America’s Coolest Stores 2012: Big Cool 2 Two by London

Typically, when young customers — 20s to mid-30s — walk into TWO By London, it somehow feels familiar, even if it’s the first time they’ve set foot in the Long Island jewelry store. Owners Scott and Jessica Udell aren’t surprised by this. In fact that’s exactly the kind of customer reaction the couple had expected from Generation Y, the age group the new store is focused on. “We built a visionary jewelry concept store, primarily focused on bridal — the two in our store’s name refers to two people in love — with a large selection of rings and wedding jewelry not especially out of reach for first-timers. We concentrated on things that would appeal to that demographic in many ways — elements and attitudes we knew they’d feel comfortable with and encourage them to be relaxed, despite purchasing something that might seem serious, confusing and overwhelming. We wanted it to have a young vibe, not only in how it was designed but also with lots of interactive education and hands-on technology,” Scott explains.

“For that generation, which Jessica and I are a part of, developing a unique approach to selling diamonds and bridal was the key. We concentrated on do-it-yourself technology, products they could touch and not feel intimidated by, and communications they’re accustomed to, that teaches them things beyond the four Cs. All of this was important as was enabling them to do everything at their own pace and not feel pressured.”

Before proceeding with their plan, however, the couple conducted focus-group research that confirmed what they’d been discussing for some time: The new store needed to be a place for customers to: “Engage. Enlighten. Envision. Create.” — those four words now appear on their website home page as well as in all ads and marketing materials.

The store, which opened in the chi-chi Americana Manhasset mall in November 2011, has sleek, contemporary décor young people can relate to, and is furnished with technology and communications that speak to the millennial market. In addition to the high-tech toys — flat screen TVs, touchscreen computers and DIY design programs, there’s an array of low-tech, but, again, engaging, in-store experiences. Fist-sized crystals, for example, are scattered throughout the store, enabling brides and grooms to easily see the signature faceting of a dozen or so different diamond cuts before they view a stone under a microscope. “It makes it all less mysterious,” Scott emphasizes.

The store’s open ring displays are another example of TWO’s well-thought-out touchable teaching tools. Customers can linger as long as they want trying on prototypes without having to ask sales associates to take the real rings in or out of a showcase. “When they’re ready for our help and advice, we’re here,” Scott says. “When we opened the store, we started an ad campaign, which we still run, built around the words ‘when you’re ready, we’re here.’ We have years of experience and expertise.”

Yes, while TWO is new, its jewelry roots run deep. Scott is the son of Candy and Mark Udell, owners of London Jewelers, the high-profile Long Island chain of luxury jewelers, a family business founded by Scott’s great grandfather in New York in 1926. TWO, in fact, is adjacent to London Jewelers’ Manhasset shop, which was INSTORE’s America’s Coolest Stores winner in the Big Cool division in 2009. Scott, now a member of the fourth generation of Udell jewelry retailers, says, “I grew up in the stores, so I always knew I’d be in the business. But once Jessica decided to join me, we started discussing this idea of selling diamonds and engagement and wedding rings in a non-traditional jewelry store environment.”

ENGAGE, ENGAGE, ENGAGE

Tom Pulk, director for Callison LLC, New York, NY, talks of the initial meetings his firm had with Scott and Jessica to discuss the interior concept. “After our team met with them, we started to ‘see’ the store space we’d design almost like a museum, where the customer would come in and begin to discover things,” Pulk says. “The point is, everything is inviting. When we were designing TWO, we focused on words like alive, fun, cool, young at heart, and engaging.”

Callison coordinated with architect Peter Marino, who designed TWO’s storefront — the firm has constructed all of the retail facades for the Manhasset mall. In one of those large front windows is a continually running video called “Ring Tales,” which spotlights different London Jeweler customer couples between 1926 and 2011, showing their pictures and telling each love story. It was created to celebrate London Jewelers’ 85 years in business, and now, with TWO specializing in bridal, it’s perfect, says Matt Martini, sales associate, “because it really adds interest. Sometimes people will come into the store and say, ‘That’s my niece or my parents or my grandparents in the video in your window.’ This video isn’t online — you have to come into the store to see it.”

However, TWO did use its Facebook page to encourage people to send in their photos and stories for the video.

Paige Chernick is coordinator of TWO’s social media, which includes Twitter, YouTube, and Pinterest, in addition to Facebook. When TWO ran a 30-day Faecbook competition in December called “Treasure Quest,” Paige says, “It was so successful that we increased our Facebook fan page by 9,000 or 10,000 just in the one month that we ran the contest!”

Three couples who won an online scavenger hunt were invited to play TWO’s version of “The Newlywed Game” in the store, and whoever correctly answered the most questions about their partner received a Ritani engagement ring. The store also posted a short video of the guy who won it calling the girl’s parents to tell them they won the ring and asking if he had their permission to marry their daughter. Such a fun and engaging event aptly reflects “the TWO experience” that Scott and Jessica Udell envisioned and that their customers are now embracing.

HEARSAY

“It’s not unusual for a customer to bring in a friend — someone who’s never been here before and they’ll say, hello, but then they tell us they’re going to give their friend a tour of our store!”