first and we said no to a lot of locations that weren’t right.
“This is a very good shopping centre for our demographics and better and more suitable than somewhere like Chadstone.
“We stand out more in Fountain Gate and for our first store it is a great location for us.”
Ms Adcock said Alex and Ani is a unique brand with a strong sense of worth that gives back to the community while offering a beautiful product.
Ms Adcock explained that Alex and Ani jewellery is built on four pillars that makes it unique as well as.
“The jewellery is made out of recycled brass, recycled door handles, picture frames and things like that with a gold or silver finish so it has a life of its own before and now is jewellery,” she said.
“It is made in US with love. It is made on Rhode Island which used to be the jewellery capital of the world.
“It is infused with positive energy and is all about positivity and meanings that connects people with lots of symbols that have many meanings for different people.
“The last pillar is Charity by Design. A very big part of our business is charity and it is very exciting to have such a strong affinity with charities and to give back to the community.”
All jewellery sold from the Alex and Ani brand in Australia will support four charity partners – the RSPCA, Lifeline, the Special Olympics, and UNICEF.
“I see Alex and Ani as different and unique, offering to fill a gap in the market for what we are offering,” Ms Adcock said.
“We have a really serious opportunity to do something exciting with this band in the market and how customers are engaging makes me really excited and tells me we are on the right track.”
