Next Generation Owners See Opportunity in Bozeman

Published

6 years ago

February 1, 2019

Eileen McClelland Instore February 2019 Issue

When Jennifer Hornik Johnson was working in advertising in Atlanta, she might have had a hard time envisioning how she’d end up owning a jewelry store in Bozeman, MT. Born into a South Florida jewelry store family, Hornik decided to return there to work with her family, who sent her to the GIA to pursue a GG degree. While at the GIA, she met Cec Johnson, a former math teacher, who had also decided to work in his family business, Miller’s Jewelry of Bozeman, MT.

“It ended up being a marriage and a merger,” Jennifer says. For a while they commuted betweenSouth Florida and Montana, assuming a snowbird kind of schedule and working in both stores. But when their first baby came along, they realized they needed more stability and chose to settle down in Bozeman. Now they have two young children.

When Cec’s parents, Mark and Kay, turned 65 last year, it seemed like a natural time for them to transition into retirement. So on Jan. 1, Cec and Jennifer became the proud new owners of Miller’s Jewelry.

Miller’s Jewelry has been in the Johnson family for three decades, but it was established in 1882 — a year before Bozeman was incorporated — and had been owned by several local families before the Johnsons. The business has occupied one of the oldest buildings on Main Street for more than 70 years and is outfitted with wall cases built in the 1880s and safes from the turn of the 20th century. It’s a piece of history and a stop on city tours.

Next Generation Owners See Opportunity in Bozeman

Cec and Jennifer Johnson are the new owners of his family’s store in Montana.

Cec and Jennifer see a lot of room for growth in Bozeman, which is both college town and tourist destination.

“We’re really excited about this chapter,” Jennifer says. “We knew what we were getting into. I do all the accounting and marketing; he does the inventory and he will have to take over more of the lab, which was his father’s domain. His mom was head of the sales floor, so we’re going to be doing more of that. We both did buying and inventory and merchandising and HR; we wear all the hats. It’s just going to be even more.”
Cec has two sisters who are not in the industry, so buying the business worked out best for their situation. “We did a big retirement sale and that was a way to touch more people and convey the message of the passing of the baton. And also sell a lot of inventory to lower our buy price and clean up older inventory.”

The new owners plan to ease out of the giftware business entirely to concentrate on fine jewelry.

Ready to Relocate? Wilkerson Makes Your Move Seamless

When Brockhaus Jewelry decided to leave their longtime West Main Street storefront for a standalone building elsewhere in Norman, Oklahoma, owners John Brockhaus and Brad Shipman faced a familiar challenge: how to efficiently reduce inventory before the big move. Their solution? Partnering with liquidation specialists Wilkerson for a second time. "We'd already experienced Wilkerson's professionalism during a previous sale," Shipman recalls. "But their approach to our relocation event truly impressed us. They strategically prioritized our existing pieces while tactfully introducing complementary merchandise as inventory levels decreased." The carefully orchestrated sale didn't just meet targets—it shattered them. Asked if they'd endorse Wilkerson to industry colleagues planning similar transitions—whether relocating, retiring, or refreshing their space—both partners were emphatic in their approval. "The entire process was remarkably straightforward," Shipman notes. "Wilkerson delivered a well-structured program, paired us with a knowledgeable advisor, and managed every detail flawlessly from concept to completion."