Press Releases

Edge Retail Academy Aggregates Data From Over 1,100 Stores

It’s the ‘single largest aggregator of independent retailers.’

Published

4 years ago

August 6, 2019

INSTORE Staff

(PRESS RELEASE) The Edge Retail Academy (ERA), a retail jewelry business advising company, announced that it now has over 1,100 retail stores contributing sales and inventory data to its Edge Pulse program. The aggregated data of these doors exceeds $5 billion in sales.

“We are the single largest aggregator of independent retailers, which gives retailers and vendors access to the most robust data,” said Sherry Smith, director of business development, ERA.

Retailers access this real-time data through ERA’s Edge Pulse program on any device from anywhere. The benchmarking feature allows them to measure their performance against their peers, easily identify growing categories and brands among peer stores, and take quick action to capture this trending business.

Edge Retail Academy has an exclusive integration with The Edge, the leading POS provider in the retail jewelry industry. Dick Abbott, president of The Edge, said, “Edge Pulse provides valuable data about sales and inventory to help jewelers better run their businesses.”

“ERA is the only aggregator who has industry trends customized to their needs,” Smith added.

Vendors can subscribe to the aggregated data to better understand sell-through data and inventory levels.

“Our comparative analysis feature allows vendors to measure their performance against industry performance,” said Smith.

“The Vendor Services program has been a great way for us to see how we are performing at retail. This gives us the opportunity to engage our retail-partners in ways that helps our business and theirs, based on real-time data and a mutual desire to drive turn and inventory efficiency,” said Peter Smith, president of Mémoire.

Vendors participating in the program include DeBeers, NPD, Hearts of Fire, Pandora and David Yurman, among others.

Smith noted that retailer data is aggregated anonymously. Vendors must have their retailer’s approval to see sell-through data on specific products.

ERA distributes insights from the sales data at an industry level monthly in its ‘The Vibe’ newsletter. The email is free; interested retailers and vendors can be added by indicating interest to Inquiries@EdgeRetailAcademy.com.

More information about the Edge Pulse program for retailers can be found here.

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.”