IN THE PROCESS of creating each issue of this magazine, we learn lots of interesting new stuff. But every once in a while, we come across a piece of advice or knowledge that’s so important that it sticks in our head, and we can’t stop thinking about it. In this issue, such an epiphany occurred while reading the article from Malcolm Alderton on inventory management that’s one of the highlights of our lead story, “Ready Or Not?”, designed to help you prepare for the big Las Vegas shows.
In his article, Alderton writes: ?The industry has to recognize that until a consumer buys a piece of jewelry, that item is a liability ? and not just to the retailer, but to every sector of the industry.? Alderton then goes on to describe the chain of events affecting wholesalers, manufacturers, miners, and others, that occurs when an old jewelry item sits unsold in a retailer’s display case.
You’ve probably heard of the “Butterfly Effect” — an example of chaos theory which explains how a single butterfly flapping its wings in South America can cause a chain of circumstances that eventually results in a massive earthquake in China. Anyway, we’ll call the jeweler’s version of this phenomenon the “Butterfly Brooch Effect” in which a single hideously ugly piece of jewelry that won’t sell, no way, no how, can, in the end, hurt companies and put people out of work around the world.
Whew! And you thought you had enough responsibility just putting food on the table for yourself, your wife, and your children. But the point is, selling more of your jewelry — and, in particular, selling more of your aged inventory, is not only good for you, it’s good for everyone else. From INSTORE’S perspective, this realization makes us feel an increased sense of responsibility to help you raise your sales to new heights. But it also gives us a greater sense of confidence. Confidence that our magazine’s mission — to provide jewelry retailers with concentrated knowledge and useful ideas that will directly improve your business — is one that not only benefits you, it benefits the entire industry. So let’s keep selling … together!
Wishing you the very best business …
David Squires
Executive Editor and Associate Publisher
