Learn to love your inner bean counter

BY EILEEN MCCLELLAND

This article originally appeared in the March 2015 edition of INSTORE.

I admit, when it comes to this business, I’m attracted to and enchanted by the glamour and sparkle of the jewelry itself. I love to chat about what flashy new item caught your eye (or mine) in an ad or at a trade show, and how you will display it to best advantage. I enjoy learning about exciting new ideas for parties and events.

I’m fascinated by the cool, creative ways you’ve found to renovate and reinvent your spaces, too, and how environment meshes with the psychology of shopping.

Those are all important aspects of the jewelry retail business, but when it comes down to how your business will survive and thrive in increasingly competitive times, it is essential to take a look at the numbers, even when they seem intimidating.

In a recent Brain Squad survey, most respondents said they pay close attention to certain key performance indicators, ranging from foot traffic and fast sellers to profit margin and total sales numbers. But others said, “I wish I knew,” or “I’m not a numbers kind of guy,” or “I really should be better at this.”

So with that in mind, INSTORE’s Big Story this month focuses on what some of those key numbers are and why — especially if your business is struggling — you need to pay attention to them.
Dan Levinson, owner of Ellis Jewelers in Concord, NC, compares managing his business by the numbers to conducting a symphony.

“In a symphony, everybody’s got to be playing well, and if someone’s off-key it doesn’t sound good. In a jewelry store, you’ve got to curb discounting, have a proper markup on merchandise, and reorder fast sellers.”

Otherwise, the business will be out of tune.

Wishing you the very best business,