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.

Family Legacy, New Chapter: How Wilkerson Turns 89 Years of History Into Future Success

After 89 years of serving the Albany community, Harold Finkle Your Jeweler faced a pivotal decision. For third-generation owner Justin Finkle, the demanding hours of running a small business were taking precious time away from his young family. "After 23 years, I decided this was the time for me," Finkle explains. But closing a business with nearly nine decades of inventory and customer relationships isn't something easily managed alone. Wilkerson's comprehensive approach transformed this challenging transition into a remarkable success story. Their strategic planning handled everything from advertising and social media to inventory management and staffing — elements that would overwhelm most jewelers attempting to navigate a closing sale independently. The results speak volumes. "Wilkerson gave us three different tiers of potential goals," Finkle notes. "We've reached that third tier, that highest goal already, and we still have two weeks left of the sale." The partnership didn't just meet financial objectives—it exceeded them ahead of schedule.