Williams Jewelers, Englewood, CO
OWNERS: Steve and Diane Williams ;OPENED FEATURED LOCATION: 2017; DESIGN FIRM: Leslie McGwire and Associates; EMPLOYEES: 19; AREA: 12,000 square feet;SHOWCASES: Artco Group;TOP BRANDS: Rolex, Tacori, Verragio, Hearts on Fire, John Hardy
WILLIAMS JEWELERS OF ENGLEWOOD boasts glamorous eye-catching design elements, including a 6-foot chandelier dripping with gold aspen leaves, clouds of light that float from the ceiling and Swarovski-crystal studded wallpaper.
On the other side of the design equation are rustic sliding barn doors, textured cork walls, beetle-kill wood planking on the ceiling and an informal man cave with fireplace and comfortably classic leather chairs.
The Williams family, working closely with interior designer Leslie McGwire, have married the two halves of the store’s personality into one beautiful, functional showplace designed to evoke a wide-open mountain retreat, with the ceiling reaching a height of 30 feet in some places. The exterior’s stone, wood and stucco coordinates with the interior design.
They call the results Colorado glam.
“We have put our hearts into the design and atmosphere of our new store,” says third-generation family member Shaina Williams, vice president of operations. “We wanted our customers to feel like they were walking into our home. We hand selected the finish and casework to resemble a Colorado mountain retreat. “
Original showcases made the move to the new location, while additional cases were made by Artco Group with cherry wood accents to tie them all together.
The circular bridal and diamond experience area flows into the diamond rooms.
Directly off the sales floor, a customer lounge, also known as a man-cave, boasts a separate, complementary environment with a bar, local beers on tap, a fireplace and a TV. The man-cave is decorated with signed Denver Bronco jerseys. A jewelry case was converted into a combination bar and watch museum for a vintage Rolex collection. “That’s a place I like to hang out,” says Steve Williams, Shaina’s father, who owns the business with his wife, Diane.
They give McGwire credit for polishing their ideas into perfection and making the floor plan as functional as it is beautiful. “We wanted someone who could take all our deas, my ideas, my dad’s ideas and my stepmom’s ideas, and help us with our decision making,” Shaina says. “I call her a design counselor. She would take all of this in and present us with options for the design, the flow and the price point.”
Loving the Location
While the family achieved the look and flow each member had envisioned, they also snagged what is clearly the perfect corner location diagonally across from the strip mall spot they had occupied for 50 years. The corner itself is much more visible, and has a high traffic count, which has made a significant difference in the foot traffic and growth of the business. “Customers would drive by for years and have no idea we were there,” Shaina says. “Now we have a much larger and more visible store.”
Many customers are new, finding the business only after it opened its showplace of a store. “It blows them away, how beautiful it is,” Steve says.
New customers mean new business, much to Steve’s relief. “It’s always scary to borrow money to build a building,” Steve says. “It’s daunting if you look at it that way, but if you look at it as a monthly payment, it may be close to what your rent is. In our case, we were able to double the size of our building to over 12,500 square feet.” Now they can accommodate up to 300 people for an event, of which there are many, from diamond expos and estate buying to trunk shows and a VIP holiday party.
Adjusting to all that new space took some time, Shaina says. “We can’t find anyone. We need pagers! We built a little bigger than what we need on purpose because everyone told us to build it for 10 years from now, which it seems was excellent advice since
Williams has already achieved significant increase in business in less than a year at the new location.”
The best thing about having so much space is the intimate areas they were able to create within the overall floor plan, Shaina says. Bridal represents at least a quarter of the business and is afforded generous, designated space in the store. “I like the separate bridal experience in the back. When sales consultants are working with people, you can get more private; before, you could hear other conversations.” The bridal enclave can accommodate eight or 10 couples, without the space feeling crowded.
Before the store opened, the most visible form of marketing was signage at the construction site.
“Everyone was curious about what the building was going to be,” Steve says. “We did do radio ads, social media, email, but the biggest thing was people driving by and seeing the huge building with our signs.”
Family Traditions
The family business was founded by Steve’s parents Gene and Beth Williams. Gene, an apprentice watchmaker, rented an 800 square foot store in Stockton, KS, after World War II. Beth became one of the first women watchmakers in Kansas. After their boys were born, they moved west to Englewood, a Denver suburb, where the family business has been an enduring part of the community for more than 50 years. When they moved into the new building, the family found an envelope that had been lodged behind Beth’s desk drawer. She had written a note “Save for good luck, first sale” along with two quarters and three pennies. At the ribbon cutting ceremony for the new building, the family toasted Gene and Beth’s memory. The watchmaking tradition continues: there’s still a watchmaker on site.
Steve credits his business success to his willingness to listen to the third-generation — his children Shaina, Evan and Dylan — and his open-minded attitude toward change.
“A lot of folks don’t like change, and we’ve been through changes that are unbelievable,” he says. “Be open to change and to the next generation,” he suggests. “Accept the challenge of growth.”
Dylan Williams is a jewelry and watch specialist on the sales team as well as the estate buyer. Evan Williams leads IT, graphic design and photography.
Says Shaina: “The business has been a part of my life since I was a little girl. My heart’s always been here. I’ve worked in every department. Now I’m on the operations side and I really love it.”
Says Steve: “When she was little, I had her cleaning glass and helping jewelers pull diamonds out of bench sweeps.”
Working with family can be a challenge, but Steve says a weekly meeting keeps everyone on track.
“It takes the right type of personality to work with your family, and we’ve been blessed with patient family members,” he says.
PHOTO GALLERY (18 IMAGES)
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Five Cool Things About Williams Jewelers of Englewood
1. Digital signage. The store has a 125-square-foot digital screen on an exterior corner tower that displays rotating marketing messages. They also post jewelry jokes and questions for drivers to answer.
2. Stellar reviews. “When people give us compliments, we’ll ask for reviews, but we don’t offer an incentive,” says Shaina, who is in charge of social media and may need to add staff to keep up with the demands. She’s grown a community of 51,000 followers on Facebook and 1,500 on Instagram.
3. Who’s up? “We make sure we greet everybody,” Shaina says. “That’s the most important thing. We don’t let people walk around without greeting them.”
4. Glam RETREAT. Tile in the elegant, upscale ladies’ room is embedded with Swarovski crystals. A chandelier adds even more pizzazz.
5. Cute mascots. “We love our greeter/store mascots BooBoo and Moose, both Australian shepherds,” Shaina says.
WHAT THE JUDGES SAY
- Katherine Bodoh: The bright interior and the outdoor signage create a modern feel.
- Laura Davis: I adore their focus on customer experience and their warmth. The genuine consideration toward care and little touches are wonderful. The store design is thoughtful. They have amazing potential and a lovely store.