J. Shea Jewelers

Published

13 years ago

October 1, 2010

ABILENE, TX

J. Shea Jewelers

[dropcap cap=P]roblems don’t seem to exist in the world of 31-year-old Jeremy Shea Leech. Only opportunities. Whether it’s the recession, gold’s inflationary spiral, his youthful looks (great for marketing CAD/CAM) or his total lack of experience, connections and capital when he started, everything has a plus side if you only look hard enough. “If it wasn’t for my naiveté I might never have done this,” he explains. [/dropcap]

CUSTOMERS EVERYWHERE: Of all the “challenges,” his approach to competition might seem the hardest to understand. Open a jewelry business in Abilene and Leech is likely to be at your doorstop with a warm welcome and a business card. The approach has seen him pick up watch-battery customers from Walmart (which won’t service customers who bought their watch elsewhere), custom-job clients from James Avery who can’t wait for its six-week turnaround time and work from pawn shops, which often need repairs or appraisals.

10,000 CLIENTS: By beating the sidewalk, keeping an open mind and following up on every first-time customer with a card or phone call, Leech has built up a database of 10,000 clients in a little over 10 years. “Come in the store a customer and leave a friend. That’s my goal.”

PERSONALITY: It’s a personality-centered approach that’s driven impressive growth. Since it opened in 1999, his store has enjoyed average annual sales growth of 17 percent a year, even during the recession. This year, from a bigger base, he expects to grow 15 percent to $450,000. “Business comes down to people skills and breaking down barriers,” says Leech, who keeps in touch with his customers through events such as barbecues and phone chats.

COLUMN: The single biggest customer builder, however, has been a column he writes in the local paper. “It has nothing to do with the business. Just some life lessons. I’ve written about my grandmother’s death, when I was robbed. I let people know I am a human, that we all have our crosses to bear. It’s amazing how many customers have come in the door because of something they read.”

[span class=note]This story is from the October 2010 edition of INSTORE[/span]

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.”