THERE’S AN OLD SAYING: “You can’t read the label if you’re sitting inside the jar.” By definition, you’re “inside the jar” of your business. Which is why it can be so powerful to gather opinions and feedback from those who don’t live and breathe in it the way you do.
For years, INSTORE’s sister publication, INDESIGN, ran a regular section called “If I Owned a Jewelry Store,” featuring essays from authors, business leaders, celebrities — heck, once we even had a museum curator. (To read these, including articles from thought-leaders like Seth Godin, Daniel Pink, Jeffrey Gitomer, Kathy Ireland, Ivanka Trump and many more visit http//instoremag.com/ifIowned
With jewelry retailing now undergoing an evolution of sorts, we thought now would be the perfect time to bring back this concept in the pages of INSTORE.
So go ahead: climb outside that jar and see what’s on the label!
vocalist and guitarist, zz top
BILLY GIBBONS, vocalist and guitarist for ZZ Top, has teamed up with goldsmith and retailer Amber Gustafson of Houston to launch a line of jewelry with a “hot-rodded mindset”, which will be available on his website http//www.billygibbons.com He favors heavyweight creations set with gemstones and finely braided leather wraps intertwined with “some mean-machined imagery.” If he did open a store, he’d even like to work there. “The surroundings of shiny things make for an appealing experience,” Gibbons says. “And that ain’t work!”
Of course, my store would have a rock ‘n roll theme. Bigger is better. Louder is a must! We really do enjoy the high energy and emotion that means rock ‘n roll. ZZ Top’s brand of rock keeps our attention toward the big and bold.
celebrity stylist, designer, marketer
If I owned a jewelry store, I would want the store to be perceived as much more in a fashion realm than in a jewelry realm. It would be customer-friendly and at ease. I’d want to take away that stigma of not being able to touch or interact with the jewelry or having to ask a salesperson to be able to see and touch it.
For over 30 years, MICHAEL O’CONNOR has promoted the jewelry industry as a designer, marketer and a celebrity stylist, showcasing jewelry internationally on television, radio, online and in print. O’Connor works with designers, manufacturers and retailers, helping them to create and evolve their brands, position, target market and to generate awareness and desire. O’Connor has recently launched a line of jewelry under his own name on Jewelry Television in partnership with Premier Jewelry Co. “The brand is based upon my design background, as well as my background in celebrity styling and red-carpet experiences,” O’Connor says.
luxury marketing expert, author
PAM DANZIGER, author of Shops That Pop! 7 Steps To Extraordinary Retail Success, is a luxury marketing expert and founder of Unity Marketing. Her most recent book reveals the secrets to crafting a retail shopping experience that’s irresistible to high-value shoppers.
If I owned a jewelry store, I’d want it to be an extraordinarily different kind of jewelry store. I’d want it located on an active “Main Street” surrounded by other extraordinary shops, boutiques, pubs, restaurants and other places that attract guests with fun things to do and see. I’d want my store to be an exciting place where people can experience jewelry shopping in a brand new way. I’d make my jewelry shop pop!
Retail today has evolved from a product business to a people business. When people simply want a product, they can get it “Internet-easy, Internet-fast.” Going shopping today is a choice, not a necessity. So I’d make the shopping experience rewarding, engaging and personally satisfying. Sure, I’d want to have cool jewelry, but I know that the success of my jewelry store will hinge not on what I sell, but how I sell it. That means putting people, both the shoppers and the staff, first. In other words, the product follows, rather than leads.
My plan to open a jewelry store starts with the three R’s — Research the opportunity; Reimagine what a wonderful jewelry shopping experience should be; and Recruit the right people to populate my store, both customers and staff. Let’s break the three R’s plan down:
OVER THE YEARS, we’ve read insights from a lot of experts. We’ve had the pleasure of reading about many, many jewelers doing cool things. We’ve done stories on how to improve each and every area of a jewelry retail business. We’ve delivered tips and advice from outside the jewelry industry.
So now, it’s our turn. Here’s how the editors at INSTORE would imagine our own jewelry stores.
Imagined by
Lately, I’m finding inspiration in quirky, handmade jewelry cases, stores that emphasize their artistic side and retailers who offer extreme hospitality (i.e., they have their own full-service bars).
If I owned a jewelry store, I’d like to incorporate those three ideas.
When I walk into a jewelry store that exudes personality, I’m always surprised and transfixed. When I recently saw New Orleans designer Ashley Porter’s take on a jewelry case — a glass box held aloft by a giant, carved-wood ostrich — I laughed out loud. Late last year, Porter opened her first store, called Porter-Lyons, in the French Quarter. Each piece of jewelry Porter designs has its own story related to the city itself, so sales associates never lack for a conversational gambit.
If I owned a jewelry store, I’d like to feature pieces that come with interesting stories, and décor that is distinctive and locally crafted, if possible.
Also, since I do live in New Orleans, which celebrates the cocktail, I’d like to have a bar, where regular shoppers can relax.
Self-purchasing women in particular like to chill while they’re shopping. We’ve become accustomed to sipping mimosas while having a spa pedicure, or being offered bottled water, at least, at a boutique. When Thomas Mann of Thomas Mann I/O Gallery in New Orleans hosts a special event in his space on Magazine Street, he cooks for guests and mixes drinks in his on-site kitchen. I don’t think you necessarily have to be a millennial to want to make brick and mortar shopping into an experience.
I like jewelry stores that have been able to incorporate the idea of art into their experience, too, whether the art is jewelry or another medium. Ariodante Gallery on Julia Street, New Orleans’ gallery row, specializes in jewelry and has a monthly art opening that often features the new work of a jewelry artist. Approaching a trunk show as an art opening could generate extra excitement.
Finally, as someone who enjoys living downtown more often than not, I’m partial to pedestrian-friendly locations surrounded by activity, where creative display windows can make a big impact, and where you might just catch a glimpse of a brass band or a parade on the street. For me, it’s all part of the shopping experience.
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IMAGINED BY
Creativity. Stories. Personal style. The new generation of jewelry buyer wants these things, so that’s what I’d give them.
Could custom jewelry capability and an array of fine designer jewelry coexist? Why not? I would also offer fashion jewelry as a point of entry into self-purchase. Between the three categories, clients can build a look suited to their unique tastes and desires, and they’ll also identify with the stories and inspirations of our designers or participate in their own story through custom design.
The store itself would be free-flowing and winding, utilizing stand-up and wall cases and incorporating full-length mirrors so that clients can see how an entire outfit looks with their jewelry. I would actually avoid technology like iPads and touch-screens because the particular experience in my store is organic. I want clients to feel the precious metals, peer into the gemstones, and get lost inside their own imaginations. Reconnect with the material world through tactile sensation.
If our competition is the Internet, let’s give our new generation of clientele an experience they could never find online — a fun, earthy adventure where touch and feel are intrinsic while keyboards and monitors belong somewhere else entirely.
IMAGINED BY
If I owned a store? My first mission would be to stand out. And the only way to stand out is to do something in an extraordinary manner.
It’s the Seth Godin thing, the “Purple Cow” thing. It was one of the first books I read after starting INSTORE Magazine, and it remains one of the most influential to me. (Along with Godin’s follow-up, Free Prize Inside.)
When you see a brown cow, you say “Oh.” When you see a purple cow, you say “whoa!”
If I owned a store, I would seek “whoa!”
I would not compete on price or on breadth of selection. It is hard (or expensive) to achieve “whoa!” in those areas.
My competitive strength would probably be somewhere in the area of service or customer experience. I might do one of the following things to become a Purple Cow in my county, state or even region:
All of these things are scary. All could fail colossally. My argument is this: if it’s not a bit scary, then what are you doing it for? And if it’s not different from what’s out there, what will people come to you for?
While my business would be famous for just one or two things, I would also seek to differentiate in as many areas, both big and small, as possible.
What does my door handle look like? What’s my telephone answering machine message sound like? What’s my 404 error page look like? Could I make my cash register receipts more fun? Multiply by the one thousand details of your store. And refresh all of those details every year or two. Whoa!
IMAGINED BY
If I were to take control of a jewelry store in 2017, I think the first thing I would do would be to unofficially change its name to the “Little Jewelry Store of 1,000 Experiments.”
The old ways of doing business are no longer a guarantee of success, and so it seems the only thing to do is experiment and optimize, experiment and optimize, over and over until we work out the new model.
Let’s start with location. Online retailers like Amazon and Blue Nile are rushing to open brick-and-mortar locations, partly because there are some categories people will always want to touch and try on — clothes, fruit and vegetables, fine jewelry — and partly because the location, location, location rule applies to Google: if you’re not on the first three pages, you’re not seen. And getting there is very expensive for brands. So, whether it’s a revitalized downtown district (my preference), a high-end mall, a smallish city with the right demographic fit, or just getting the right side of the street, a serious study of location — and maybe experimentation with a pop-up — would be in order. Then I’d want to build my online presence. It’s a long shot, but why spurn a potential national or even global market? In the near future, we’ll all be omnichannel retailers.
The path to purchase starts online, and, in jewelry’s case, hopefully ends in your store. But if you are going to bring people into your store, you have to provide better customer service than is available online. I would hire by personality, invest heavily in training, ensure my staff is heavily invested in the store’s success, and give my sales team a simple order: Make sure every customer makes the right choice and enjoys the process.
Final area: technology. It wouldn’t be obvious — I really like the “industrial throwback” chic of companies like Shinola — but I’d invest hugely in tech.
It’s said that if Amazon were to manually record all the orders it takes on its Prime Day, it would need a call center manned by 116,000 receptionists. Instead, it has virtually none as its customers do the order placement. Technology, whether it’s a fancy new POS system, a simple time tracker on your phone, or a chat messaging system that allows you to talk to customers and swap illustrated design ideas around the clock, can have a profound impact on your bottom line and your ability to compete. Learn how to harness it. And experiment. And optimize. Over and over.
AdvertisementYOU’VE READ ABOUT what the experts would do if they did own a jewelry store — but what if you didn’t? What if you packed up your showcases, boarded up the windows and said sayonara to the old ball-and-chain (your store, not your spouse) for the last time? Or what if you’d never gone down the path of jewelry retail in the first place? Here’s what some of INSTORE’s Brain Squad would be doing if they didn’t own a jewelry store.
Skippack Jewelers, Harleysville, PA
“Golfing in the Bahamas.”
Altobelli Jewelers, Burbank, CA
“When I was younger, baseball; I was recruited. I have done this so long I can’t imagine what else I would have done. I’m third generation.”
Hannoush Jewelers, Rutland, VT
“I used to want to be a ‘Solid Gold’ dancer. Since that ship has sailed, I probably would have a small diner serving breakfast and lunch, me being the cook, because I shine like a bright diamond in the kitchen.”
Jim Saylor Jewelers, Kapaa, HI
“Yacht skipper or builder.”
Genesis Jewelry, Muscle Shoals, AL
“In my next life, I’m not going to work 80 hours a week or have a job that requires me to lock everything in a safe a night. I want to come in the door and not need to put everything back in order. I also do not want to be a boss. I want to leave and go home and not think about the store and my customers. I don’t want to work weekends. I think about what I might do if I decided to walk away from the jewelry industry. I know it will not involve retail of any kind. I like the idea of building something.”
Ring Leader Fine Jewellers, Pickering, ON
“I’m actually a photographer by trade. I was one of the photographers for the Toronto Blue Jays as well as the Canadian Olympic team.”
Keir Fine Jewelry, Whistler, British Columbia, Canada
Raising bees.”
Doggett Jewelry, Kingston, NH
“I enjoy fine woodworking as a hobby. I always wondered if I could have made a living at it.”
Barnhardt Jewelers, Spencer, SC
“Working in preservation of historic homes. It’s seeing the beauty in something old and sentimental and finding a way to fix and preserve it so other people can enjoy it.”
Midwest Jewelers and Estate Buyers, Zionsville, IN
“I would probably try to learn to be a jeweler.”
Smith Jewelers, Franklin, VA
“I’d love to work in a history context in some way. At a museum, or being a re-enactor in Colonial Williamsburg or even at a Civil War or Revolutionary War battlefield park. There are many in Virginia. I’m a history nut!”
McCoy Jewelers, Dubuque, IA
“I would teach cooking classes in Florence, Italy, to tourists and expats.”
Clodius & Co. Jewelers, Rockford, IL
“Being an old hippie. Or something in customer service, teacher?”
Spath Jewelers, Bartow, FL
“I would be working in law enforcement of some kind, or I would be using my business degree, which was focused on running a collegiate athletic department.”
Simply Unique Jewelry Designs, Yorktown, VA
“I would be a chef. I was one in a past life and got tired of working every weekend and every holiday!”
Miller’s Jewelry, Bozeman, MT
“Working in marketing … possibly trying to be a writer. Whatever I’d be doing professionally, though, I’d definitely be traveling the world more.”
Watchmaker’s Diamonds & Jewelry, Johnstown, PA
“I would be developing and flipping small homes and apartments, which I did the first five years of my professional jewelry career. When I retire, I will once again begin real estate development company house flipping.”
Galloway & Moseley, Sumter, SC
“A wine taster. Or wine shop owner. I’d love to have a small shop, with bookshelves and couches and tables, cozy and inviting, where people could taste wine, hang out, and buy wine, of course!”
Town Jewelers, Chevy Chase, MD
“Plumber. I love their $150/hour labor fee, something that’s a fantasy for jewelers.”
Poole Jewelers, Tuscaloosa, AL
“Playing in a rock band. I put myself through college playing in a rock band, and, at 71, I still play in a rock band. Oldies, of course.”
Shamin Jewellers, Burnaby, British Columbia
“I would be an architect, designing beautiful homes and buildings instead of beautiful jewelry.”
SunSpirit Designs, Loveland, CO
“Growing marijuana.”
Steve’s Place, Madison, GA
“I’d operate a dude ranch.”
Miners North Jewelers, Traverse City, MI
“I would have been a stay-at-home mom. I see now I missed a lot; I was busy running a jewelry store. I see my kids enjoying their families so much more and balancing work and home.”
Rumanoff’s Fine Jewelry and Design, Hamden, CT
“I would be a meteorologist.”
OVER THE LAST DECADE, a slew of renowned business innovators have taken on the question, “What would I do if I owned a jewelry store?” Here is some of the most insightful advice.
Cater to jewelry maniacs. These are the women who like buying jewelry more than they like wearing it. In order to do this, you’ll need to figure out who they are and start stocking, displaying and talking about jewelry in terms of trends and seasons and looks. You’ll need to switch from being in the badge business to being in the fashion business.
If I owned a jewelry store, I’d dim the main lights, dump the glass counters, and burn all red signage. Entering the store would be more akin to walking onto a live film set with numerous scenes unfolding before me. I can shake the stained and calloused hand of the miner. I can feel the heat of the metal being forged. I can listen to the stone being cut and watch the shards fall. I can look through the eyes of the artist cobbling together a unique design. I can witness the polished stone being secured into place. Then I can hold the finished work of art.
In Manhattan, high-end stores keep their doors closed, guards at the front, and feature a “man-trap.” I always found it so off-putting and haughty. How could a brand promote a new kind of luxury and still resort to the same old tactics? Our guards wear suits and are well spoken and cordial to our clients. Our doors open without buzzers, and our space is open, soft, bright and feminine.
The ideal store would be indulgently fun. Lately, I have taken up competitive ballroom dancing. And I was amazed at how I, a relatively conservative dresser, could so easily adopt sequins, spray tan and extravagant gowns. That woman is inside all of us. Realize there are two women standing before you: The one you see, and the one she imagines herself to be.
Do you have a dressing room where someone can bring a gown and try it on with jewelry? Can she email you a photo of the dress and have you put together jewelry for her to accessorize it with before she comes in? I have a client where the mirror isn’t a mirror, it’s a big-screen TV. As the woman tries on outfits, she can take pictures of herself and review her outfits on the screen.
Over the years, INSTORE has won 80 international journalism awards for its publication and website. Contact INSTORE's editors at editor@instoremag.com.
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