Podcast: Rocksbox’s Revamp 

Rocksbox president Allison Vigil came on the Rapaport Diamond Podcast to explain why the Signet Jewelers-owned brand had shifted from rental services to secondhand retail. 

The company, founded in 2012 with a subscription model, still believes in the rental concept “for the right customer,” Vigil told Rapaport’s Joshua Freedman. But it wasn’t finding enough growth opportunities there, she said. 

While specific customers enjoyed using Rocksbox’s services to try out jewelry — sometimes before buying it — the company wanted to expand into conventional e-commerce. It found that the platform, designed for rental, was too cumbersome for this, Vigil explained. 

“So we really needed to make some bigger changes from a technical infrastructure perspective,” the executive said. “That ultimately meant walking away from the rental business.” 

The firm also moved into physical retail, opening its first store as a popup location in San Francisco in November 2024. It later made that store permanent and launched additional branches in the San Francisco Bay Area and New York.  

“We re-platformed the business to be e-commerce-focused on a platform that enabled more growth from a technical perspective,” she noted. It aims to bring “the same kind of inspired discovery process to a physical experience with the launch of our retail stores.” 

Vigil also outlined how Rocksbox sold jewelry that other Signet other brands — Zales, Kay Jewelers and Jared — had received through their trade-in programs. This focuses on the fashion jewelry that consumers bring to the stores. 

Listen to the podcast here: 

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