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Inbox: August 2016

Published

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Inbox: August 2016

Loann Stokes of Stokes
Jewelry Services in
Stillwater, MN, gets
some work done at the
bench in her favorite
old (circa early-2000s)
INSTORE Brain Squad
T-shirt.

HAVE FAITH

The jewelry business is definitely going through
a change, and retailers seem to be thinning out.
Yeah, things are changing, but it’s not all for the
bad. It’s time to be optimistic, vigilant and have
faith that there is a lot of promise for the future.

Gannon Brousseau, Marc Majors, Sam L. Majors, Midland, TX

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This article originally appeared in the August 2016 edition of INSTORE.


OLD, SMELLY,
GRUMPY

As I travel around the
USA, I frequently stop into
jewelry stores. I love to
learn, and what better way
than from other jewelers?
I would have to say that
half of them are very sad
to me. Antiquated, old,
smelly, grumpy … They
needed to close their
doors a long time ago and
stop giving good jewelers
a bad name. But the
other half, WOW! They
inspire me, encourage me, motivate me. Kudos
to those out there giving
it their all. This is what a
jewelry store should be. —
Doug Meadows, David
Douglas Diamonds &
Jewelry, Marietta, GA


MORE INFO,
PLEASE

A few manufacturers,
designers, and vendors
put complete information
about a piece on a tag or on
the invoice. Most do not.
It would make it much
easier if they provided the retailer with the number
of stones, TCW, etc. for all
items. —

Gary Richmond,
Van Horne & Co.,
Granger, IN


FULL OF
SURPRISES

I enjoyed reading the July
issue. It was a fun read —
retail is full of surprises! —

Betsy Barron, Love &
Luxe, San Francisco, CA

Advertisement

A MATTER
OF SCALE

I wish you could scale
the scope of your articles
down to those under
$500,000 in sales. It seems
that all your contributors
are from major markets
or major corporations.
They see the world from
the second-story executive
office, not from the
broom-handle end of the
business. They always
assume we have 10 to 12
staff members to train
and assign duties for. Not
all of us have a 2 to 5 million
population to draw
from either. Scalability
is the challenge reading
most of the articles. It
would be neat to have a
section of downsized ideas
matching the big ideas
from your writers. —
Bill
Longnecker, Longnecker
Jewelry, McCook, NE



Send your letter to INSTORE’s editors at editor@instoremag.com.

Advertisement

SPONSORED VIDEO

This Third-Generation Jeweler Was Ready for Retirement. He Called Wilkerson

Retirement is never easy, especially when it means the end to a business that was founded in 1884. But for Laura and Sam Sipe, it was time to put their own needs first. They decided to close J.C. Sipe Jewelers, one of Indianapolis’ most trusted names in fine jewelry, and call Wilkerson. “Laura and I decided the conditions were right,” says Sam. Wilkerson handled every detail in their going-out-of-business sale, from marketing to manning the sales floor. “The main goal was to sell our existing inventory that’s all paid for and turn that into cash for our retirement,” says Sam. “It’s been very, very productive.” Would they recommend Wilkerson to other jewelers who want to enjoy their golden years? Absolutely! “Call Wilkerson,” says Laura. “They can help you achieve your goals so you’ll be able to move into retirement comfortably.”

Promoted Headlines

Most Popular

Inbox

Inbox: August 2016

Published

on

Inbox: August 2016

Loann Stokes of Stokes
Jewelry Services in
Stillwater, MN, gets
some work done at the
bench in her favorite
old (circa early-2000s)
INSTORE Brain Squad
T-shirt.

HAVE FAITH

The jewelry business is definitely going through
a change, and retailers seem to be thinning out.
Yeah, things are changing, but it’s not all for the
bad. It’s time to be optimistic, vigilant and have
faith that there is a lot of promise for the future.

Gannon Brousseau, Marc Majors, Sam L. Majors, Midland, TX

Advertisement

This article originally appeared in the August 2016 edition of INSTORE.


OLD, SMELLY,
GRUMPY

As I travel around the
USA, I frequently stop into
jewelry stores. I love to
learn, and what better way
than from other jewelers?
I would have to say that
half of them are very sad
to me. Antiquated, old,
smelly, grumpy … They
needed to close their
doors a long time ago and
stop giving good jewelers
a bad name. But the
other half, WOW! They
inspire me, encourage me, motivate me. Kudos
to those out there giving
it their all. This is what a
jewelry store should be. —
Doug Meadows, David
Douglas Diamonds &
Jewelry, Marietta, GA


MORE INFO,
PLEASE

A few manufacturers,
designers, and vendors
put complete information
about a piece on a tag or on
the invoice. Most do not.
It would make it much
easier if they provided the retailer with the number
of stones, TCW, etc. for all
items. —

Gary Richmond,
Van Horne & Co.,
Granger, IN


FULL OF
SURPRISES

I enjoyed reading the July
issue. It was a fun read —
retail is full of surprises! —

Advertisement

Betsy Barron, Love &
Luxe, San Francisco, CA


A MATTER
OF SCALE

I wish you could scale
the scope of your articles
down to those under
$500,000 in sales. It seems
that all your contributors
are from major markets
or major corporations.
They see the world from
the second-story executive
office, not from the
broom-handle end of the
business. They always
assume we have 10 to 12
staff members to train
and assign duties for. Not
all of us have a 2 to 5 million
population to draw
from either. Scalability
is the challenge reading
most of the articles. It
would be neat to have a
section of downsized ideas
matching the big ideas
from your writers. —
Bill
Longnecker, Longnecker
Jewelry, McCook, NE



Send your letter to INSTORE’s editors at editor@instoremag.com.

Advertisement

SPONSORED VIDEO

This Third-Generation Jeweler Was Ready for Retirement. He Called Wilkerson

Retirement is never easy, especially when it means the end to a business that was founded in 1884. But for Laura and Sam Sipe, it was time to put their own needs first. They decided to close J.C. Sipe Jewelers, one of Indianapolis’ most trusted names in fine jewelry, and call Wilkerson. “Laura and I decided the conditions were right,” says Sam. Wilkerson handled every detail in their going-out-of-business sale, from marketing to manning the sales floor. “The main goal was to sell our existing inventory that’s all paid for and turn that into cash for our retirement,” says Sam. “It’s been very, very productive.” Would they recommend Wilkerson to other jewelers who want to enjoy their golden years? Absolutely! “Call Wilkerson,” says Laura. “They can help you achieve your goals so you’ll be able to move into retirement comfortably.”

Promoted Headlines

Most Popular