Big Survey

Big Survey: Here’s What Jewelers Are Doing To Prepare for the Next Economic Downturn

‘Making hay while the sun shines,’ said one jeweler.

Published

7 years ago

November 9, 2018

Eileen McClelland

Big Survey: Here’s What Jewelers Are Doing To Prepare for the Next Economic Downturn

WHILE SOME JEWELERS are just “rolling with it,” and others are doing their best to manage inventory, stay debt free and market consistently, others (you know who you are!) are holding your breath, praying or bingeing on comfort food to banish those negative thoughts.

Here are a range of additional comments on that topic:

- We have chosen to ignore it, just like Wall Street has.
- Just riding the wave until it crashes into the shore.
- Investing in equipment.
- Making hay while the sun shines.
- Still trying to get to the upturn.
- We are shrinking our stock with faster moving and better selling items.
- By doing more for the client than they ask for.
- Banking it will last 10 more years.
- Ride this pony for all she has left.
- Making new inventory from gems I own.
- Purchasing more real estate and more diamonds.
- Keeping on top of trends.
- Pushing the fashion category because bridal will come on its own.
- Downsizing.
- Trying to create meaningful relationships with our customers so they remember us later.
- Renovating, training and hiring more experienced people to maintain an edge.
- Plan to own the building by then so our monthly expenses are minimum. And there’s an apartment upstairs so we have a place to live — just in case.

Honoring a Legacy: How Smith & Son Jewelers Exceeded Every Goal With Wilkerson

When Andrew Smith decided to close the Springfield, Massachusetts location of Smith & Son Jewelers, the decision came down to family. His father was retiring after 72 years in the business, and Andrew wanted to spend more time with his children and soon-to-arrive grandchildren. For this fourth-generation jeweler whose great-grandfather founded the company in 1918, closing the 107-year-old Springfield location required the right partner. Smith chose Wilkerson, and the experience exceeded expectations from start to finish. "Everything they told me was 100% true," Smith says. "The ease and use of all their tools was wonderful." The consultants' knowledge and expertise proved invaluable. Smith and his father set their own financial goal, but Wilkerson proposed three more ambitious targets. "We thought we would never make it," Smith explains. "We were dead wrong. We hit our first goal, second goal and third goal. It was amazing." Smith's recommendation is emphatic: "I would never be able to do what they did by myself."