Do Us All a Favor and Quit
There is a store across town where the owner insults people and runs them off on a daily basis. There is not one week that goes by that we don’t have someone tell us a bad story about him. Why are you still in the business if you don’t care about helping people and making them happy? Do us all a favor and close your store. Jewelers like this give the rest of us an undeserved stigma. — Marc Majors, Sam L. Majors, Midland, TX
GOOD FOR THE GOOSE
Manufacturers must be doing better than retailers to be able to dictate how much you have to spend to remain a customer. Love to see a retailer do this with one of their customers. — Scott Kelly, Jems Jewels & Gold, North Wales, PA
YOU’RE NO DAISY
Why are millennials constantly trying to reinvent the wheel? This seems to be the issue with them and jewelry; everything they want has to be “different” yet exactly the same as everyone else has! OMG, so dull, yet they think they’re so unique … LOL. — Idar Bergseth, Idar, Victoria, British Columbia
This article originally appeared in the November 2017 edition of INSTORE.
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.
