RJ magazine has changed its name to Retail Jeweller as part of a major overhaul to make it more relevant to its readers.
The revamp of the Emap title includes changes to design and content, although it will continue to target watch and giftware retailers.
Editor Jenni Middleton said the magazine had increased its personal contact with the readers and introduced more focused-based features and news analysis.
“We have made the news more analytical and punchy and there are more practical business features giving readers an overview of the whole fashion world at large,” she said.
The title has strengthened its coverage of catwalk trends and the impact they have on business. It has also introduced a regular interview featuring a leading ?gure from the fashion industry each month. The ?rst issue kicked off with designer Paul Smith.
Retail Jeweller has expanded its practical side with a new section ‘Ask the expert’, featuring expert tips on watch and jewellery repair and it will look more closely at the backroom business of jewellery retailing.
“It will be like an agony column for jewellery and watch retailers, so hopefully we can meet their needs more fully,” Middleton added.
Commenting on the sector as a whole, she said: “The jewellery market has performed really well over the past few months. It’s de?nitely an area where we have seen healthy growth, particularly the luxury watch jewellery market. We are lucky in that we have got such a broad cross-section of readers and advertisers.”
Retail Jeweller is run by an editorial team of three, supported by freelances and new columnists, such as watch expert Alan Burtost.
and new premises
The redesign of RJ coincides with a move for staff, who swapped their of?ces in Greater London House last week for another Emap building in Bowling Green Lane . The move affected 60 staff and follows restructuring of the business announced in April. It has resulted in Emap Fashion and Emap Retail merging to form a new business, Emap Retail, bringing 100 people together under one roof.
Emap Retail publishes Retail Week and monthly supplement Retail Interiors. Emap Fashion includes RJ and Drapers, which have moved into the of?ce previously used by Broadcast. Staff on Broadcast have been moved to a separate part of the building.
Steve Newbold, former managing director of Emap Fashion, has taken over as managing director of Emap Retail. He said: “There are no structural changes, it is just an of?ce move.
Drapers is also looking for a new designer to replace Alan Bingle, who is leaving after seven years to be art director on Screen International.
By Ruth Addicott
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