Headlines

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

Published

9 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.

You Wouldn’t Cut Your Own Hair. Why Run Your Own Retirement Sale?

After being in business for over a quarter of a century, Wayne Reid, owner of Wayne Jewelers in Wayne, Pennsylvania, decided it was time for a little “me time.” He says, “I’ve reached a point in my life where it’s time to slow down, enjoy a lot of things outside of the jewelry industry. It just seemed to be the right time.” He chose Wilkerson to handle his retirement sale because of their reputation and results. With financial goals exceeded, Reid says he made the right choice selecting Wilkerson to handle the sale. “They made every effort to push our jewelry to the forefront of the showcases,” he says, lauding Wilkerson for their finesse and expertise. Would he recommend them to other jewelers who want to make room for new merchandise, expand their business or like him, decide to call it a day? Absolutely he says, equating trying to do this kind of sale with cutting your own hair. “The results are going to happen but not as well as if you have a professional like Wilkerson do the job for you.”