Headlines

Meet the Woman Who’s Prepping Alex and Ani to Go Public in the Next Two Years

Published

8 years ago

March 18, 2016

INSTORE Staff

Veteran CFO takes different tack with sales strategy.

Jayne Fitzpatrick-Conway, the chief financial officer of jewelry maker Alex and Ani, is leading a distinct sales strategy for her company that she believes will result in a deeper connection with customers and thus build greater loyalty, CFO magazine writes.

The strategy’s foundation is selling jewelry based on its “meaning” rather than focusing on bling and impulse buying, the article says. As she describes it to the magazine: “Where some might view us a jewelry company, the consumer has loyalty around the meaning of our jewelry and their emotional connections to those meanings. That’s what gives us sustainable growth, beyond [being] just another jewelry company.”

The rest of the piece is a deep dive on the company that explains its brick-and-mortar strategy and vertical integration, as well as its ambition to go public in the next few years. But before Alex and Ani reaches that point, Fitzpatrick-Conway will have to guide the company through multiple audits.

Wilkerson Testimonials

Wilkerson: “They Feel Like Family”

Newton’s Jewelers in Fort Smith, Ark., was a true institution. But after being at the helm for most of his life, owner (and descendent of the original founder) Kelly Newton decided it was time to retire. He chose Wilkerson to handle the sale. “I’ve known the owners of Wilkerson for a long, long time. I felt at home with them,” he says. The final retirement sale was just a “blast” and the Wilkerson sales team made it so very simple and straightforward, says Newton. Would he recommend Wilkerson to others? Absolutely. “They’ve done incredible work,” says Newton. “They feel like family.”