The Jewelry Channel going off-air

By Michelle Graff

Austin, Texas—In yet another sign of tough economic times, a Texas-based jewelry television network announced it will cease operations in early August.

In a letter to the Texas Workforce Commission obtained by National Jeweler, Austin, Texas-based The Jewelry Channel Inc. stated that, “We plan to shut the company down permanently and terminate the employment of our entire workforce in 60 days,” around Aug. 4.

The Jewelry Channel employs about 106 people, according to the letter, which was signed by Jewelry Channel President Sri Burugapalli.

According to the Austin Business Journal, The Jewelry Channel, a 24/7 nationally broadcast direct-sales channel, launched on April 18, 2007.

Jaipur, India-based jewelry manufacturer VGL Group owns The Jewelry Channel, and the on-air retailer was slated to market and sell the company’s products, according to the Journal.

The Jewelry Channel’s Web site states, “The Jewelry Channel USA brings you the best-quality jewelry at the most competitive prices. We can do this because we’re part of one of the largest jewelers in the world with workshops in India, Thailand and China.”

When it went on-air in 2007, the Journal reported that VGL had high hopes for the network, aiming for it to employ about 700 people by 2012.

At the time the channel launched, VGL Senior Vice President Manoj Shrimali told the Journal his company chose Austin because it wanted to establish a U.S. channel in the Central Time Zone and because Austin was business friendly and had an educated workforce.

“Everyone in the U.S. wants to move to Austin,” he told the Journal. “Everything that our channel is about we can find here.”

Prior to starting The Jewelry Channel, VGL launched two other jewelry television networks in 2006, in the United Kingdom and Germany.

Source: National Jeweler Network