WHAT YOU’RE HOLDING in your hands is one of the most important collaborative projects in the jewelry business. It's our second annual Big Survey — where we ask jewelers around the country a hundred-plus questions about virtually every aspect of their businesses.
Last year, we were extremely pleased to get 550 jewelers to invest the time in taking our inaugual Big Survey. This year, numbers rose to more than 750 — making this by far the largest survey of its kind. And all we can say is “wow” — thanks so much for your time and support.
This special edition contains tons of useful information — with important insights into how your fellow jewelers buy, sell, pay, profit, market, service, protect themselves, and even how they feel.
We think you'll find it a typically eclectic package — we can't imagine there's another magazine in the world where you'll find David Geller, Roberto Coin, and Monica Lewinsky mentioned in the same story.)
Use this information carefully. For example, it would be the height of complacency to decide that, since 41 percent of jewelers don't know their Gross Margin Return on Inventory Investment, that you really don't need to figure out this important barometer of inventory performance. (Evaluating your inventory solely on sales would be like a baseball general manager judging a free-agent pitcher only on wins — even though he's got an ERA of 5-point-something.)
Enjoy the Big Survey!
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Wishing you the very best business
David Squires
Associate Publisher
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."
