The Brain Squad Talks About Designer Jewelry

question:

Do you carry “designer jewelry” in your store?

Yes: 59%

• We have some brands but also are working towards our own. Sometimes the brands help with reassurance. — Jim C., Fayetteville, AR
• Brand recognition draws customers to our store and brand loyalty. — Michael R., Hamden, CT
• People come to us because they know what they see in our store is always beautiful and interesting. — Ellie M., St. Michaels, MD
• We have developed brand awareness for Simon G. and Zeghani over the last 25 years or so. Beyond these two, our customers are not extremely brand conscious, they shop with us because of the brand we have built for our store. — Barb B., Brighton, MI
• Added bonus, people don’t always want what everyone has. — Willa D., Iowa City, IA
• It brings traffic to the website. — Laura K., Oak Park, IL
• Guests like the names but often end up with custom requests. — Sherrie S., Tigard, OR
• We built our whole store around designers to set us apart from our competition. — Tom D., Warren, OH
• Not as much as I used to. I have to really love it, whether it’s a large name or not. — Cathy C., Royersford, PA
• Some customers are impressed with some recognized designer names. Helps to attract some customers. — Eileen E., Decatur, IN
• Very limited. We brand ourselves more than other companies. Also, we’ve watched small stores build up vendors over the years only to get the shaft once the vendor has become popular. — Julee J., Mankato, MN
• I define “designer jewelry” as vendors that have mandatory buy-ins. So, it is hard for a small store to be heavily invested in them. Because of that, we have tried only two lines. One bombed spectacularly, and the other, while not a runaway success, has steady sales. — Loann Stokes, Stokes Jewelry, Stillwater, MN

No: 41%

• Only the very few big designers bring people into your store. For the vast remainder, if the jewelry isn’t differentiated for another reason, the higher price isn’t justified in the customers’ minds. — Debbie F., Ventura, CA
• We do not have the clientele for designer jewelry, and they simply will not pay the price! — Steven R., Houston, TX
• Never liked the fact that with designer jewelry, you have to purchase minimum dollar amounts. — Frank S., Plantation, FL
• Because we make our own and want our BPJ brand to be the main focus. We will supplement inventory with lesser-known brands we wouldn’t consider “designer” brands at this stage. — Rebecca L., Ketchum, ID
• In our area, people are just not familiar with branded jewelry enough to justify investment. They like just having our name on the box. — Don B., Roswell, NM
• Our designs only! They are gorgeous, and we have a large collection of stunning color gems, which looks so refreshing to real jewelry lovers compared to the endless micro pave diamond pieces sold everywhere. — Jo G., Oconomowoc, WI
• Want the client to think of our store, not the designer. Have seen way too many designers screw over retailers. — John Thomas M., Albuquerque, NM
• We were faced with too many demands of inventory levels of both quantity and financial levels. Some designers are restrictive and unaccommodating, and we have found that we have better margins and selections in choosing who and what we want. — Annette K., Stillwater, OK