If you are not changing, you are losing ground!
— Jay Klos, Grogan’s, Florence, AL
Retail is in a constant state of change and to keep up you have to stay fresh. We first learned this when our customers began to come in asking if we carried the hottest new trends they saw at other stores and in magazines. Our team began traveling to trade shows and connecting with vendors and jewelers to bring us up to speed. Before that, we had just stuck to what we knew always worked. Now we are always researching our customers’ shopping behaviors, finding new ways of reaching out to them via social media, adopting new inventory-tracking methods, updating the store’s physical aesthetics (lighting, displays and décor), looking at new tools for the showroom and shop … the list is endless. Just when you think you’re on top of it, something new comes along and you have to learn a whole new process. We have learned not to fear change because we see it as an opportunity to embrace.
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This article originally appeared in the May 2016 edition of INSTORE.
Four Decades of Excellence: How Wilkerson Transformed a Jeweler's Retirement into Celebration
After 45 years serving the Milwaukee community, Treiber & Straub Jewelers owner Michael Straub faced a significant life transition. At 75, the veteran jeweler made a personal decision many business owners understand: "I think it's time. I want to enjoy my wife with my grandchildren for the next 10, 15 years."
Wilkerson's expertise transformed this major business transition into an extraordinary success. Their comprehensive approach to managing the going-out-of-business sale created unprecedented customer response—with lines forming outside the store and limits on how many shoppers could enter at once due to fire safety regulations.
The results exceeded all expectations. "Wilkerson did a phenomenal job," Straub enthuses. "They were there for you through the whole thing, helped you with promoting it, helping you on day-to-day business. I can't speak enough for how well they did." The partnership didn't just facilitate a business closing; it created a celebratory finale to decades of service while allowing Straub to confidently step into his well-earned retirement.
