Gems TV
Encyclopedia
Gems TV was a jewellery manufacturer and reverse auction
TV shopping network headquartered in Chanthaburi
, Thailand
. It began its operations in October 2004 in the UK, and then expanded to Germany, America, Japan and China. Gems TV was formed from the merger of Thaigem Limited and Eagle Road Studios, which formed Gems TV UK Limited, which eventually became a subsidiary of Gems TV Holdings Limited when the company expended to other countries.
For the fiscal year ending 30 June 2009, revenues amounted to $162.16 million, down 31% from the previous year, with a gross profit of $53 million.
Since the closure of Gems TV USA and the sale of Gems TV UK and Gems London (Gems TV Japan) in 2010, the company no longer focuses on jewellery production and the sales through their own shopping channels.
In April 2005, Eagle Road Studios announced that 'Snatch It!' was to close down and was to be replaced with a second jewellery channel, focusing solely on Sterling Silver after a successful trial run on the channel. During the closing down process of Snatch It!, the new channel was being named 'Gems TV Silver'. However, when the 2nd channel officially launched on 12 May 2005, Gems TV was rebranded as Gems TV Gold and received a completely new identity and studio. The 2nd channel was simply known as 'Gems TV'. Both channels ran alongside 'Deal Of The Day' at the same time was replaced with mobile phone shopping channel; 'MyPhone.tv'. In June 2005, it was announced that both Thaigem and Eagle Road Studios had merged to form 'Gems TV UK Limited' and as a result, on the 19 July 2005, the 'MyPhone.tv channel was sold off to Canis Media Group.
Up until 2010, Gems TV employed around 1,100 people worldwide, many of whom worked in Administration (Call Centre, Customer Services).
, Thailand
. Gems TV buys cut and polished gem
s, handcrafts the products and then sells them through its television channels, hence its motto 'Cutting out the middlemen' and its claim that it can consistently undercut the High Street.
The company claims to sell the world's widest variety of gems, including rarities such as Block D Tanzanite
. The channel utilizes a falling price auction game, known as Snatch It!.
, Gem Collector
and Jewellery Maker
.
As a result of the sale, this has now brought Gems TV (UK) Limited back under the ownership of Steve Bennett, who was one of the original founders of the company back in 2004.
Reverse auction
A reverse auction is a type of auction in which the roles of buyers and sellers are reversed. In an ordinary auction , buyers compete to obtain a good or service, and the price typically increases over time...
TV shopping network headquartered in Chanthaburi
Chanthaburi
Chanthaburi ) is a town in the east of Thailand, at the banks of the Chanthaburi River. It is the capital of the Chanthaburi Province and the Mueang Chanthaburi district....
, Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
. It began its operations in October 2004 in the UK, and then expanded to Germany, America, Japan and China. Gems TV was formed from the merger of Thaigem Limited and Eagle Road Studios, which formed Gems TV UK Limited, which eventually became a subsidiary of Gems TV Holdings Limited when the company expended to other countries.
For the fiscal year ending 30 June 2009, revenues amounted to $162.16 million, down 31% from the previous year, with a gross profit of $53 million.
Since the closure of Gems TV USA and the sale of Gems TV UK and Gems London (Gems TV Japan) in 2010, the company no longer focuses on jewellery production and the sales through their own shopping channels.
History
Gems TV began in October 2004, in the UK from the joint venture of Eagle Road Studios and Thaigem. The partnership came about from Thaigem initially stocking Eagle Road Studios' channel Snatch It! and after the success of the jewellery on the channel, one of Eagle Road's other channels Factory Outlet was replaced with 'Gems.tv'. Eagle Road Studios ran the channel alongside 'Deal Of The Day' and 'Snatch It!'.In April 2005, Eagle Road Studios announced that 'Snatch It!' was to close down and was to be replaced with a second jewellery channel, focusing solely on Sterling Silver after a successful trial run on the channel. During the closing down process of Snatch It!, the new channel was being named 'Gems TV Silver'. However, when the 2nd channel officially launched on 12 May 2005, Gems TV was rebranded as Gems TV Gold and received a completely new identity and studio. The 2nd channel was simply known as 'Gems TV'. Both channels ran alongside 'Deal Of The Day' at the same time was replaced with mobile phone shopping channel; 'MyPhone.tv'. In June 2005, it was announced that both Thaigem and Eagle Road Studios had merged to form 'Gems TV UK Limited' and as a result, on the 19 July 2005, the 'MyPhone.tv channel was sold off to Canis Media Group.
Up until 2010, Gems TV employed around 1,100 people worldwide, many of whom worked in Administration (Call Centre, Customer Services).
Jewellery production
Gems TV owns its gem production facilities are in ChanthaburiChanthaburi
Chanthaburi ) is a town in the east of Thailand, at the banks of the Chanthaburi River. It is the capital of the Chanthaburi Province and the Mueang Chanthaburi district....
, Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
. Gems TV buys cut and polished gem
Gemstone
A gemstone or gem is a piece of mineral, which, in cut and polished form, is used to make jewelry or other adornments...
s, handcrafts the products and then sells them through its television channels, hence its motto 'Cutting out the middlemen' and its claim that it can consistently undercut the High Street.
The company claims to sell the world's widest variety of gems, including rarities such as Block D Tanzanite
Tanzanite
Tanzanite is the blue/purple variety of the mineral zoisite which was discovered in the Mererani Hills of Northern Tanzania in 1967, near the city of Arusha and Mount Kilimanjaro. It is used as a gemstone...
. The channel utilizes a falling price auction game, known as Snatch It!.
Sale of Gems TV (UK) Limited
On 18 June 2010, Gems TV Holdings sold Gems TV (UK) Limited (a wholly owned subsidiary) to The Colourful Company Group Limited, which is the company that owns and runs rival channel Rocks TVRocks TV
Gems TV Extra is a British reverse auction jewellery shopping channel. The channel is available on Sky, Freesat and online. The channel operations are based at Eagle Road Studios in Redditch, near Birmingham...
, Gem Collector
Gem Collector
Gem Collector was a short lived British reverse auction loose gemstone shopping channel. It is the first channel of its kind in the UK. The channel was available on Sky and online. The channel operations are based at Eagle Road Studios in Redditch, near Birmingham...
and Jewellery Maker
Jewellery Maker
Jewellery Maker is a British jewellery shopping channel. It is the first channel of its kind, to focus solely on making your own gemstone jewellery through purchasing kits and making it yourself. The presentation and format of the channel is similar to the crafting channel; Create & Craft....
.
As a result of the sale, this has now brought Gems TV (UK) Limited back under the ownership of Steve Bennett, who was one of the original founders of the company back in 2004.
See also
- Gems TV (UK)Gems TV (UK)Gems TV is a British reverse auction jewellery shopping channel. It is officially the first channel of its kind in the UK. The channel is available on Sky, Virgin Media, Freesat, Freeview and online. The channel operations are based at Eagle Road Studios in Redditch, near Birmingham...
- Gems TV (USA)Gems TV (USA)Gems TV was an American reverse auction jewelry shopping channel. The channel was available on DirecTV, Dish Network and other local networks. The channel operations were based at Reno, Nevada.-History:...
- Juwelo TV (on German Wikipedia
- The Jewellery ChannelThe Jewellery ChannelThe Jewellery Channel is a British falling-price auction-style home shopping channel specialising in jewellery, the primary competitor to Gems TV. The channel launched on 4 April 2006, and currently broadcasts 24 hours a day.-Background:...
- Liquidation ChannelLiquidation ChannelLiquidation Channel is an American home shopping channel that specializes in the sale of jewelry. It is headquartered in Austin, Texas.The channel broadcasts 24/7 live in America.- History :...
- Rocks & CoRocks & CoRocks & Co. is a British falling-price auction-style home shopping channel specialising in jewellery, the primary competitors to Gems TV, Rocks TV and The Jewellery Channel. The channel currently broadcasts live from 13:00 to 23:00 daily , with the live shows replayed between 9:30-13:00 and...
- Rocks TVRocks TVGems TV Extra is a British reverse auction jewellery shopping channel. The channel is available on Sky, Freesat and online. The channel operations are based at Eagle Road Studios in Redditch, near Birmingham...
External links
- Official UK site
- Official US site
- Official German site (Now inactive)
- Official Japanese site
- Share price on Singapore stock market.