Editor's Note

Can We Just Talk About Jewelry For A Change?

INSTORE editor-in-chief previews the June issue and Online Jewelry Week.

Published

3 years ago

June 30, 2020

Trace Shelton Instore July 2020 Issue

LET’S FACE IT: The last three-plus months have been downright depressing. We all know what’s been happening. Remember when your biggest concern was what to do about lab-grown diamonds? The problems we’re facing today make that one look like a walk in the park.

At INSTORE, we’ve raced to cover the news, record webinars, and provide advice for handling the coronavirus, the economy and the riots/looting in as many ways as we could think of, both digitally and in print. We’ve put on a week-long trade event called Online Jewelry Week to connect jewelry suppliers, service providers and organizations with retailers in the absence of the Vegas shows. (If you watched it, let us know how you liked it … and when you’d like to see us do it again.)

Like you, we’ve been scrambling to figure out the best way forward. But right now, we just need a few minutes of “down time” and a laugh — and I imagine you do, too.

That’s why, in this issue, we bring you the biggest collection of jaw-dropping, head-shaking, side-splitting, stomach-churning stories ever assembled from the front lines of jewelry retail: Ultimate True Tales. If you can get through these hilarious accounts — all provided anonymously by you, our readers — without a chuckle, or more likely, a guffaw, then you might need to check your humor meter.

A quick break and a laugh can do wonders for one’s outlook. We hope you enjoy these “true tales”!

Can We Just Talk About Jewelry For A Change?

Trace Shelton

Editor-in-Chief, INSTORE
trace@smartworkmedia.com

Five Smart Tips You’ll Find in This Issue

Create a visual board and urge everyone to pin a Post-it note of an upbeat interaction they had with another team member each week. (Manager’s To-Do, p. 28)
Cultivate a collection of photography for future use in your social channels. (Manager’s To-Do, p. 28)
Teach all sales associates to act as “servant sellers” to bring needed tools or items, polish jewelry or bring a beverage into other presentations. (Shane Decker, p. 48)
Set up a “dog cooling station” outside your store in summer months (a baby pool with water). (Tip Sheet, p. 44)
Host a virtual showcase with your top clients for favorite new jewelry arrivals or top seasonal picks. (Kathleen Cutler, p. 53)

When There’s No Succession Plan, Call Wilkerson

Bob Wesley, owner of Robert C. Wesley Jewelers in Scottsdale, Ariz., was a third-generation jeweler. When it was time to enjoy life on the other side of the counter, he weighed his options. His lease was nearing renewal time and with no succession plan, he decided it was time to call Wilkerson. There was plenty of inventory to sell and at first, says Wesley, he thought he might try to manage a sale himself. But he’s glad he didn’t. “There’s no way I could have done this as well as Wilkerson,” he says. Wilkerson took responsibility for the entire event, with every detail — from advertising to accounting — done, dusted and managed by the Wilkerson team. “It’s the complete package,” he says of the Wilkerson method of helping jewelers to easily go on to the next phase of their lives. “There’s no way any retailer can duplicate what they’ve done.”