The impact of Covid 19 on the coin market.
How was Pieces-et-Monnaies impacted by the virus?
We are a 100% online e-commerce business. The impact of Covid-19 was very slight on our operations and even allowed us to further develop our platform. We focused on increasing the number of products on our site during this period, which allowed us to go from 50 items to 1500. I can only thank the Pieces-et-Monnaies.com team for their commitment during this difficult time. In fact, it turned out to be quite beneficial for our platform.
Was the impact positive in terms of sales?
Surprisingly, yes. Our company is experiencing unprecedented growth. During this period, we saw the opening up to a new type of customer, who is not necessarily our historical clientele. Indeed, many people started buying coins from an entertainment perspective, especially through our best-sellers: the colorized two-euro coins. On the other hand, we did see a decrease in sales of more classic products such as uncolored coins and ancient coins that are not made of precious metal.
Were your deliveries impacted by significant delays?
We did everything we could to deliver our customers on time. But unfortunately, in some cases, it wasn't possible. We had to adapt, push our suppliers to meet our delivery times, and we didn't hesitate to reward our customers for their patience by offering them an extra coin in their package. This has a financial impact, but customer satisfaction remains our priority.
In terms of recruitment, were you impacted?
Our team and our recruitment policy were not impacted by this unprecedented health crisis of Covid-19. On the contrary, as mentioned earlier, the entire team's involvement was at its peak. Regarding recruitment, we will even increase our staff by hiring work-study students following Bruno Lemaire's announcement regarding financial aid granted for apprentice recruitment.
You previously mentioned the emergence of a new type of collector. Can you provide more details?
We quickly realized that our typical customer (a man over 50) was getting younger and more feminine. We therefore adapted our projects accordingly, particularly with the colorization of two-euro coins and the promotion of products like the James Bond 007 coin. We also decided to launch a line of numismatic jewelry called P&M Jewels.
Interesting! What does this brand entail?
P&M Jewels is our brand of jewelry, very recently launched into production, with a commercial launch planned for September 2020. These are 100% made-in-France jewelry items. Initially, they are essentially bracelets, composed of an ancient coin that comes in 4 versions: Antique finish, Silver, Gold, and matte black colorization. The coins are accompanied by a durable bracelet, whose design can be infinitely customized (colors, patterns, etc.). We are also beginning to explore the development of keychains, earrings, wallets, and other goodies.
Where can we buy your products in jewelry form?
Our jewelry will be available from September on our platform pieces-et-monnaies.com and also in stores through our network of distributors. Of course, you can meet us at specialized shows to see our products as soon as the health situation allows us to do so under normal conditions. This is a mass-market brand we are launching. Furthermore, market research indicates incredible potential. We are also working on a Luxury version of our jewelry. We will be able to reveal more in the coming days.