"My initial concern that a different form of advertising could tarnish our reputation was quickly dispelled when I saw the quality and integrity of how our sale event was handled. Our goals were not just met, but far exceeded. Working with The Gordon Company was seamless from the beginning to the end."
–Cathy Tivol, TIVOL
"I had confidence in The Gordon Company from the beginning, but I truly believed they over-projected my sale. After only the first week, they earned my 100% trust by blowing the original projection out-of-the-water. They made me one very happy store owner!"
–Michael Gordon, Zimmer Brothers Jewelers
"The first day of the sale was the biggest day in our 109 year history at Post and Grant."
–Lane Schiffman, Shreve & Co
"The Gordon Company started with a sales plan that was many times higher than our store had ever done before. When the closing sale was over, we had nearly doubled that significant goal."
–Georgie Gleim, Gleim the Jeweler
"I knew I could trust The Gordon Company to bring me the maximum financial return and to conduct the sale with the quality and dignity that were important to me. They did a great job and I can’t recommend them more highly."
–Gary Thrapp, G. Thrapp Jewelers
"They knew exactly how to approach our situation, with us not wanting to tarnish the reputation of our ongoing store, and they carried out the event without affecting the business of our other store. We could not be happier with the results."
–Hank Siegel, Hamilton
"The Gordon Company came to the table with a well detailed plan, executed professionally, and delivered on all of the objectives."
–Mann's Jewlers, Nancy Mann,
"Wow--25% of our people during the sale have never bought here previously. Lester Lampert now has new lifelong customers thanks to The Gordon Company."
We read stories of jewelers hosting one or two-day sale events. These can produce an extra month’s worth of business, but would you rather have an extra month or an extra year’s worth of business?
There are three common missed opportunities for fine jewelers that we want to draw to your attention:
One or Two-Day Sales: We read stories of jewelers hosting one or two-day sale events. These can produce an extra month’s worth of business. Not a bad idea unless you compare it to what could have been. When we run a sale event at The Gordon Company, it lasts up to eight weeks and can produce a year’s worth of business, and sometimes more. The question is: Would you rather have an extra month or an extra year’s worth of business? Short sale events leave you short and are a missed opportunity.
Ownership Transfer: We also read stories of jewelers wanting to transfer their ownership to a son or daughter, a close family member, or sometimes a loyal employee. Owners want to recoup the money they invested from the inventory they own – even though much of it is aged – yet those taking over a business rarely want to be burdened with old, under-performing merchandise. Another missed opportunity is failing to have a retirement sale that will reduce and often eliminate the vast majority of unwanted inventory.
Store Closings or Moves: A third missed opportunity is when jewelers are closing a store or moving to a new location. These are ideal times to conduct an inventory liquidation sale that eliminates dated merchandise and helps to fund a move or store remodel. Engaging the public with no fear that you are going out of business makes such a sale event a win-win opportunity for you and your community.
We share these missed opportunities to encourage you to act quickly and decisively in your business planning. Don’t miss another opportunity to raise significant cash, pay off debt, and reduce aged inventory.
Let the Gordon Company get you “on target.”
We look forward to hearing from you.
Call Steve Webb or Ira Bergman today to learn more about what The Gordon Company can do for you! We’ll help you determine the best sale to conduct for you and your store to maximize results and to exceed your goals.
Most jewelers feel the tide has turned on natural vs. lab-grown diamonds. Prices of the natural have more or less stabilized, whereas the value of manmade diamonds is still dropping. Their move away from lab-grown diamonds is lauded by many – including their partner – the country of Botswana.
There was a buzz at the jewelry shows in Las Vegas earlier this month. Here is a brief recap of the key issues we observed during the week:
The Diamond Market: Most jewelers feel the tide has turned on natural vs. lab-grown diamonds. Prices of the natural have more or less stabilized, whereas the value of manmade diamonds is still dropping. A bifurcated market is clearly developing. Anglo American has De Beers on the market quite visibly while they continue to try to restore confidence in the natural diamond market. Their move away from lab-grown diamonds is lauded by many – including their partner – the country of Botswana.
Precious metals: How high will gold go and what effects will it have on the jewelry industry? With gold commanding record prices, more retailers are open to buying off the street and more and more people are selling. The Platinum Guild International unveiled their new platinum alloy Inoveo.
More Major Consolidation: On the heels of Rolex acquiring Bucherer, Watches of Switzerland has now acquired Roberto Coin in North America. Speculation abounds on who and what is next for these major brands and what it will mean to Rolex dealers and the host of stores carrying Roberto Coin.
More News to Note: The Natural Diamond Council took over Yardbirds Table and Bar for the entire week. The Gordon Company took over a large section of Juliets each evening for a post-show “wind down” for invited guests. At the Diamonds Do Good’s 2024 awards Gala, awards went to Lisa Bridge (CEO and president of Ben Bridge Jeweler), London Jewelers, and GIA.
As always, we at The Gordon Company stay on top of what’s happening in the jewelry industry and seek to guide fine retailers on the fundamentals of their business. Contact us for your business planning needs.
Call Steve Webb or Ira Bergman today to learn more about what The Gordon Company can do for you! We’ll help you determine the best sale to conduct for you and your store to maximize results and to exceed your goals.
. An intelligent exit strategy must be developed to obtain the reward you deserve for a lifetime of work and investment. And in order to do so, you need to consider various options and what will give you the best monetary return.
Retirement is something we don’t think about when we’re young. It usually takes decades of work and life to get to a point of slowing down or hanging it up.
But how do you know it’s time to call it quits? Here are some specific indications:
Work isn’t fun anymore.
A viable succession plan is nowhere in sight.
You would rather be somewhere else besides your store.
Business is harder than ever and you have difficulty adapting.
Health issues are creeping in and taking a toll on your business and your time.
Hundreds of jewelry businesses are closing each year. It’s a sign of the times that you must have a business transition plan because you’re going to leave your business one way or the other. An intelligent exit strategy must be developed to obtain the reward you deserve for a lifetime of work and investment. And in order to do so, you need to consider various options and what will give you the best monetary return.
Recognize that whoever takes over the business after you retire does not want to be saddled down with old, excess inventory. It’s common that you will be stuck with hundreds of thousands of dollars of merchandise unless you have a way to dispose of it and monetize the assets. The best way to do this is through a major sale event with The Gordon Company. We specialize in sale events of all types that are custom-designed just like your fine jewelry.
So if you feel it’s time to consider retirement, please give us a call or drop us a line. We know how to help you like we have hundreds of other fine jewelers.
Call Steve Webb or Ira Bergman today to learn more about what The Gordon Company can do for you! We’ll help you determine the best sale to conduct for you and your store to maximize results and to exceed your goals.
When the head of Rolex says that 2024 will be a challenge for the Swiss watch industry, people take notice. The big question is how the year will be for the rest of the gem and jewelry industry.
When the head of Rolex says that 2024 will be a challenge for the Swiss watch industry, people take notice. The big question is how the year will be for the rest of the gem and jewelry industry. Jewelers are telling us that the first quarter of the year has been soft. Recent comments by Signet CEO, Virginia Drosos, indicate the same.
Consumers are looking closely at their budgets and are prioritizing their spending. Inflation may be down, but everyone is feeling the cumulative effects of four years of unusually high inflation. This has a major psychological effect on consumer attitudes and behavior, and especially on discretionary spending for luxury goods they can otherwise live without. Some 60% of Americans are reducing their spending on non-essential items.
All this begs the question: Do you have a plan for 2024? At The Gordon Company we excel in helping fine retail jewelers confront slowdowns in consumer spending by increasing community exposure, driving traffic, growing your customer list, and most importantly, significantly growing sales. If you need a lift this year and want to reduce unwanted and underperforming inventory, we have the answer.
Contact us right away for a confidential, no obligation consultation on how we can help you make your year. We look forward to hearing from you.
Retirement Sales
Moving Sales
Going Out of Business Sales
Relocation Sales
Inventory Reduction Sales
Renovation Sales
Cash Raising Sales
Store Closing Sales
Call Steve Webb or Ira Bergman today to learn more about what The Gordon Company can do for you! We’ll help you determine the best sale to conduct for you and your store to maximize results and to exceed your goals.
Harvey Rovinsky and his wife, Maddy, owned three stores, two in the greater Philadelphia area, and one in New Jersey. They had long considered how to sell or transition their business to new owners, but without success. Then it dawned on them that their succession plan was right in front of them. It was their longtime, loyal, and tenured staff that would take over their business as the Rovinskys planned their retirement.
more stores are closing, and this trend will likely continue to significantly outpace new business start-ups. 2024 is a good year to take stock of your overhead, tighten buying, and become more efficient in overall operations.
A recent article in the business news on retailing was titled “America’s Retailers Are Dealing with a Tangled Mess.” It capsulated a slew of quarterly earnings reports highlighting too many stores, too much product, and too few buyers.
We know that inflation has dropped well below its peak in 2022 and forecasts that called for a recession have since dissipated. While the economy seems to be okay, there is still a high degree of anxiety in the air and a lingering doubt that costs have really subsided all that much.
Price-conscious consumers seem to be reaching for value. “Olive Garden owners stock plummets because dinners don’t dine out anymore.” People are turning to discount chains, big box stores, and outlet malls more and more. We also know that more stores are closing, and this trend will likely continue to significantly outpace new business start-ups.
What does all the mean to the fine jewelry retailer? It means 2024 is a good year to take stock of your overhead, tighten buying, and become more efficient in overall operations. Don’t be surprised if you see your jewelry repair business go up and your average retail sale go down.
At The Gordon Company we help jewelers with sale events that allow them to generate the cash needed to deal with these changes. Also, some of you are at retirement age and looking to cash in, we can help here too. If you need guidance thinking this through, Now is the time to give us a call for a no-obligation consultation on your needs.
The cherry blossoms came early this year, and it has me thinking… would you like your profits to blossom early as well?
The cherry blossoms came early this year, and it has me thinking… would you like your profits to blossom early as well?
If so, we still have space available for YOUR mid-year sale.
Considering the uncertainties of this major election year and global conflicts, I wanted to share a quick insight from The Gordon Company that I believe will be very helpful to you and your business. As a leader in promotional retail sales, we specialize in helping jewelers just like you with sales and promotions that are unique to your specific needs. Spring, Summer, or Fall; a mid-year sale could be the right strategic move for your store. Offering benefits such as:
· 30% increase in new customers for your mailing and email list · Four times your normal store volume · Cash flow you’ve never experienced at this time of year · Significant reduction in aged and underperforming inventory . Save your good margins for the Holiday Season
If this sounds like a promising opportunity, we’d be happy to discuss it further. Spots are still available for these upcoming sale seasons, but won’t last long, so don’t delay in contacting us. We care about our clients and want to help your money tree be in full bloom!
Sales over the previous year were doubled in all three locations. Also, 850 new customers purchased products during the event and were added to their mailing list.
Harvey Rovinsky and his wife, Maddy, owned three great jewelry stores, two in the Philadelphia area and another in New Jersey. They had long considered how to sell or transition their business to new owners, but without a clear direction. Then it dawned on them that their succession plan was right in front of them. It was six longtime and loyal employees who would be gifted the business when the Rovinsky’s planned their retirement.
But Harvey and Maddy had some goals to hit before they could execute their plan. They needed to liquidate the majority of their inventory, raise significant cash, and then turn over the business to their six key associates’ debt-free.
To do this, they engaged The Gordon Company to conduct a major sale event in two of their stores. The Gordon Company devised a custom advertising and marketing plan that significantly increased traffic during the holiday selling season and delivered financial results that far exceeded projections. In fact, Sales over the previous year were doubled in all three locations. Also, 850 new customers purchased products during the event and were added to their mailing list.
The Gordon Company sale allowed the Rovinsky’s to achieve all their goals while fulfilling their financial objectives in retirement. It also allowed the business to continue to serve the communities they loved and to continue the legacy of Maddy’s father, Bernie Robbins.
If this story resonates with you and you need help thinking your retirement through, please give us a call or drop us a line. We would love to help you.
We would love to make you our next success story.
Call Steve Webb or Ira Bergman today to learn more about how The Gordon Company can assist you with your Retirement Sale!
Baby Boomers and Gen Xers dominate the ownership of retail stores. If you are in this age bracket, you are at or nearing retirement and have some very important decisions to make.
When you consider the demographics of our jewelry industry, it is obvious that Baby Boomers and Gen Xers dominate the ownership of retail stores. If you are in this age bracket, you are at or nearing retirement and have some very important decisions to make.
Here are some questions you might be asking yourself:
Do I have the financial resources to retire comfortably?
How can I transition my business so it continues to support the community I love?
Have I prepared my successor well enough to ensure continued success?
Am I really ready for full retirement, or should I ease out over time?
Planning for retirement can be daunting on many levels. Exiting from your business is likely the most important financial decision you will make in your lifetime, so you really need to go out with as much money as possible. That is why most jewelers choose a major retirement sale. This will monetize your aged inventory and maximize the amount of money you can generate from a well-orchestrated sale.
At the Gordon Company we have helped hundreds of jewelers over the years retire with the financial freedom they deserve from a lifetime in the business. The best sales are achieved during the Christmas Season and with the normalization of business this year, there is probably no better time to conduct your sale.
If I’m describing your situation, contact us right away for a free, no-obligation consultation to see how we can help you.
Contact Ira Bergman or Steve Webb today to learn more about how The Gordon Company can assist you with your Retirement Sale!
We had some interesting observations at the recent upscale Centurion Jewelry Show in Phoenix. There were a lot of young people at the show. We view the current generational shift as a long-term positive for the trade. There is an obvious business transition taking place which calls for intelligent exit strategy options for owners.
We had some interesting observations at the recent upscale Centurion Jewelry Show in Phoenix. There were a lot of young people at the show, which we were very pleased to see. Whether these were children of store owners or high-level employees, we weren’t sure. What we were sure about is there is a generational change taking place in our industry that is great to see.
Most well-managed retail stores finished 2023 very close to 2022 figures, which were the highest in history. 2024 is still a mystery, but we view the current generational shift as a long-term positive for the trade.
There is an obvious business transition taking place which calls for intelligent exit strategy options for owners. At The Gordon Company we specialize in helping fine jewelers make transition plans that allow them to retire with peace of mind and money in their pocket. Our major sale events form a blueprint for success, and have allowed hundreds of jewelers over the decades to retire in fashion.
Let us help you as we have so many others by giving us a call or dropping us a line. We would love to provide you with a confidential, no obligation consultation on your specific needs.
Ira Bergman
Ira Bergman has a rich history in the jewelry industry, beginning his career at the Mercury Ring Corporation, and later joining M. Fabrikant & Sons in the ’80 as an executive vice president. Now having served as President of The Gordon Company for nearly a decade and a half, Bergman works closely with both retail jewelers and vendors on critical issues relating to strategic planning and asset management. He brings a lifetime of experience in helping clients solve problems concerning sales growth, ROI, inventory reduction and major transitions.
Please join us in welcoming Steve Webb in his newest role as The Gordon Company’s Executive Vice President. As a retail management professional with 30+ years of sales focused operational efficiency and process improvement, Webb brings much value to our firm. He has a demonstrated track record of leading innovative store branding and expansion initiatives and is recognized for his ability to incorporate innovative management techniques, systems, and processes, to boost revenues, enhance business practices, and increase productivity.
Managing aged inventory becomes one of the most important aspects of running a retail jewelry business. Maximizing the value of your precious capital by eliminating aged inventory is one of the best business decisions you could make.
Most of you own a Point-of-Sale system that helps you manage inventory and hopefully control your buying. A jeweler once told me that buying jewelry for him was like being on “crack.”
The goal – or is it a dream – that every piece you buy will eventually sell, is simply not true. Managing aged inventory becomes one of the most important aspects of running a retail jewelry business. Everyone knows this, but seldom does the owner allocate the time required to do the job efficiently.
The remedy is quite simple. It follows that the rich data housed in your POS system is as valuable as the merchandise itself. Running aging reports is never pleasant when you know you have underperforming merchandise that must go, but it is a key aspect of operating your business efficiently and effectively. Maximizing the value of your precious capital by eliminating aged inventory is one of the best business decisions you could make.
If you’re buried with old merchandise, we would love to help you get out from under it. We have helped hundreds of jewelers over the years and we’d like to help you, too. Contact us today for a confidential, no-obligation consultation.
“I thought everyone in the area knew us. What I learned during my sale will help me for years to come because of the awareness it created in my community.”
We Build Your Brand Awareness
Most jewelers think that everyone in town knows them, but we have proven time and time again that this is simply not true. In fact, many jewelers are surprisingly under the radar when it comes to community awareness.
Other fine jewelers think that a major sale event will hurt their image and reputation. In fact, the opposite is true. It builds brand recognition that stays with you well into the future.
During our sales a tremendous amount of advertising and publicity is created. Exposure to your store and brand name is beyond expectation. This draws people to your store who have never crossed your threshold. The best news is, they buy! Some 30% of all tickets written during a sale event are to people new to your store.
One jeweler said it this way: “I never believed that so many people would tell me they never knew I was here. I thought everyone in the area knew us. What I learned during my sale will help me for years to come because of the awareness it created in my community.”
If you have ever considered a major sale event for any reason, contact us today to see how we can help. A free, no-obligation consultation awaits you.
A similar slowdown has been felt by many retail jewelers as rapid growth in travel has taken discretionary dollars away from jewelry purchases. All is not lost for retailers, but the softness in the economy and uncertainty in global affairs certainly takes a toll on consumer sentiment and spending.
The recent Chapter 7 filing of WD Diamonds calls for a complete liquidation of its assets totaling some $3 million, while debt amounted to some $44 million.
WD is a former market leader in large, fine quality lab-grown diamonds, so its filing sends a strong message to the jewelry industry. Rapid expansion of manmade diamond production in low-cost centers like India and China had a big impact on U.S.-based WD. Price drops in lab-grown diamonds have been significant over the past 12 months and will likely drop even further, putting even more pressure on the gross profit dollars of retail jewelers.
Similarly, a slowdown has been felt in luxury goods recently. As reported by Consensus, “the end of easy money is catching up with luxury brands.” LVMH shares fell 6% after it reported a slowdown in sales for the third quarter of 2023. A similar slowdown has been felt by many retail jewelers as rapid growth in travel has taken discretionary dollars away from jewelry purchases.
All is not lost for retailers, but the softness in the economy and uncertainty in global affairs certainly takes a toll on consumer sentiment and spending. At The Gordon Company, we watch for all signs of economic complexity and provide marketing and financial solutions to combat the fears of independent retail jewelers.
Contact us today to see how we can help you get through what will most certainly be a challenging holiday season and a more challenging 2024.
The key question is this: Do you want to be drowning in inventory or would you rather be swimming in cash when Cash Is King?
Everything we read about today tells us to be conservative and to hold on to our money. Interest rates are still high, so borrowing is difficult. Financing growth in these uncertain times makes little sense right now. Inflation is still higher than any of us want and we continue to hear news about a possible recession.
Most prognosticators are predicting a soft market over the next 15 months. There are opportunities in every market climate, but it is time to tighten things up, be strategic in buying, and convert aging inventory into cash for that proverbial “rainy day.”
The key question is this: Do you want to be drowning in inventory or would you rather be swimming in cash when Cash Is King?
The way to get the cash you need to weather the storm is to run a major sale event. You will monetize your aged merchandise and secure a solid financial hold on whatever the near-term economy brings.
In challenging times, you need a support system you can rely on. At The Gordon Company, we have helped hundreds of jewelers over many years get back into a position of strength. Let us help you, too.
Contact us right away for a confidential, no-obligation look at your financial situation. We are happy to provide a free consultation of your needs.
Unless you’ve been living on a remote island somewhere, you are aware of recent industry and general economic layoffs in the workforce. It was simply a matter of time that the overhang of economic stimulus would subside.
Unless you’ve been living on a remote island somewhere, you are aware of recent industry and general economic layoffs in the workforce. It was simply a matter of time that the overhang of economic stimulus would subside.
Recession has been looming for the past year or more, so the luster of what we all experienced in 2021 and even parts of 2022 has dulled. People are again traveling at all-time highs, so the industry is feeling the effects of a more historically normal (pre-COVID) business climate.
Add to this the confusion that has been caused by the disruptive nature of lab-grown diamonds. We all saw the wave of change coming, but none of us expected it would impact bridal sales like it has. The precipitous drop in prices is affecting the gross profit of jewelers who sell them and it is likely that over-production will cause further price declines.
All of this spells concerns about the future of our industry and how to navigate these uncertain times. It demands both attention and action, especially for jewelers at or nearing retirement age who may be considering a transition plan or exit strategy.
At The Gordon Company we specialize in guiding jewelers through these challenges so they can leave the business with money in their pocket and a well-deserved retirement. If you are at a point of decision-making about the future, contact us right away for a confidential, no-obligation consultation on how we can help you.
We are often asked about the benefits of running a sale event with our company. We know what it has done for hundreds of other jewelers, but you may not know what it can do for you. Here are nine key results from engaging in a sale with us…
We are often asked about the benefits of running a sale event with our company. We know what it has done for hundreds of other jewelers, but you may not know what it can do for you. Here are nine key results from engaging in a sale with us:
1) Increase your customer base well beyond current levels.
2) Grow your permanent mailing list and email list.
3) Create enormous awareness in your community.
4) Reward your best customers the most.
5) Instill good habits, like clientelling, to your staff.
6) Introduce new, imaginative marketing concepts to the store.
7) Prove which advertising works best for you.
8) Increase your liquidity and cash flow.
9) Dispose of aged and underperforming merchandise.
A major sale event with our experts is like a clinic in marketing. It positions your store like no other event can.
We do sale events for any number of important reasons including inventory reduction, cash raising, store closing, store relocation, store renovation, business transition, retirement, or going out of business. If you are in need in any of these areas, we would like to help. Contact us for a no obligation consultation today.
Hiring and retaining quality staff is top of mind for all jewelers today. The pandemic caused many people to evaluate their priorities and reflect on what they want out of life and a career.
Hiring and retaining quality staff is top of mind for all jewelers today. The pandemic caused many people to evaluate their priorities and reflect on what they want out of life and a career. Some people dropped out of the workforce, including many Baby Boomers, most of whom were already at retirement age.
Yet other industries also lost people. Many teachers became fed up with the educational system, the medical field and law enforcement had significant fallout, and the travel and hospitality industries suffered more than most. Ironically, these same job losses also represent a possible opportunity for the retail jewelry trade.
What we often forget is the joy and fun surrounding our own industry. The happiness marked by jewelry gift-giving occasions is hard to match in other fields. I don’t feel we do nearly enough as an industry to attract bright young talent into it. We are probably in the midst of a leaner year or two, so now is a good time to take advantage of layoffs in other industries that we are currently reading about.
At The Gordon Company, we are in the business of helping retail jewelers in many different ways. We help you reduce poor-performing inventory, raise cash when you need it, and assist in your retirement or transition planning. Contact us today if we can help meet your needs.
According to a recent retail spending report, consumers are not particularly assertive when it comes to discretionary retail purchasing in 2023. While spending in general remains consistent with last year’s numbers, where the money is going varies from what our industry has experienced since the pandemic.
According to a recent retail spending report, consumers are not particularly assertive when it comes to discretionary retail purchasing in 2023. While spending in general remains consistent with last year’s numbers, where the money is going varies from what our industry has experienced since the pandemic.
The growth in retail consumer spending thus far in 2023 is in areas you might expect as a consumer yourself. Increased spending is online, not in stores, and is focused on health care, personal care, groceries, sporting goods, and general merchandise. Discretionary purchase categories have not fared so well. They include furniture/home furnishings, building materials/gardening supplies, electronics/appliances, and clothing/accessories.
Despite all this, there are still some good signs. Unemployment remains low even with the more recent high-profile layoff announcements from major corporations and equally disturbing bank failures. Inflation continues to soften so all this seems to point to a mixed bag. Truth is, no one really knows what the near-term future will hold.
Uncertainty in business is a chronic, uncomfortable reality every jeweler is facing this year. If you are one of those who is uncertain about your own next steps in retail, especially if you are at or nearing retirement, please give us a call. At The Gordon Company, we are in the business of keeping jewelers in business and helping them leave with money in their pocket if now is the time to exit.
As noted recently by the Jewelry Security Alliance (JSA), crime was on the rise last year and seems to be a new general trend for our industry. This increase in crime is in contrast to what we have witnessed over the past several decades, and it’s really hard to know why.
As noted recently by the Jewelry Security Alliance (JSA), crime was on the rise last year and seems to be a new general trend for our industry. This increase in crime is in contrast to what we have witnessed over the past several decades, and it’s really hard to know why.
Despite the reasons, the increase in robberies and burglaries should be on every jeweler’s mind. Unfortunately, we have found jewelers to be far too casual with their personal security concerns, as well as for that of their store.
The opening and closing times of your store are often your most vulnerable periods. Always have two or more people open and close, keep your doors locked, and do not open the door for anyone, even a customer or delivery person.
Review your security procedures with your staff often. Have your security signals top of mind. Practice security and role play your actions just as you do with the sales process. In some ways, security is even more important. Bottom line: being alert and aware of your actions and surroundings are critical to maintain safety for yourself and your staff.
At The Gordon Company, we are here to help you in any way we can. Yes, we orchestrate major sale events for our clients, but our goal is to keep you on top of your game, and to assist you with advice and counsel that can make the difference between failure and success. Contact us any time to see how we can help you.
Jewelers needlessly shy away from sale events because they fear the impact that a sale can have on their business image and their customers’ expectations. But a well-planned and well-orchestrated sale event can be a terrific boom to your business because it’s so much more than simply discounting products.
Jewelers needlessly shy away from sale events because they fear the impact that a sale can have on their business image and their customers’ expectations. But a well-planned and well-orchestrated sale event can be a terrific boom to your business because it’s so much more than simply discounting products.
When we conduct a sale for independent fine jewelers, the impact of a focused advertising mix becomes the heart and soul of the sale. You’ll learn what works and what doesn’t in your market in a way that you could never learn on your own. It is truly enlightening. You will also draw not only your loyal customers, but new people who had never before crossed your threshold. On average, 30% of all buyers during your sale will be new to your store and now part of your future marketing efforts. The awareness you create for your store in the community is unrivaled during a sale event.
Major sale events gain particularly great results when you haven’t conducted sales on any regular basis. Not only are you able to eliminate unwanted, aged merchandise, you are making people happy that they can get unique deals during a limited-time period. The satisfaction and peace of mind that comes from such a sale cannot be measured, but the cash flow and profitability can. If you have ever considered retirement, moving your store, closing it down, or simply eliminating unproductive inventory, there has never been a better time to do it. Contact me right away for a free, no-obligation consultation.
Virtually all independent fine jewelers are part of a family business. They are the heart and soul of our industry and I certainly hope it will stay that way.
Virtually all independent fine jewelers are part of a family business. They are the heart and soul of our industry and I certainly hope it will stay that way. But these same businesses have a problem today. What are jewelers going to do with their business? Can they sell it? Do they have someone to take it over? How can they maximize the financial value of their lifetime of work?
According to Bill Boyajian, a noted expert on family business succession planning, “The majority of jewelry stores are owned by Baby Boomers who range in age from 58 to 76. Many are looking to retire and must formulate an exit strategy. Generation Xers are now 42 to 57, and there are a lot fewer of them than Boomers. A LOT fewer. Who’s going to buy these Baby Boomer businesses? Millennials? Maybe, but many don’t want to be “stuck” in traditional family businesses. Nor do they want to work the way Boomers had to work to get ahead. This goes without saying, but I’ll say it anyway: Millennials think much differently than Boomers.”
At The Gordon Company, we deal with this problem every day. Jewelers need help determining their best course of action. Businesspeople like you need to understand your options and must formulate a plan to deal with what is likely the most important financial decision of your career. We have found that retirement, transitional ownership, relocation, and going out of business sale events can monetize jewelers’ inventory, generate a year’s worth of sales in only 60 days, and allow you to walk away with a lot of money in your pocket.
What you decide to do with your store will determine how comfortable your retirement will be. If you are a Baby Boomer without a clear exit strategy, contact us today for a free, no-obligation consultation.
Most of us love the industry, our customers, and our staff, but at some point, we all realize that something’s got to give. Decisions need to be made. Options need to be considered. Exit strategies must be formulated.
When we consider the demographics of our retail jewelry industry, it’s easy to see how so many are Baby Boomers at, or nearing, retirement age.
Just the word “retirement” conjures up a host of financial considerations and emotional feelings. Most of us love the industry, our customers, and our staff, but at some point, we all realize that something’s got to give. Decisions need to be made. Options need to be considered. Exit strategies must be formulated.
Business transitions are as important to consider as business growth and development. Such transitions are never top of mind when starting a business or attempting to grow it. But that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be a key priority when the time is right.
If you are at that important stage and need some advice about what to do and how to do it, we would love to help. We continually work with jewelers at this critical period in their lives, so we know the issues you face. We’ve helped hundreds of jewelers face them time and time again. And we consider it both a pleasure and honor to do so.
So if you are at or near retirement age with questions about what to do next, give us a call or drop us a line. We are there for you.
…This is a time to remain agile and to ensure that you have very little debt and good cash flow, retaining what you have worked all your life for…
The recent failure of SVB Bank has put a punctuation point on the uncertainly surrounding the economy and what 2023 and ’24 will bring. Coupled with inflation, interest rate hikes, a slowing housing market, lower consumer sentiment, and a possible recession, our advice is to hunker down and maintain cash flow and liquidity.
According to the Jewelers Board of Trade, store closings in 2021 and ’22 were down from previous years with retail jewelry business at all-time highs. Disposable personal income was up during these years and travel was way down. Most jewelers felt a slowdown in the second half of 2022 and this has spilled over into 2023.
But despite our low unemployment, major layoffs taking place, and personal savings rates about half of what they were just a year ago, consumers are still spending. But what are they spending on? Travel is up over pre-pandemic levels and it is eating into discretionary spending for many Americans.
What does all this confusion in the economy and marketplace mean for you as a fine jeweler? Despite inflation, cash is still king and debt is a millstone around any business owner’s neck. This is a time to remain agile and to ensure that you have very little debt and good cash flow, retaining what you have worked all your life for. Tightened inventory levels are important. The old adage “prepare for the worst and hope for the best” is not a bad mantra during this time.
At The Gordon Company, our role in the industry is to help jewelers monetize aged merchandise, improve cash flow, and reduce debt. If this is what you need in a year that requires some serious belt-tightening, give us a call to see how we can help.
Something magical happens when you engage in a major sale event to reduce inventory levels to focus on custom, move your store from one location to another, close a store due to mediocre performance, plan for a transition to retirement, become a private jeweler, or even go out of business.
Something magical happens when you engage in a major sale event to reduce inventory levels to focus on custom, move your store from one location to another, close a store due to mediocre performance, plan for a transition to retirement, become a private jeweler, or even go out of business.
Your best customers are excited to benefit from great deals before anyone else does from the public at large. People line up outside your door to have a chance to purchase your precious products. Staff are thrilled to be as busy as it is during the last week before Christmas. And owners are over the top at how many tickets are written each day, seeing their customer base grow exponentially. In addition to this, you’ll be astonished at how aged and underperforming items that have been a financial burden to you are out of inventory and onto the hands of customers, many of whom are brand new to your store.
This is what we experience every season of the year. And it really doesn’t matter whether it’s Spring, Summer or Fall. The holiday season is of course the best time of the year to run a sale event, but if you want to preserve your best margins for the Christmas season, you can hold your sale during another season and benefit from both in the same year. That being said, there’s still time to run a sale in any season of 2023 that will best fit your needs.
If any of these very practical business reasons is of interest to you, we would love to share our insights and experience with you with absolutely no obligation on your part. Our goal is to support our industry with whatever needs may arise in the sales and promotion arena.
Most jewelers we talk to have experienced an unprecedented level of business since mid-2020…at the same time, many we are speaking to are considering if now is the right time to exit or transition the business.
Most jewelers we talk to have experienced an unprecedented level of business since mid-2020. Profits grew, debt has been paid down, and inventory is more in control.
At the same time, many we are speaking to are considering if now is the right time to exit or transition the business. What we hear is, “We don’t want to give all our profits back to support an unknown future.”
These feelings are only increased by the age of the jewelers we speak to. Many are at, or nearing, retirement age and need to know what’s next in business and in life.
At The Gordon Company, as much as we advertise, exhibit at shows, and share our insights through our newsletter and articles, we still get asked what we do. Yes, we orchestrate sale events of multiple types for retail jewelers. But few realize the time and effort we put into helping jewelers consider their options for the future. We share this advice as part of our service because we want independent retail jewelers to prosper.
If you are at that critical juncture in your business and your career, and need some advice in determining next steps, we would like to assist in your planning. Drop us a line or give us a call. We’d love to help you.
As we enter a new year, thoughts about what’s next creep into all our minds. One of the biggest challenges for any jeweler nearing retirement age is what to do with your store. The business has been good to you for decades, but it is beginning to be too much to handle, and you need a change.
As we enter a new year, thoughts about what’s next creep into all our minds. One of the biggest challenges for any jeweler nearing retirement age is what to do with your store. The business has been good to you for decades, but it is beginning to be too much to handle, and you need a change.
The idea of retirement may or may not be attractive, and you may have more options than you think. The whole idea of transition planning is challenging to contemplate on your own, so you may need someone you can trust to help guide the discussion.
At The Gordon Company, we are experts in knowing and understanding retirement issues and transition planning, in addition to handling any type of major sale event to increase cashflow, pay off debt, reduce inventory levels, and bring in new customers. Or you could be contemplating closing, moving, or renovating a store.
In any number of cases, you may need a business valuation or appraisal to understand what your business is actually worth, even if you need to transition it to a family member or trusted employee. Or you may need to contact a CPA to understand the tax ramifications of any decision you make.
There is absolutely no obligation on your part when you contact us. We provide free advice with no expectation beyond helping you think through the options that may be available to you.
If you need help making these decisions in 2023, simply give us a call. We look forward to speaking with you.
Policymakers on both sides of the aisle agreed to prop up the economy with stimulus money when the global pandemic hit in full force in March 2020…
Policymakers on both sides of the aisle agreed to prop up the economy with stimulus money when the global pandemic hit in full force in March 2020. Arguably, economic preservation was a priority in the face of COVID, since it could have set off a deep recession. Relief measures were necessary.
But inflation was also predicted as trillions of dollars entered the economy. Added to that were shortages in the supply chain with increasing demand and you had the makings of rising prices and inflation not seen for decades.
Fast forward to the fourth quarter of 2022. In order to curb the sharp rise in inflation, the Fed raised interest rates to cool off the economy. Our industry has felt the effects of inflation and a slowdown in the economy in the second half of this year, with lower traffic at retail, less spending on luxury items, and a very cautious consumer.
As things tighten in your business, you may need some assistance to carry you through a much softer economic time. Don’t delay in ensuring success this holiday season by scheduling a high-impact sales event with us. At The Gordon Company, our goal is to be there when you need us most. Contact us for a free, no-obligation consultation to assess your needs.
…If you are in a quandary of what to do next, you need help devising a plan that works for you. Don’t go it alone…
Established in 1923, Anderson Brothers Jewelers in Lubbock, TX was one of West Texas’ oldest and finest stores. But after nearly 100 years of service to the community, the owners made the difficult decision to retire. Knowing our quality reputation, they called on The Gordon Company to run their extensive sale events.
Normally we devise one major sale for a jeweler, but in the case of Anderson Brothers, we developed two customized events that took tremendous advantage of their 99-year history. We conducted an Anniversary Sale in December to maximize gross profit during the busiest season of the year. We then gave January a rest and came back with a Retirement/Going Out of Business Sale that in total garnered huge returns for the retiring owners.
My point in sharing this is that we custom design every sale event to maximize the value to our clients after we understand each jeweler’s unique situation. Whether you’re moving your store, closing a store, monetizing your inventory before transitioning it to a child, or simply going out of business, our role is to design a program that works to your wishes and your ultimate benefit.
If you are in a quandary of what to do next, you need help devising a plan that works for you. Don’t go it alone. Give us a call to learn more about how we can help you. We look forward to hearing from you.
It isn’t business as usual anymore. We know what you’re feeling because we talk to fine jewelers every day.
It isn’t business as usual anymore. We know what you’re feeling because we talk to fine jewelers every day.
The euphoria of 2021 is gone and we are likely headed to a very uncomfortable economic time. Most experts are predicting a recession if we aren’t already in one.
I’m writing to encourage you to consider a sale event this Holiday Season to ensure your Christmas and your year.
There is so much uncertainty in the marketplace that we’re booking sales to help fine jewelers get through the year with confidence and assurance. This is your last chance to secure your place for a sale that will help you finish 2022 strong and carry you firmly into the new year.
Call our president Ira Bergman immediately at 917-861-9607 to book your sale event. We look forward to hearing from you.
We’ve been insisting that times have changed, and business has slowed. We see it in home sales, car sales, and now jewelry sales.
We’ve been insisting that times have changed, and business has slowed. We see it in home sales, car sales, and now jewelry sales.
You have only a few days to decide on doing something about it. So you need to act quickly if we are to help you close the year with strength.
Another option you should consider is getting through the holiday season as best you can and then holding a major sale event in January or February of 2023. This is a smart decision for many jewelers, and we encourage you to consider it.
Whatever you decide, we at The Gordon Company will be there to help you. We are experts in handling your sale event with dignity and effectiveness. One glance at our customer list will tell you we serve the best jewelers in the country. And we want to serve you, too.
Let us help you consider your options and decide what’s best for you. Call our president Ira Bergman (917) 861-9607 today for a free, private, no-obligation consultation.
The recent .75 interest rate hike sounds yet another alarm that inflation is out of control and that business is slowing. Curbing inflation is a priority, but jewelry retailers are feeling the crunch.
The recent .75 interest rate hike sounds yet another alarm that inflation is out of control and that business is slowing. Curbing inflation is a priority, but jewelry retailers are feeling the crunch.
That being said, it’s still not too late to book a sale event for the holiday season, but it’s the 11th hour and you have to decide!
You’ve felt the slowdown like everyone else. You know the times have changed. The success that retail jewelers felt last year is gone and we’ve entered a new reality.
The question is: What you will do with that new reality?
At The Gordon Company we have mastered the ability to run a major sale event that saves your year and ensures a good start to the next one. But time is running out and a decision must be made.
Let us help you get through the tough times ahead with confidence. Our expertise is unquestioned and we want to help you like we have hundreds of your fellow jewelers.
Contact our president Ira Bergman (917) 861-9607 immediately to reserve your place for a sale event this holiday season. We are days away from decision time and look forward to hearing from you!
You have probably felt a slowdown in the economy and your business like many other jewelers. A recession may be looming and only time will tell. For sure, there is plenty of uncertainty out there.
It’s Time to Make a Decision!
You have probably felt a slowdown in the economy and your business like many other jewelers. A recession may be looming and only time will tell. For sure, there is plenty of uncertainty out there.
So what will you do to secure a strong Holiday Season?
If you’ve ever considered a major sale event for any number of reasons:
increasing cash flow
eliminating aged merchandise
transitioning your business to the next generation
paying off debt
relocating your business or even closing a store
bolstering walk-in traffic
Now is the time to act!
The degree of uncertainty in the economy will continue. It’s still not too late, but you have to move quickly.
Call our president, Ira Bergman, 917-861-9607, right away to secure your place for a sale event that will save your year and ensure a smooth landing into 2023.
We look forward to hearing from you because it’s time to make a decision!
Many jewelers think negatively of sales. They believe it hurts their image, tarnishes customer relationships, and casts a dark shadow over their business…
Many jewelers think negatively of sales. They believe it hurts their image, tarnishes customer relationships, and casts a dark shadow over their business.
REALLY? When you shop 5th Avenue in New York or Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills and see a brand like Coach, Burberrys, or Chanel holding a sale, do you think negatively of them? Or do you realize these lauded brands have merchandise they want to dispose of where you and others can take advantage of their need to move product. You know the answer.
There is a big difference between liquidation and liquidity. No one likes liquidation, but everyone loves liquidity. Unfortunately, you can’t have liquidity without some form of liquidation. So instead of dreading the reduction of excess and aged merchandise that is choking you, realize it is simply a result of SMART business.
Which raises yet another question. What is the correct amount of inventory you should be carrying for the amount of business you do on an annual basis? My experience tells me that 95% of fine jewelers carry more merchandise than is necessary to do their regular volume of business. And it doesn’t even matter if we’re talking about a $2 million dollar store or one doing $10 million annually. Most stores carry far too much inventory.
If liquidity is what you need, especially as business slows down as we’ve seen in recent months, give us a call so we can help. Our support for your best interest is unconditional. We look forward to hearing from you.
Bob McGee, the long-time and well-respected owner of McGee Jewelers in Greenwood, IN, turned 70 and decided it was time to slow down. With his son and daughter-in-law in the business for over a decade, it seemed to be the right move to conduct a Retirement Sale. After researching other companies, the McGees chose The Gordon Company and were very pleased with the results of their sale.
Our industry has enjoyed two full years of increased prosperity, an amazing outcome resulting from the awkward and even devastating consequences of the COVID pandemic. 2021 was arguably the best year for retail jewelers in decades.
Our industry has enjoyed two full years of increased prosperity, an amazing outcome resulting from the awkward and even devastating consequences of the COVID pandemic. 2021 was arguably the best year for retail jewelers in decades.
Unfortunately, most have experienced a marked slowdown in sales and profitability over the last few months. The Fed is trying to tighten money with increased interest rates to help curb inflation. At the same time, the Fed is walking a fine line between slowing the economy and trying to keep the country from falling into recession.
This leaves most of us scratching our heads trying to figure out what this will mean to retail jewelry sales in the second half of 2022, and especially during the holiday season. Obviously, none of us has a crystal ball to know the near or longer-term outlook.
Liquidity is the key to success in these uncertain times. Economists and businesspeople have always warned us to keep inventories low and keep cash on hand in such times. For many jewelers, a good percentage of sales are now coming from custom made pieces and not from the showcases. So how much showcase merchandise do you really need? Lower inventory levels add to cash flow and liquidity. This is the best way to weather the storm that may lie ahead. A major sale event in uncertain times can assure you of a strong finish to the year, while adjusting inventory levels to what they should be in cautionary times. Contact us for more information about how we can help you reduce unwanted merchandise, generate cash, and strongly position your store to deal with a slowdown in the economy.
Established in 1923, Anderson Brothers Jewelers in Lubbock was one of West Texas’ oldest and finest stores. But after nearly 100 years in existence, the owners made the difficult decision that it was finally time to retire. Knowing the quality reputation of The Gordon Company, they called on the firm to run their extensive sale events.
One of my favorite sayings is the title of this message. It’s a philosophy I’ve lived my life by because I’ve personally experienced the influence and intelligence of great teams.
One of my favorite sayings is the title of this message. It’s a philosophy I’ve lived my life by because I’ve personally experienced the influence and intelligence of great teams.
The value of complementary skills is powerful and the benefit of hearing from everyone is a huge plus in decision-making. That’s why we employ the skills of a diverse and inclusive team of professionals. They practice the art of listening and welcome each other’s ideas with enthusiasm.
The true benefit of this, of course, is to share our collection of ideas with our clients. They seek our confidential consultation and value the collective experience of our team. This is what makes The Gordon Company unique. We approach every client with a fresh and unbiased perspective, and that’s why you should seek our advice when considering a major sale event.
Whether your goal is inventory reduction, cash raising, paying off debt, moving your store, retirement, or even going out of business, we are there for you. You will benefit from our collective wisdom and we will be happy to help you. Contact us today for some free advice because none of us is as smart as all of us.
The best way to describe the shows in Las Vegas this past week is with the word VIBRANT. People were back: excited to see each other…
The best way to describe the shows in Las Vegas this past week is with the word VIBRANT. People were back: excited to see each other, anxious to see what is new and different, and ready to stock with merchandise for the second half of the year.
Arguably, 2021 was the best year in most jewelers’ history and 2022 started in a similar fashion. We have all been through the worst of times with COVID, a war in eastern Europe, and a very jittery stock market. But ironically, it was the best of times for jewelers. So what have we learned?
We all know that what goes up eventually comes down. We are certainly seeing the signs of this, as most jewelers have felt a letdown since Mother’s Day. Inflation, out-of-control oil prices, and the threat of increasing interest rate hikes are slowing the economy down. And we all know that when people are wary, they spend less on discretionary items, like jewelry.
Indeed, most jewelers I spoke to at the shows are concerned about the second half of this year, and particularly the fourth quarter. This was the central theme I heard. Consequently, I told many that the best thing they can do to ensure a strong close to the year is to run either a Fall or Winter sale event. It will drive traffic, create new customers, reduce aged merchandise, increase cash flow, and secure your year. If this sounds good to you – and it should – give us a call and we’ll provide a free, no-obligation consultation for you. We look forward to hearing from you.
Is the economy getting better or worse? It’s hard to tell.
Is the economy getting better or worse? It’s hard to tell.
Stock market losses are creating instability in many 401(k) and retirement plans. And when people get concerned about their net worth, even those with discretionary income tend to hold back on spending. Luxuries are among the first expenditures deemed optional, and unfortunately that includes jewelry purchases as well.
None of us has a crystal ball to know what the near-term business outcome will be. Will inflation continue at its current pace? Will the markets decline further or rebound? Will gas prices stay high? Will the war in Ukraine cause more unrest? Will jewelry continue to be the sought-after gift of choice?
Don’t dread what the future might bring. If you’ve been considering ways of mitigating instability in the marketplace, it may be time to run a major sale event. The benefits are significant: eliminating aged merchandise, raising cash, paying off debt, funding a remodel, expanding your client base, and perhaps most of all, ensuring a good year when signs of instability are in the air.
Contact us today for a free, no-obligation consultation for what is best for you in these awkward and uncertain times.
on Valley Mall in San Diego, it was time to move the business to an expansive, free-standing building in nearby Sorrento Valley.
Watch Our Case Study Video BelowTo Hear Directly from the Koll’s!
Charles Koll jewellers had its origin in South Africa and has been serving the fine jewelry needs of the greater San Diego community since 1961. Custom design and hand fabrication are not just part of what they do; it is what they do. Located for years in the Fashion Valley Mall in San Diego, it was time to move the business to an expansive, free-standing building in nearby Sorrento Valley.
The Koll family used this store closing as an opportunity to run a major sale with The Gordon Company to eliminate aged and underperforming inventory and to be able to start fresh in the new location. It was also a way to raise the cash necessary to fund both the move and buildout of the new space and to launch its major reopening.
According to owner, Malcolm Koll, “We chose The Gordon Company based on their vast experience in the field and on the referrals we received from other jewelers who had run sales with them. We were told they would uphold our long-term values and pristine image, and that’s exactly what The Gordon Company did.”
This Store Closing sale event was a huge success:
• Total sales were two times the original projection and 4.55 times greater than the same period the year before.
• 64% of the Koll family’s original cost inventory was sold during the sale while also achieving healthy, above-expected margins.
The average daily sales ticket increased 2.37 times during the sale.
• Nearly 4,000 people came through the door during the 81-day sale with 2,093 total tickets written.
• Over a year’s worth of business was done in only 11 weeks. If you are considering a store closing, relocation, renovation, or any other strategic sale event, contact us for advice and a free, no-obligation consultation. We look forward to serving you.
“The Gordon Company provided us with two quality people who managed and supervised the entire sale process. I’ve never worked with people who put in the kind of effort that they did every day. This was a strong reason why we were so successful.” – Malcolm Koll
Charles Koll Jewellers has been serving the fine jewelry needs of the greater San Diego community since 1961. Custom design and hand fabrication are not just part of what they do, it is what they do. Located for years in the Fashion Valley Mall in San Diego, it was time to move the business to an expansive, free-standing building in nearby Sorrento Valley.
Let’s be honest. The COVID pandemic ultimately and ironically had a positive economic impact on the jewelry industry. 2021 was the best year in most jewelers’ history, but 2022 has begun with significant uncertainty.
Let’s be honest. The COVID pandemic ultimately and ironically had a positive economic impact on the jewelry industry. 2021 was the best year in most jewelers’ history, but 2022 has begun with significant uncertainty. Inflation, stock market jitters, rising oil prices, and the Russian invasion of Ukraine have created anything but assurance that this year will repeat last year’s success.
What we have right now is significant uncertainty. This unsettles the economy as a whole and has a definite impact on consumer spending. The impact on luxury goods spending is particularly concerning. Every business owner must be mindful of the attitudes of consumers. Stock market decreases make people cautious, yet consumers need to be in a good mood to buy. Look no further than your own personal concerns about the state of the market, and you’ll understand the problem.
The key is to have a business plan to deal with this uncertainty. Without a plan, or at least options to consider, fear takes the place of uncertainty, and that is not where you want to be. Every business owner needs either a good succession plan or a solid exit strategy. One important option to consider is a high-impact sale event that will clear out aged inventory, increase cash flow, draw new customers to your store and add to your mailing list, and eliminate uncertainty about your success this year.
Whether you are ready to retire, or want to secure your business in 2022, we can help you. Even if you just need to think this through, give us a call or drop us a line. We’d love to assist in your planning and provide the assurance you need.
Jewelers sometimes worry about the right time to run a sale event. One of our clients was in the same predicament last year, but as you will see in the results below, the family was happy they started a sale when they did. A highly successful sale can be run at any time of the year if done right.
Jewelers sometimes worry about the right time to run a sale event. One of our clients was in the same predicament last year, but as you will see in the results below, the family was happy they started a sale when they did. A highly successful sale can be run at any time of the year if done right.
A Real-time example:
– 40-day sale started right after Mother’s Day 2021
– Had a multi-million-dollar sales goal
– Week One: accomplished 30% of the multi-million-dollar sales goal
– Results were double the projected sales expected for week one and 12 times greater than the sales during the same week a year before
– Average ticket price was over $1,500 for the first week and out of 744 guests who walked in the door, 576 sales were recorded, a 77% closing ratio.
This may sound remarkable to you, and it is. But it is not unusual for our sale events because we’ve been there hundreds of times before and we know what we’re doing. We have a formula that works, and we want to help more fine jewelers drive incredible traffic, eliminate unwanted inventory, improve cash flow, and hedge against a loss of discretionary income by customers who are now making travel plans.
As per our above example, it shows that you can have Christmas sales in the months of May and June, or any other month for that matter.
You can contact me at any time at my cell number (917) 861-9607 or click on the button below and I will be happy to contact you as soon as possible.
Despite our decades of experience running major sale events for jewelers, even we were surprised at the results of our sales last year. There were three big takeaways that I must share with you:
Despite our decades of experience running major sale events for jewelers, even we were surprised at the results of our sales last year. There were three big takeaways that I must share with you:
1) We had to throw our sales projections out the window. We blew past them with multiples never before seen.
2) There was absolutely no let down in business following mid-year sales.
3) Record December results were achieved despite running a sale earlier in the year.
We all know this is an extraordinary time for the jewelry industry. If there was ever a time to leverage an economic environment, it is now.
One client said it this way:
“We were able to eliminate vast quantities of aged merchandise without any effect on our future business, and still had a record Christmas season. But what we learned in advertising and promotion through social media, direct mail, and integration of QR codes, along with the 500 new customers we gained during the sale, will benefit us for many years to come.”
Don’t catch COVID. Catch the wave of sale events that are hitting record numbers. Contact us today for a free, confidential, no-obligation consultation.
I know how hard you have worked as a retail jeweler to reach your current position in life. The interminable hours, the staffing problems, the cash flow crises, and the security issues all take a toll.
I know how hard you have worked as a retail jeweler to reach your current position in life. The interminable hours, the staffing problems, the cash flow crises, and the security issues all take a toll. When you add in the COVID factor, it becomes almost unbearable.
However, a unique opportunity exists right now. Due to the fears, emotions, and restrictions generated by the pandemic, the demand and desire for fine jewelry is greater than it has ever been in our lifetime. 2021 was the best Christmas and year in most jewelers’ history.
So what should you do… wait 12 months and hope that everyone still feels the same next Christmas? You have waited too many years to let this ONCE IN A LIFETIME OPPORTUNITY go by. You owe it to yourself to take advantage of this very unique time.
In 2021, the consumer purchased jewelry in an emotional surge at close to ticket prices. Can you imagine the “ rush” if you carry this emotion into the Spring, Summer, and Fall of 2022 with a professionally run sale event? We know because our sales have hit record levels of success in the past 18 months.
Historically, The Gordon Company’s off-season sales generate between three and four times what the jeweler sold previously in the same period of time. You owe it to yourself to reap the rewards that you have worked so hard to attain.
The window is closing, so don’t let this moment pass. Contact me today!
Despite the continuation of the pandemic, 2021 was truly special for the jewelry industry. Chances are, this will continue in the first several months of 2022, but we don’t know how long it will last.
Despite the continuation of the pandemic, 2021 was truly special for the jewelry industry. Chances are, this will continue in the first several months of 2022, but we don’t know how long it will last.
The timing is right to ride these good times. Spring sale events last year yielded the best returns we have ever witnessed. More than that, there were no negative “after-sale” letdowns in business following the sale events because of the current economic environment.
Please don’t wait!
If you have ever considered a major sale event to increase traffic, reduce unwanted inventory, generate unprecedented cash flow, pay down debt, build your customer base, or position your business in the best possible light for the future, there has never been a better time than this.
It is also a perfect time to plan a retirement sale if you are in the midst of a transition to the next generation or to a trusted employee. Go out in style with money in your pocket.
Let us show you the way. Contact us as soon as possible because there is no time to waste.
You may be familiar with the economic term “the multiplier effect.” It’s a phenomenon whereby a given change in a particular input – government spending, for example – causes a change in output, such as increased gross domestic product.
You may be familiar with the economic term “the multiplier effect.” It’s a phenomenon whereby a given change in a particular input – government spending, for example – causes a change in output, such as increased gross domestic product.
For a variety of reasons over the past twenty months, we have experienced a “multiplier effect” of our own in the retail jewelry industry. Through a confluence of circumstances – most of which we had little control over – our trade has benefitted from a sort of multiplier effect all our own.
When the going gets good, the good get going. We are experiencing an unprecedented economic environment that simply can’t last much longer. It is crucial that you take advantage of the times by leveraging your own multiplier to your business.
If business is still good, it can be much, much better by investing in a major sale event this Spring. An increase in spending – advertising and promotion, for example – will yield a multiplier effect in sales that will be many times greater than anything you’ve experienced in past years. We know because we’ve done it for fine jewelers over numerous decades, and even more so in the past year, and the results speak for themselves. Historically, The Gordon Company’s off-season sales produce 3 – 4 times what the retailer normally does in the same period of time.
Contact us today to see how we can multiply your sales beyond anything you could imagine.
The industry has just completed one of the best jewelry Christmas selling seasons ever, but no one knows how long this once in a lifetime quest for jewelry will last. So why not keep that theme going with a special sale event early this year?
The industry has just completed one of the best jewelry Christmas selling seasons ever, but no one knows how long this once in a lifetime quest for jewelry will last. So why not keep that theme going with a special sale event early this year? It could be centered around Valentine’s Day or even Mother’s Day, with the added advantage of:
Keeping in-store traffic flowing by extending the holiday
Building a larger customer email and mailing list for 2022
Reducing aged and unwanted merchandise that hasn’t sold
Taking advantage of jewelry sales before disposable income is diverted to other uses
There is no time like the present to leverage the good times because it may be a short window of time before things change. If Christmas was this good, imagine how a sale event early in the year or even in the Spring with discounted products you want to get rid of can maximize your selling opportunity.
Contact us today for a confidential, no-obligation consultation.
The Gordon Company president Ira Bergman recently spoke to a very anxious jeweler who was losing staff and felt it was time to sell her business or have a retirement sale. What to do in a situation like this is nerve-racking for any business owner.
The Gordon Company president Ira Bergman recently spoke to a very anxious jeweler who was losing staff and felt it was time to sell her business or have a retirement sale. What to do in a situation like this is nerve-racking for any business owner.
Ira has a calming way of dealing with fine jewelers who are in a quandary of what to do next. He provides sage advice, solely with the goal of helping each jeweler. That is our standard, and we will never deviate from it.
In the instance above, the jeweler expressed her gratitude for Ira’s counsel, which is exactly what she needed at the time. But I want to share an excerpt from Ira’s follow-up with her that speaks volumes about our service, and our care and concern for jewelers:
“I very much enjoyed our talk and will look forward to speaking again in the near future. Your plan to reduce inventory in advance of a possible sale is excellent and in the interim, we can only hope that a buyer comes along. In the meantime, don’t remove me from your life as an advisor. Whether we ever get to do a sale together or not, my current advice is free of charge. Let’s keep talking – YOU ARE NOT ALONE.
I’m not sharing this to brag. It’s a real-life example of what we do at The Gordon Company to help jewelers with what is often the most difficult decision of their business life. As we enter 2022, we wish you good health, prosperity, and happiness. Please know that you are not alone. Ira or any of my team members are here to help you in any way we can.
A fun thing to do at Thanksgiving is to give a little quiz around the dinner table to see who knows the most about the very first Thanksgiving in America. Just for fun, here are 10 questions you might want to ask your guests, with the answers bolded:
Thanksgiving week is the most traveled time in the United States, and it will likely continue to be this year, despite COVID. Even with all the challenges each of us has faced in the midst of a lingering pandemic, there is still so much to be thankful for. Gathering with family and friends re-unites our spirits and brings much hope for the future.
A fun thing to do at Thanksgiving is to give a little quiz around the dinner table to see who knows the most about the very first Thanksgiving in America. Just for fun, here are 10 questions you might want to ask your guests, with the answersbolded:
1) The Pilgrims landed at what they called Plymouth Rock on September 20th, 1620, which is now part of what state? Massachusetts
2) We call them Pilgrims, but what was the name of their actual religious group? a) Lutherans, b) Puritans, c) Methodists, or d) Baptists?
3) The Pilgrims learned to plant corn from the native Indians. What did they plant with the corn to ensure a healthy crop? a) a dead fish, b) vegetable scraps, or c) dried leaves?
4) Which utensil did the Pilgrims NOT eat with? a) a fork, b) a knife, c) a spoon, or d) their fingers?
5) You probably know that the day after Thanksgiving is called Black Friday. What is the Monday after Thanksgiving now called? Cyber Monday
6) A female turkey is called a hen and she chuckles. A male turkey gobbles, and he’s often called a gobbler. By what other common name is a male turkey called? Tom
7) For you nutritionists out there, which has more protein? Chicken, Beef, or Turkey?
8) For you sports fans, which NFL team always plays a game on Thanksgiving? a) the Lions, b) the Bears, c) the Chargers, or d) the Rams?
9) For you cooks out there, what is the best place to put the thermometer in a turkey? a) the breast, b) the back, c) the leg or d) the thigh?
10) The first Thanksgiving parade was sponsored by a famous department store that was well-known for its window displays. Was it a) Dillards, b) Gimbels, or c) Saks?
Bonus Question: We all know that Thanksgiving falls on the 4th Thursday of November, so what is the earliest numerical date that Thanksgiving can actually fall on? The 22nd
Have fun around the dinner table and Happy Thanksgiving from all of us at The Gordon Company!!!
Last week we cautioned jewelers about possible new tax laws taking effect next year that can affect their business. Two in particular warrant immediate attention, before the end of 2021: the Employer Retention Credit (ERC) that has expired, and potential changes in the estate tax exemption.
Steve Merdinger, CPA
Pompano Beach, FL—Last week we cautioned jewelers about possible new tax laws taking effect next year that can affect their business. Two in particular warrant immediate attention, before the end of 2021: the Employer Retention Credit (ERC) that has expired, and potential changes in the estate tax exemption.
We asked Steve Merdinger, (image) CPA and managing partner of KMR LLP, a New York-based certified public accounting and advisory firm with many clients in the jewelry industry, to explain some of the key components of these issues.
Ira Bergman: What do jewelers need to do regarding the Employer Retention Credit passed last year?
Steve Merdinger: The House of Representatives passed a trimmed down Infrastructure Bill, known officially as the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. The legislation already passed the Senate and will now be sent to President Biden for his signature.
Though the bill contains very few tax provisions, one significant item that affects many of you is the ERC. The Act effectively ends the Employer Retention Credit program for most employers at the end of the third quarter.
Created in 2020’s CARES Act and expanded (and enhanced) through 2021, the ERC generally provided eligible employers a refundable credit of up to $7,000 of qualified wages per employee per quarter (for 2021). Following this legislation, most employers will only be eligible for the credit on wages through September 30, 2021. Be sure that you have applied for all available credits through September 30 and consider amending applicable tax returns if you have failed to apply when applicable.
Bergman: What changes might be made in the estate tax exemption?
Merdinger: The estate and gift tax exemption of $11.7 million is a historically high amount. It was a temporary increase and is set to expire at the end of 2025—at which time the exemption will revert to $5 million (before required adjustments for inflation).
Various tax proposals put forth in Congress, however, would accelerate that reduction in the exemption amount. While it is not clear whether such proposals would be enacted, if they were the professional consensus estimates the exemption would be lowered to +/- $6 million ($12 million combined with a spouse). We recommend those with significant exemption capacity above those figures (under current law), to consider gifting strategies prior to the end of 2021, enabling you to maximize the use of your current exemption. Otherwise no action on your part would become a “use it or lose it” situation.
It is critical for you to discuss your individual circumstances with a professional to determine what planning you may wish to consider prior to the end of 2021 in order to take advantage of the currently advantageous exemption.
Ira Bergman, President at GordonCo
Bergman: What other changes impact jewelers?
Merdinger: We want to again remind you of the deductibility of certain restaurant-provided business meals in 2021 and 2022. As a temporary exception to the 50% limit on deductibility of certain business meals, tax legislation in December 2020 provided for a new 100% deductibility of amounts paid or incurred in 2021 and 2022 for “food or beverages provided by a restaurant” for business purposes.
Under IRS guidance, a restaurant is a business that prepares and sells food and beverages to retail customers for immediate consumption. Restaurants do not include businesses that sell primarily pre-packaged food or beverages (such as grocery stores), nor do they include specialty food stores, liquor stores, drug stores, convenience stores, newsstands, kiosks, or vending machines. Significantly, the IRS indicated that the food or beverages purchased from qualifying restaurants do not need to be consumed at the restaurant; take-out meals would qualify. Under relevant Treasury regulations, the cost of food and beverages generally includes delivery fees, tips, and sales tax.
Note that the general rules for deductibility of business-related meals continue to apply: the food and beverage expense must be business-related, not lavish or extravagant, and the taxpayer or an employee of the taxpayer must be present.
Pompano Beach, FL—I’m not a tax expert, but I stay up on legislative issues like you probably do.
By Ira Bergman, President, The Gordon Co.
Pompano Beach, FL—I’m not a tax expert, but I stay up on legislative issues like you probably do.
From the financial people I have been talking to, I hear there is a high likelihood that Congress may pass new tax laws that could affect many business owners in our industry.
Many of us have spent a lifetime working hard to build our businesses, create some degree of wealth, and provide for ourselves and our heirs in a way we see fit. So we need to be aware of how to protect our assets, enjoy a well-deserved retirement or semi-retirement, and make the last couple decades of our lives the very best.
In his new book Family Business Succession Planning, author Bill Boyajian discusses various forms of business transition: to a son or daughter or other family member, to a long-time seasoned employee, to an outside party who buys you out, or even through a retirement or going-out-of-business sale. In each of these instances, you may wish to conduct a business valuation, which can be helpful not only in knowing what your business is worth, but in considering various forms of gifting or buyout to minimize your tax liability.
If you are currently in a transition situation, or will soon be in one, it is vital that you consider the possible tax consequences right now. No one has a crystal ball on decisions that may come about next year regarding corporate taxes, personal income taxes, the often talked about “wealth” tax, or changes to limits on the transfer of monies to heirs.
I urge jewelers in every facet of our trade to seek the advice of tax professionals to see how any possible changes may impact your business and/or retirement planning.
My advice is to be assertive and get the help you may need through your CPA or tax attorney. There is a sense of urgency to this so it will be wise for you to understand the possible tax ramifications that may come about and act sooner rather than later to plan for them accordingly.
This is an incomparable time we live in—one with exciting and unique opportunities. Right now, with the boom in the jewelry industry, there are countless prospects for you and your store. You may have not thought about it this way previously, but let us explain.
This is an incomparable time we live in—one with exciting and unique opportunities. Right now, with the boom in the jewelry industry, there are countless prospects for you and your store. You may have not thought about it this way previously, but let us explain.
“Imagine the last ten days before Christmas and multiply it by SIX TIMES.” This was a statement made by one of our valued clients during the last holiday season. We believe results like these will be seen during this coming holiday season as well.
If business is down, we’re speaking to you.
If sales are up, we can be your trusted partner as well.
Now is the time to capitalize on a never-before-seen possibility for your business. Conducting a high-impact sale event with The Gordon Company benefits jewelers in numerous ways. One of those major ways includes bringing in top-of-the-line inventory into your store from a wide array of vendors that we have long-standing relationships with.
We’d like you to see beyond just the couple of months that we will be with you running your sale, however, and here are some of the long-term advantages of a Gordon Company sale:
An Inventory Reduction Sale will rid you of unwanted, aged inventory in order to purchase fresh, new product for your clientele to enjoy far after we leave your store, ultimately boosting your revenues
A Retirement Sale will help you retire in style and provide you with the financial peace you always dreamed of
A Store Closing Sale can allow you to close an unproductive store, to provide you with the cash flow to remodel your flagship store in the way that you’ve been wanting to but never had the money for
A Cash Raising Sale will raise the funds needed to market your business in the manner that you know you should be in order to increase customer traffic, as well as potentially upgrading your online selling platform to increase internet sales also
So, as you can see, the possibilities are endless—and these are just a handful of the numerous sale promotions we run for our clients. However, you can’t afford to wait. Now IS the time to make the decision to take on The Gordon Company as your strategic partner for the major sale event that WILL be the Sale of your Store’s Lifetime!
One fine jeweler said of his sale earlier this year that it was like “Christmas on steroids.” His business was already very good, but he built onto to it with an unbelievable 33-day sale that generated six-times the revenue he would have done in that same time period.
Some say this will be the best Holiday Season for retail jewelers. It may very well be. The pandemic has surprised all of us, and while some are suffering, many are thriving.
So if business is good, why do we advocate a major sale event? In short, because we may never have a better year to leverage an economic period like this.
One fine jeweler said of his sale earlier this year that it was like “Christmas on steroids.” His business was already very good, but he built onto to it with an unbelievable 33-day sale that generated six-times the revenue he would have done in that same time period.
I don’t believe I’m over-stating it to say that this winter season could well be your Business’ “Sale of a Lifetime.” You need to capitalize on the current jewelry frenzy with a model designed to exponentially multiply a good business climate into the greatest time in your business career.
No one knows how long the current trend will last, yet we know we can drive new traffic for you, help you sell multiples more than you could do on your own, profit significantly from it, and move into 2022 in a very strong position.
But you must act with urgency to secure your place in the coming weeks. Please contact us immediately for more information or to book your store’s greatest sale event ever.
People are selling their homes while prices are very high. They know the current wave won’t last forever.
People are selling their homes while prices are very high. They know the current wave won’t last forever.
Although this is the case in the housing market, how about jewelry stores? We’ve heard from numerous retailers that sales of jewelry merchandise are also very high at this time; however, no one knows how long this current wave will last either.
Selling your store is rarely an option these days, but going out on a high is not. Most jewelers don’t realize that the best time to retire is when your business is doing well.
But one thing is pretty certain: you won’t have a better year to consider going out of business or transitioning your business if retirement is on your radar.
If this is even a mild consideration, you may want to speed up your retirement plans. We are happy to provide advice on a complimentary basis with zero obligation on your part.
Contact us today to see how our decades of experience can make the difference you are looking for. Let us help you go out on a high.
Some fine jewelers have managed to pick up clients when others have closed their doors. But our experience at The Gordon Company is that the pace of new customer acquisition lags far behind what it needs to be, especially in light of the number of store closings.
Some fine jewelers have managed to pick up clients when others have closed their doors. But our experience at The Gordon Company is that the pace of new customer acquisition lags far behind what it needs to be, especially in light of the number of store closings. If you are stagnant or even achieving modest growth with new customers, that isn’t enough in this economy.
You need an infusion over and above simple organic growth of your customer base.
Our clients are shocked when they see how we drive traffic. They see people cross their threshold that have never before been in their store. Some of these new customers even say that they’ve lived in town for years but have never heard of the store until they had a major sale event orchestrated by our team.
Most jewelers think of a sale only as a means of reducing aged inventory. Few think of it as a means of building their client base, which is exactly what we do.
Of course, we also generate tremendous cash flow for you, eliminate unwanted inventory, and create an unparalleled buzz and celebration in your community. But the comment we hear most often from our clients is how we created new customers for them. On average, 30% or more of all purchases are from customers who have never been to the store.
Why not benefit as other fine jewelers have with a custom-designed sale event that meets your goals and builds your customer base. Call us today to get in line for a sale.
You’ve devoted a working lifetime to your jewelry business. You’re an expert in leading and managing a fine jewelry store. You’ve mastered the elements to compete in your marketplace. While all of this is true, running a major sale event is something you have likely never done.
You’ve devoted a working lifetime to your jewelry business. You’re an expert in leading and managing a fine jewelry store. You’ve mastered the elements to compete in your marketplace. While all of this is true, running a major sale event is something you have likely never done.
Rather than be tempted to run a short-term, flash-in-the-pan sale, take your time to consider what is in your best long-term interest. Think about the goals you want to achieve through a sale event. Do you have aged and underperforming merchandise to reduce? Are you in need of raising some cash? Do you need to increase traffic and your customer base? Are you getting ready to retire and transition your business?
A good professional will help you determine your needs and establish a set of goals to achieve. Their interest should be to get to know you and your business extremely well. Without a sincere interest in what is best for you, anything can happen, and it often does. If a major sale event is your best option, a good advisor will recommend it, and help you achieve it.
Keep in mind, an event of this magnitude may be something that can only be done once; therefore, this is an opportunity that cannot be wasted. That’s why it is important not to do a sale on your own. We realize major sale events aren’t your expertise, so you should seek a professional who has the experience and reputation to help you. This is what we do at The Gordon Company, and it is all we do. You’re an expert in your day-to-day operations, we’re experts in the promotional sale business. Contact us today—we’ll be the trusted partner you can count on in this arena.
Recently we were meeting with a client after his highly successful sale event. We always debrief with clients following a sale because, despite running hundreds of such events over the years, we continue to refine our planning and perspective for future clients.
Recently we were meeting with a client after his highly successful sale event. We always debrief with clients following a sale because, despite running hundreds of such events over the years, we continue to refine our planning and perspective for future clients.
Not only was this client pleased with his financial results, he was amazed at what he learned about how to market to his customer base in the years ahead. In his words,
“You guys are marketing geniuses! What I gained was not just the elimination of my aged inventory and significantly increased cash flow, I learned how to promote my stellar reputation in the community and market to a wider range of customers and client segments, some of which I had never considered.”
Many fine jewelers think of inventory reduction sales as a negative to their image and a last resort in their thinking. Not true. What the above jeweler learned in marketing concepts alone was invaluable to his future. He saw his customer base grow as a result of the sales and marketing techniques we employed. People who had never crossed the threshold of his store were now his new customers.
You are an expert in selling jewelry. We want your focus to be on what you know and love. We are experts in marketing your brand. We understand the changing landscape, can distinguish between different demographics, and desire to master your market.
Finally, we know how to deliver the financial results you expect, and how to build your client base with unparalleled marketing techniques. Let us help you improve your current position and secure your future goals, all while you concentrate on the core of your business—let us take care of the rest.
The U.S. is opening up from the pandemic, but the months of July through October are historically slow for the average retail jeweler.
Dear Jeweler,
The U.S. is opening up from the pandemic, but the months of July through October are historically slow for the average retail jeweler.
Jewelers have been reporting that sales from February through Mother’s Day were excellent, but in the past 30 days or so their customers have stopped coming in. Could this be the consumer turning to other luxury items, like travel, or is it just the normal slowdown that jewelry retailers experience in the summer and fall of the year?
Why sit around and wait for something to happen? Some of our most successful sale events have been in the summer to early fall months.
These sales have had many different purposes for different firms, depending on their specific needs. The types of sales have varied from Inventory Reduction to Cash Raising to Store Moving to Retirement and Business Transition. But they have all had one thing in common: They all generated sales of three, four, or more times the volume achieved during the same period of time in previous years.
– The value of these “off-season” sales cannot be over-emphasized: – They last from 30 to 60 days during a normally slow season. – They bring in new customers when you need them the most. – They stay away from the Christmas Season, which allows you to get your normal gross profit during your busiest time of year.
Time is of the essence, so contact us immediately so we can help you make 2021 your best year ever.
Levys Fine Jewelry is a well-known and respected multi-generation fixture in downtown Birmingham, Alabama. As one of the biggest buyers of fine estate and period pieces in the southeast, they had accumulated a unique inventory of incredible size, diversity, and interest. But they were faced with a daunting dilemma.
I know it’s hard. It’s hard to wrap our head around new thinking. We’re used to doing what we’ve always done which always gives us what we’ve always gotten.
I know it’s hard. It’s hard to wrap our head around new thinking. We’re used to doing what we’ve always done which always gives us what we’ve always gotten.
But 2020, and even 2021, has taught us a lot about what to do in the face of adversity. We had to do things differently in order to cope, and to thrive.
But not everyone made the transition. Some are still suffering from what to do in the face of enormous change. Maybe I’m speaking to you as you read this.
One thing you can’t do is what you’ve always done. You’ll just get the same old results and that won’t help you deal with the adjustments that must be made.
Running a major sale event will change your thinking. Frankly, it will change everything. A Gordon Company sale this summer or fall will:
• Drive traffic and grow your customer list
• Increase sales by 3 to 4x’s in a comparable period of time
• Eliminate aged and unwanted inventory
• Create significant cash flow for new merchandise
You can’t afford the same old thinking, so don’t delay. Contact us immediately for a confidential, no-obligation consultation on how we can assist you in implementing a new way of thinking into your business.
As our country begins to “open up” state by state, we will see many people going back to the office, back to school, and out in the community more and more. People have mostly been cooped up for over a year, have been dressing casually, and want to get out.
As our country begins to “open up” state by state, we will see many people going back to the office, back to school, and out in the community more and more. People have mostly been cooped up for over a year, have been dressing casually, and want to get out. They need new clothes, supplies, accessories, and more. Many are headed back to pandemic-closed offices and new opportunities for self-expression will surely eat into this past year’s spending on jewelry.
We see travel and entertainment as targets for previously home-bound shoppers, and clothing, electronics, and all consumer goods sectors will be vying for the disposable income of the public. This combined with a stronger national savings rate and increased government-granted money floating in the economy means a boom in retailing.
But what does this mean for jewelers? How will you bring people into your store when there are so many other choices of where to shop and how to spend their money?
You need a strong reason to attract customers to your store. Jewelry says love better than any other item, but we need a good excuse to get them in. Nothing does this better than a major sale event. 30% or more of the sales you will make during one of our events will be to entirely new customers who have never been to your store.
We have helped hundreds of jewelers with advice and direction as premier consultants for major sale events. If you need a trusted advisor to assist you, please give us a call.
Jewelers sometimes worry about when is the right time to run a sale. One of our current clients was in the same predicament but as you can see from the results below, they’re happy that they started a sale now. A highly successful sale can be run at any time of the year if done right.
Jewelers sometimes worry about when is the right time to run a sale. One of our current clients was in the same predicament but as you can see from the results below, they’re happy that they started a sale now. A highly successful sale can be run at any time of the year if done right.
Real-time example: We are running a 40-day sale right now that started after Mother’s Day with a multi-million dollar sales goal. In the first four days of the sale, we’ve accomplished 30% of that multi-million dollar sales goal! This is double the projected sales we expected in those four days and over 12 times greater than the sales during the same week a year ago. The average ticket price is over $1,500. Out of 744 customers who walked in the door (10% of those were new customers), 576 sales were recorded, a 77% closing ratio.
This may sound remarkable to you, and it is. But it is not unusual for our sale events because we’ve been there hundreds of times before and we know what we’re doing. We have a formula that works and we want to help more fine jewelers drive incredible traffic, remove unwanted inventory, improve cash flow, and hedge against a loss of discretionary income by customers who are now making travel plans.
As per our above example, it shows that you can have Christmas-like sales in the spring, summer, or fall seasons and thereby saving your holiday gross margin. We can help you accomplish this any month prior to the holiday season and of course the holiday season itself!
You can contact me at any time at my cell number (917) 861-9607 or click on my calendar below to schedule an appointment at your convenience.
After being cooped up for over a year with the pandemic, most people have the bug to travel again. Southwest Airlines asks, “Want to get away?” Yes, people do.
After being cooped up for over a year with the pandemic, most people have the bug to travel again. Southwest Airlines asks, “Want to get away?” Yes, people do.
But what does that mean to you? Jewelry stores are already experiencing increased competition from the travel, recreation, and entertainment industries, and it will only get worse as COVID-19 vaccinations are available to everyone, young and old.
Daily traffic to jewelry stores is down, even if sales are okay. With the aging of Baby Boomers and the loss of older customers, the need for younger customers has never been greater. You need an injection, and I don’t mean a shot.
Having a major sale event is the best way to build traffic and create new customers while simultaneously increasing cash flow and eliminating aged and unwanted merchandise. Moreover, 30% of those new customers will have never been to your store.
The competition for discretionary dollars in the luxury sector is rising quickly. You need to give customers a reason to shop with you. Give us a call or drop us a line because we know how to help.
Chances are, you are a jeweler who prides himself or herself in not running sales. That’s great. We like this because when you try to run sales repeatedly on your own, the public eventually picks up on it and doesn’t believe you. We love it when you have seldom, if ever, run a sale, because that’s when we can make you the most money.
Chances are, you are a jeweler who prides himself or herself in not running sales. That’s great. We like this because when you try to run sales repeatedly on your own, the public eventually picks up on it and doesn’t believe you. We love it when you have seldom, if ever, run a sale, because that’s when we can make you the most money.
Some people promote a short sale event where you can do a month’s worth of business in a few days. These can be effective, but it’s like putting a band-aid on a major wound. It just doesn’t last and more serious work must be done.
That’s why we recommend a major sale event over several weeks with the proper planning and detailed preparation necessary for success. In short, why settle for a month’s worth of business when you can do a year’s worth of business with the help of The Gordon Company. Bottom line, you don’t want to do it alone.
Every jeweler is different and requires a customized approach. If you’re considering a sale event this year, regardless of the season or timeframe, contact us for a complimentary and confidential review of your specific situation. There is no obligation on your part. We want you to be successful and we have the expertise and the experience to prove it. We look forward to assisting you with your sale so contact us today!
Jewelers were the prime beneficiary of the sentimental value of our products during the pandemic. But as more and more people are vaccinated and as herd immunity begins to set in nationwide, people are getting out. They’re simply tired of being couped up.
What this means is that travel – the number one competitor to jewelry for disposable luxury dollars – is coming back with a vengeance. We may only have a few months left before those dollars are spent on travel alternatives.
Some say we’re headed for the “Roaring ‘20s,” where the determination to “get out” and “let loose” permeated society after the Spanish Flu. Time will tell on this, but time is not on our side when it comes to competing with travel, vacations, cruises, and getting away.
So seriously consider taking full advantage of what is otherwise a one-time opportunity to have a major sale event. Time is of the essence. Contact us today!
In a nutshell, yes; tried and true methods still work. But an ability to adapt to the times we live in and to create innovative new processes with the technology now available to us is paramount.
In a nutshell, yes; tried and true methods still work. But an ability to adapt to the times we live in and to create innovative new processes with the technology now available to us is paramount.
The numerous sales events we’ve conducted over the past year prove this point. Our traditional promotional strategies work just as well as they always have, even in a COVID, mask-wearing environment. Maybe even better because the people who respond to a major sale are more serious today than ever before.
Fewer lookers and more buyers lead to effective sales, and that’s what we’ve experienced over the past 12 months. Brick and mortar isn’t going away, and when combined with the new, online platform we create for you, it’s a winning combination.
Let’s face it, traffic is down and you need a shot in the arm – and I don’t mean a vaccine in this case. You need that strong jolt to ensure your year’s business, drive buyers to your store, and eliminate aged merchandise that weighs you down.
The Gordon Company has the answers. All you need to do is call. Our busy season is arriving and we want to save a spot for your major sale event. Be first in your market to conduct one.
Running a sale is good business most any year, but it is especially good in 2021 for these five important reasons:
Running a sale is good business most any year, but it is especially good in 2021 for these five important reasons:
Luxury Purchasing Will Change
We were lucky. 2020 was better for jewelry sales than any of us expected when the pandemic hit. Purchasing jewelry became the luxury choice when travel was halted. But this won’t last forever. Travel has already picked up and will continue to grow as a jeweler’s biggest competition. You should run a sale event before those disposable dollars go to travel agents and cruise lines.
You Need Traffic & Customers
No matter how successful you are, attrition eats away at your customer base. 30% of the purchases in our typical sale are produced by people who have never before entered your store. A major sale event is the best way to add new clients to your mailing list.
Online Purchases Augment Brick & Mortar
The pandemic proved that every jeweler needs to supplement in-store sales with a strong online and omni-channel presence. We created e-commerce sites for our sale events in only a few days that provided the digital capacity our clients needed to succeed. We can do this for you, too.
A Sale is Appreciated by Your Customers
You’ve had a community presence over many years. What better way to say thank you to your customers and friends than to allow them to benefit from special pricing on merchandise you would welcome clearing out. It’s your way of saying thank you.
Liquidity is Always Valued
Financial security is never a given in our business. The key to ‘peace of mind’ is having liquidity. Our sales provide the cash insurgence you need to lower bank and trade debt, and give you the freedom to replenish aged inventory with fresh, saleable products.
We are always available for a free, confidential, no-obligation analysis. Contact us today.
2021 is a good year to run a major sale event because people are slowly getting out and they will soon be traveling again. In other words, the benefit our industry has received from people staying home will soon be over.
2021 is a good year to run a major sale event because people are slowly getting out and they will soon be traveling again. In other words, the benefit our industry has received from people staying home will soon be over.
We have found that late Spring, Summer, and early Fall are all ideal times to run a sale. But, as we partner with you, it’s important to start planning together now so you’ll be prepared to drive increased traffic to your store, further build your customer base, and eliminate a lot of unwanted merchandise.
Speaking with a client recently, he was adamant that we not bring in ANY additional merchandise. I said, “That’s fine.” We don’t own any merchandise and all we want to do is sell your inventory, not someone else’s. We also want every client to feel very comfortable that their reputation in the community will be maintained because every client approves what promotional elements we will bring to the table–therefore, all sales are unique in their own right.
We insist that every jeweler is comfortable with how the sale is conducted. Our job is to orchestrate all the details so you and your team of salespeople can focus on what you do best: SELL like it was Christmas Eve every day.
So contact us right away if a sale event is what you need this year. We anticipate a busy season ahead.
A new year brings new thinking to what was, and what will be, in the months ahead. This is especially true after going through such challenging times. Difficult as they were – and will likely continue in 2021 – we all learned how to do more with less and to employ new techniques and technology to our trade.
A new year brings new thinking to what was, and what will be, in the months ahead. This is especially true after going through such challenging times. Difficult as they were – and will likely continue in 2021 – we all learned how to do more with less and to employ new techniques and technology to our trade. For instance, according to a study conducted by Jewelers Going Digital , around 50% of all jewelers with websites aren’t set-up to sell online—we introduced a new e-commerce platform where 100% of our clients can sell online to their customers, in just a number of days.
We believe three groups of jewelry retailers emerged from 2020: those who did well, those who struggled, and those who want to call it quits. Regardless of where you stand, we can help every jeweler because running a major sale event is something you should do over any given period of years, although each individual situation could be for different reasons.
All jewelers need to maintain and increase their daily traffic whether it be instore or online, as well as to replenish those customers lost via attrition. Doing so will not only reduce inventory, increase cash flow, but also create goodwill in their community during challenging times. And speaking of challenges, we now offer you the capability to interact with your clients through a revolutionary virtual-selling platform, if they are unable to make it in your store, or if they still don’t feel comfortable shopping in public.
If you struggled and are looking for a jump start to the year – or even if you did really well – nothing will help you more than a spring or summer sale, with our new and useful tools we’ve implemented for your benefit, to substantially increase sales during a typically slow time of the year. And if you are thinking that this is your last year in business, we would like to help you go out in style with commitment, integrity, and a lot of money in your pocket. Please contact us soon because we anticipate a busy 2021.
According to the Jewelers Board of Trade, there were far fewer store closings in 2020 than we might have expected. Trying to get a handle on what that means may be more difficult.
According to the Jewelers Board of Trade, there were far fewer store closings in 2020 than we might have expected. Trying to get a handle on what that means may be more difficult.
Did retail jewelers do better than expected during the pandemic? Are people holding tight to see what will happen in 2021? Will this be the year that store closings catch up and exceed previous levels?
Whatever the reasons, there has been a continuous reduction in retail store fronts over the past 30 years. Over time, weaker competition has thrown in the towel, leaving more highly competitive and capable jewelers to gobble up market share. Yet most jewelers – even the good ones – fail to grow to the extent they should considering the number of stores that have closed.
If you need a jolt this year and want to capture the market share that exists in your community, a major sale event orchestrated by true professionals may be the answer. Increased traffic, new customers, greater cash flow, and a reduction in aged merchandise are the great benefits of a sale.
A sale event is good business if you want to grow over the long run. Give us a call if the time is right for you to stay competitive in your market.
Jewelers often ask us why they should have a major sale. There are many reasons, but in short, it’s simply part of doing good business. It’s a way to reward your customers with some great deals while you also benefit from removing products that once looked good to you, but haven’t yet sold.
Jewelers often ask us why they should have a major sale. There are many reasons, but in short, it’s simply part of doing good business. It’s a way to reward your customers with some great deals while you also benefit from removing products that once looked good to you, but haven’t yet sold.
What you may not realize is that despite the enormous challenges of 2020, we were able to conduct numerous sale events that were very successful. By employing all our traditional brick and mortar tactics even under COVID restrictions, along with our newly-developed online platform, our sales in many cases garnered results well in excess of projections.
For many jewelers, weathering 2020 was difficult, and some managed better than others. But one of the biggest issues for all jewelers is reduced traffic. You know that attrition reduces your customer base and you need to replenish it every few years. About one-third of all purchases during our sales are from people who had never entered the jeweler’s store. Having a sale will benefit your cash flow and recharge your customer list.
We are anticipating a crowded marketplace in our field in 2021, and we would like to help you accomplish your goals. Please give us a call to see how we can help you with a Spring Sale Event.
The year 2020 has caused me to reflect on a number of issues that are meaningful in life and in business. Family, friends, and clients come closest to mind as we have all endured the challenges of a global pandemic.
The year 2020 has caused me to reflect on a number of issues that are meaningful in life and in business. Family, friends, and clients come closest to mind as we have all endured the challenges of a global pandemic.
There are three important things that my company stands for that I have come to appreciate in both good times and bad: Vision, Integrity, and Results.
Vision: We always try to anticipate where our industry is going and how we can help our clients get to where they need to be. Sometimes this is a function of helping them get into a better financial position, stay in business, or even go out of business. Their needs are our passion and our vision is formed from this.
Integrity: We strive to do everything with honesty and integrity. We don’t bend on quality or ethics. It’s who we are, and this will never change.
Results: By formulating a vision that seeks to meet our clients’ needs and to do so with integrity, the only way it works to everyone’s benefit is to achieve the results that are expected. Without those results, we don’t have a business you can count on.
We wish you a year of good health, safety, and renewed prosperity in your jewelry business. As always, let us know how we can help you.
Our personal and professional lives have been tested in 2020. Something good has come from it: the patience and resilience of jewelers across America.
Our personal and professional lives have been tested in 2020. Something good has come from it: the patience and resilience of jewelers across America.
All of us have had to adapt in order to maintain business and to grow. Fortunately, most have been able to stay healthy and accommodate a safe environment for co-workers and customers alike.
During the trying times we’ve all endured, nothing says love like diamonds, gems, and jewelry. Our jewels symbolize joy, meaning, and togetherness more than any other consumer product.
Rarely has there been a time in recent history when people have needed the emotional connection to one another that exists today. As a fine jeweler, you are uniquely positioned this holiday season, and going into 2021, to lift spirits and to satisfy the bond between people.
2020 has certainly tested us all, but as we get past the holidays and moving into this new year, we believe we all can emerge even stronger in 2021.
Despite your attempts to create a great Holiday Season, it always seems to come later and later each year.
Despite your attempts to create a great Holiday Season, it always seems to come later and later each year.
You wait and wait for the rush to come and it now starts less than 10 days before Christmas. This can be an emotional let-down when your excitement and positive outlook are most necessary.
That’s why a sale event starting in December and carrying through Valentines Day can be a terrific way to go. That’s right. There are many options available to you late this year.
If you want to have the best Christmas in your history and carry this through January and up to Valentines Day, contact us right away for a consultation and analysis of your specific situation.
Not all sales are created equal. Jump start 2021 with a sale that can put cash in your pocket. This may just be the holiday gift you’re looking for.
Yankee great Yogi Berra made famous the saying, “It ain’t over till it’s over.” That’s because it isn’t. And neither is the year 2020. It’s still not too late to run a major sale event and there is no better time to do this than during the holiday season.
It’s Not Too Late to Run a Sale!
Yankee great Yogi Berra made famous the saying, “It ain’t over till it’s over.” That’s because it isn’t. And neither is the year 2020. It’s still not too late to run a major sale event and there is no better time to do this than during the holiday season.
We can tailor a sale to meet your needs and custom design an event that will provide the best Christmas sales in your history. But you can’t wait any longer. Time is of the essence.
Our proven methodology and experience provide the results you need to eliminate unwanted merchandise, generate much-needed cash, and provide enormous relief from the stress of the year 2020.
If you need help, please contact us right away. There is still time to make it happen.
Think about it. There are things in life that you’re only going to do once. Have your tonsils removed. Hire a wedding planner. Buy your first home. Borrow money to start a small business. Tour the Great Pyramids. Scale Mount Everest.
Think about it. There are things in life that you’re only going to do once. Have your tonsils removed. Hire a wedding planner. Buy your first home. Borrow money to start a small business. Tour the Great Pyramids. Scale Mount Everest.
In each of these situations, you need expert guidance because these are one-time experiences you simply can’t get wrong. Such professionals will keep doing what they do best long after you become part of their history. So they have to get it right.
The same is true in business. When you’re considering closing a store, moving to a new location, liquidating inventory, raising significant cash, retiring, transitioning a business, or even going out of business, you’re probably only going to do this once, so you better get it right. There’s just too much at stake if you make a mistake.
We’d love to help you in any of these areas because we eat, sleep, and drink major sale events that accomplish these goals. This is what we do every day for upscale retail jewelers, and I like to think we’re as good as anyone in the business at it.
So give us a call or drop us a line if we can help you because you’re only going to do this once.
Remember when toilet paper seemed to be our biggest problem. Seven months have passed and the world has been turned upside down.
Remember when toilet paper seemed to be our biggest problem. Seven months have passed and the world has been turned upside down.
Now you have just two months to salvage your year, so don’t leave it to chance.
The Gordon Company has last minute solutions to your biggest problem: Getting people through the door to buy. It’s still not too late, but you have to act right now.
We also have a digital solution that can help you sell online when your customers can’t or won’t come into the store. It’s all part of the package we offer to get you through the season.
Contact us to see what we can do for you. Call us today!
We are often asked how we generate such a high volume of traffic to a store during a major sale event. The answer is pretty simple, but the techniques are anything but simple or ordinary.
We are often asked how we generate such a high volume of traffic to a store during a major sale event. The answer is pretty simple, but the techniques are anything but simple or ordinary.
The advertising mix we may choose to use can incorporate up to 15 different forms. Some, like print or social media, are common to you, but many of the other types of promotion are those you have likely never used, and likely would never think of in planning your own sale.
We begin with a very sophisticated marketing plan that has yielded tremendous results in hundreds of past sales, both by bringing people to your store, and your website. But every store and every sale is different, and may call for changes that require lightning fast movement of what’s working, or what’s not. The process involves a daily review of every customer who walks in the door or contacts us in any way we can trace. The amount of data we retrieve is mind-boggling, and tells us how to move quickly to increase, decrease, alter, or incorporate new forms of promotion. We don’t just throw money at it. We calculate every move with speed and precision, and with our increased digital solutions, we ensure greater safety for you, your employees, and your customers.
The financial results speak for themselves. And so do our clients, who reap the benefit of selling aged and unwanted merchandise, generating cash flow like never before, and preparing for a new year with money in the bank and a new outlook on the future. Contact us today to see how we can drive people to your store and your website.
What is it they say? When the going gets tough, the tough get going! When traffic is down and social distancing is an issue, creativity and innovation are what separate the ordinary from the extraordinary.
What is it they say? When the going gets tough, the tough get going!
When traffic is down and social distancing is an issue, creativity and innovation are what separate the ordinary from the extraordinary.
About one-third of all consumers shop in jewelry stores during the holiday season, but most shop online first to gather information, understand what they want, and learn who has it. And to make matters worse, this year many people will hesitate to shop in stores due to fears of COVID exposure.
The Gordon Company knows that in-store sales must be augmented with online sales to maximize the value of a major sale event. That’s why, as mentioned in part 1, we’ve added a new digital component to our in-store sale events to help you make sales day and night.
It’s just part of the innovation we feel is necessary to overcome the effects of the pandemic and deliver what jewelers cannot do on their own. Many retail jewelers we speak with are not equipped for online selling, but that’s okay. Our digital team can get you up and running in a matter of days to sell online, along with a new digital solution allowing for virtual face-to-face appointments with the ability to show actual items of interest, so your customers can shop your sale event from the comfort of their own home.
In challenging times, those who create solutions are ahead of the game. Join us in helping you overcome the challenges you face with a major sale event orchestrating IN-STORE and ONLINE sales with The Gordon Company.
Face the facts. We are still in the most challenging period of our lifetimes. And there are no guarantees about the near-term future.
Face the facts. We are still in the most challenging period of our lifetimes. And there are no guarantees about the near-term future.
You do up to a third of your business in November and December, but none of us know what the economic fallout will be of the presidential election, west coast fires and social unrest. Combine this with the uncertainty of a COVID world and you have a recipe for a challenging season.
If you share our concerns about the immediate future and want to ensure a banner Christmas selling season, consider finishing 2020 strong with a dynamic Gordon Company Sale Event.
We are supplementing our proven IN STORE selling experience with a unique ONLINE sales program. This will help to engage your whole community in your sale and will enable you to conduct face to face appointments with customers and make sales at any hour of the day and on any day of the week.
Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures. If you need assurance of a great Christmas season, contact us right away.
It’s the 11th Hour, but it’s still not too late.
Contact president Ira Bergman (917) 861-9607 today!
Running a major sale event is part art, part science, and part mathematics. This is true for all seasons, but even more important during a pandemic.
Running a major sale event is part art, part science, and part mathematics. This is true for all seasons, but even more important during a pandemic.
The art comes from the creativity necessary to assess individual situations and craft a plan that will work best for each jeweler. The science comes from the decades of experience we have in knowing the formula that will work for sales of great magnitude. The mathematics comes from the years of collecting and comparing data from a host of stores and business situations.
Among the mistakes jewelers make is to run a sale of their own or to run discounts repeatedly in a desperate attempt to move merchandise. Discounting on a continuous basis confuses customers and makes them wary when you finally decide to run a serious merchandise reduction event. Bottom line, those mini-sales work against you every time.
Our clients are often amazed at the art, science, and mathematics we bring to our sale events. Here is just a sampling of the comments we hear so often:
• “I never thought to run that type of advertising.”
• “How did you know the sign walkers would work so well?”
• “You told me what my financial results would be, but I really didn’t believe it.”
• “I could have never done this on my own and I’m so thankful I used your team to orchestrate my sale.”
If you are considering a major sale event, we urge you not to try it on your own. We have the expertise and experience to do it right, while protecting your brand image and reputation, and generating more cash than you could imagine. It’s all part of the art, science, and mathematics of running a major sale event.
SO PLEASE DON’T WASTE YOUR OPPORTUNITY!
Contact us today for a free, no-obligation consultation of your needs.
Since we work with many of the finest retailers in the country, they are
always very concerned about the look and feel of a major sale event in
their stores. They have a coveted brand and a quality reputation to
uphold, so they must maintain an impeccable image while maximizing
the amount of money they put in their pocket.
Since we work with many of the finest retailers in the country, they are always very concerned about the look and feel of a major sale event in their stores. They have a coveted brand and a quality reputation to uphold, so they must maintain an impeccable image while maximizing the amount of money they put in their pocket.
So, they often ask us about our advertising and promotion style and are very protective of the image portrayed during their sale. Since many of the sale events we orchestrate are for inventory reductions, store moving, and business transitions, we want to uphold the integrity of what we do and how we do it to support the retailer’s continuing business.
The quality of signage is a very big issue, so that’s why we want to show you two signs that each tell a very different story to your customers. The one in yellow is distasteful and smacks of low-class, while the one in blue and white says essentially the same thing, but is dignified while still being robust.
Signage is just one of a dozen or more ways we promote a fine, upscale store. But it’s an important one and needs your attention if you are to maintain the credibility of your name and reputation in the community. It’s just one way we differentiate ourselves from the crowd, and helps you to see The Gordon Company difference in living color.
Contact us right away for a closer look at the many ways we promote your store, maximize your financial return, and maintain the dignity you deserve in the community you serve.
Traffic is down and you need cash. A major sale event can remedy both. But how do we deliver a sale event when social distancing is key during COVID? In short, carefully and intelligently.
Traffic is down and you need cash. A major sale event can remedy both. But how do we deliver a sale event when social distancing is key during COVID? In short, carefully and intelligently.
While others pondered the effects of the pandemic, we were hard at work creating an online supplement to the physical store sale that delivers what you cannot do on your own. Our digital solution creates video sales from your customers who can now shop your sale, by appointment, safely from the comfort of their homes.
Let’s face it. We all know that online sales have been growing for years, and have escalated faster during the COVID crisis. Knowing this, we created a solution that augments in-store sales with online sales that takes nothing away from the customer experience. In some cases, it may enhance the experience because of the ease of enjoying huge savings on your discounted merchandise from home.
Best of all, we can assist you with this same digital solution using geo-fencing and retargeting of customers both during and long after your sale is conducted. We are in the business of keeping you in business, so contact us today to see how we can help you expand your online influence during COVID and into 2021.
We speak with jewelers every day so we know many are facing life-changing decisions this year. Odds are, you probably are too. The Coronavirus pandemic has forced every retail jeweler to consider a strategy for the future and to develop a plan to survive a very uncertain time.
We speak with jewelers every day so we know many are facing life-changing decisions this year. Odds are, you probably are too. The Coronavirus pandemic has forced every retail jeweler to consider a strategy for the future and to develop a plan to survive a very uncertain time.
Retail bankruptcies have been part of the news almost weekly and the challenges retailers face with online competition have been a constant theme. We know that the pandemic has strengthened and accelerated online shopping, which is why we are incorporating ecommerce and other digital resources for our clients (more on that in a future newsletter). But there are things you can do as a brick and mortar jeweler that sole online retailers simply can’t do. Having a major sale event in your store is one of them.
You are well-known in your community and have a local following, and this brings you market power in the region. The years – even decades – you’ve invested have had a tremendous impact on the feelings your customers have for you. That awareness, your reputation, and the loyalty of people combine to be the single greatest asset you have when you decide to run a major sale event.
Life-changing decisions can be a huge burden. But if you step back and consider what you may need to weather the current storm, a professionally-run sale with experts in the field like The Gordon Company can make those decisions much easier, and very profitable, too.
You’ve reopened your store and may be benefitting from some pent-up demand due to the forced closures this Spring. Despite this, traffic is still down even if sales are okay. Odds are, traffic will continue to suffer through at least the end of the year, and likely well into 2021.
You’ve reopened your store and may be benefitting from some pent-up demand due to the forced closures this Spring. Despite this, traffic is still down even if sales are okay. Odds are, traffic will continue to suffer through at least the end of the year, and likely well into 2021.
You may be one of the many jewelers who have suffered from not only decreased traffic, but also sluggish sales. This is a crisis waiting to happen, and if so, the most surefire way to bring people back into your store and create the sales you need to survive this time period is to have a professionally-run sale event.
Our sales generate enormous traffic – think Holiday Season on steroids – and can generate a year’s worth of business or more in only 60 days. For many jewelers – and perhaps you – this may be the only alternative you have to eliminate aged and unwanted inventory, create significant cash flow, and be prepared for better times when things reach a new normal sometime next year.
We know we can help you, so contact us right away for free, confidential, no-obligation advice. We want to bring people back into your store, maintain a hospital-clean selling environment, and help you emerge from the pandemic with a healthy business.
The pandemic has affected everyone in our industry and has crippled many otherwise healthy businesses. Mandated store closures this spring created an unprecedented level of disruption to everyone’s cash flow. Businesses have struggled and financial stability has been shaken.
The pandemic has affected everyone in our industry and has crippled many otherwise healthy businesses. Mandated store closures this spring created an unprecedented level of disruption to everyone’s cash flow. Businesses have struggled and financial stability has been shaken.
We’re aware that many credit ratings have dropped since COVID-19 hit. Our concern is that these ratings have a major impact on future purchasing power. If your ability to pay bills has caused undo stress and has hurt your reputation through delayed payments, we would like to help.
Running a 30, 40, or 60-day sale event can help you raise immediate cash, reduce unwanted merchandise, fulfill your financial obligations, and restore your credit worthiness. The best way to do this is with seasoned professionals like The Gordon Company.
Give us a call for a confidential, no-obligation consultation. There is nothing to be ashamed about, so please don’t let pride get in the way. We know what to do to help you achieve the financial freedom you need.
Let’s face it. Much of your wealth is tied up in inventory. The cash you need for liquidity is sitting in your showcases. Unfortunately, aged merchandise is holding you back from financial freedom – or at the very least, the liquidity you need to conduct your business.
Let’s face it. Much of your wealth is tied up in inventory. The cash you need for liquidity is sitting in your showcases. Unfortunately, aged merchandise is holding you back from financial freedom – or at the very least, the liquidity you need to conduct your business.
Liquidity is defined as the availability of liquid assets in a marketplace or in a company. The American economy – and the jewelry economy — is driven by consumer spending. That spending has taken a big turn since COVID-19 hit.
Cash flow is linked to liquidity for every jeweler. It doesn’t matter if your Profit & Loss statement looks good if your cash flow is bad.
If you are in need of cash and liquidity, you can try to go to your bank or lending institution. But our one-time commission fees for a major sale event are a lot less than the monthly interest you’ll pay to your lender. That’s where we can help.
We are experts in liquidity and can convert your aged and unwanted merchandise into cash. And now is the time to act if liquidity is what you need.
Please contact us right away so we can provide a free, no-obligation consultation.
You’re operational again and business may be picking up. But it’s not where you want it to be. Your inventory has aged and your buying was curtailed for months.
You’re operational again and business may be picking up. But it’s not where you want it to be. Your inventory has aged and your buying was curtailed for months.
Your PPP loan is used up and cash is again an issue. Your sales staff is trying to get back into the swing of things, but it’s hard using masks, disinfecting the store, and repeatedly cleaning your jewelry.
The window of opportunity to run a major sale event this summer or fall is running out. If you need an infusion of activity, a well-orchestrated sale is what you need. Or, if this is the year that you need to hang things up, a closing sale this holiday season may be right for you.
The only way we’ll know is to talk to you and provide the best advice we can, tailored to exactly what is right for you. One size doesn’t fit all, so please give us a call so we can share our knowledge and experience with you.
A confidential, no-obligation consultation may be just what you need. We look forward to hearing from you right away.
COVID-19 has placed the American jewelry industry in an untenable financial position. The looting of jewelry stores has added insult to injury and our heart goes out to those who have been affected. And with the late reopening of stores in some states, the crisis can linger for much longer than anyone would like.
COVID-19 has placed the American jewelry industry in an untenable financial position. The looting of jewelry stores has added insult to injury and our heart goes out to those who have been affected. And with the late reopening of stores in some states, the crisis can linger for much longer than anyone would like.
People calling us have been devastated economically and are searching for answers and advice on next steps. We assure them there is no shame in admitting that the Coronavirus pandemic has strapped them for cash. We get it. It has hurt everyone.
Most of our sales are 60-day events, but this isn’t always necessary to get out of an immediate cash crunch. We can do a 30 or 40-day sale event for what we might call “emergency” cash raising. An event like this can easily fit into the summer or fall time of year.
If cash is a definite need for you this year, we can help. Contact us right away for a thorough and complementary review of your needs. There is no time to waste if you are in need. Please let us know right away.
You’re either opening up your store or have opened slowly over the past few weeks. A question currently on your mind is: “How do I get customers back into my store?” This is a valid question, and I can tell you the most sure-fire way to accomplish this is to run a major sale event.
You’re either opening up your store or have opened slowly over the past few weeks. A question currently on your mind is: “How do I get customers back into my store?” This is a valid question, and I can tell you the most sure-fire way to accomplish this is to run a major sale event.
But, not all sales are created equal, nor are their results. Short sales of one or two days, if properly promoted can produce $50,000 to $100,000 in revenue, which is good, but it’s a band-aid approach to a problem where major surgery may be required. Our 60 day sales can generate from $1,000,000 to $5,000,000 in sales for our clients.
Here are some examples of what actually took place during some of our sales:
RETAILER A — nearly 1,000 new customers were added to our client’s mailing list during the sale.
RETAILER B — 1,985 purchases were made during the 47 day sale period.
RETAILER C — 5.6 times greater sales than during the same period in the year before was accomplished.
RETAILER D — Sales were projected to be $4,300,000, and we ended at $5,300,000.
RETAILER E — Over 40% of the customers who purchased had never been in the store prior to the event.
RETAILER F — 86% of the sales made were from the retailer’s owned inventory.
*All of the above examples can be verified upon request
Comparing short sales that simply sell sign packages to well-orchestrated, professionally run events is like trying to compare apples to oranges. If you need a true remedy for what is ailing your business, we’d like to help. Please contact us right away.
The death of George Floyd in Minneapolis – an injustice all its own – has sparked outrage and vandalism in that city and across our country. Designer brands and jewelers have been among the main targets of looting, with destruction of storefronts and jewelry store interiors commonplace.
The death of George Floyd in Minneapolis – an injustice all its own – has sparked outrage and vandalism in that city and across our country. Designer brands and jewelers have been among the main targets of looting, with destruction of storefronts and jewelry store interiors commonplace.
The timing of this couldn’t have been worse. Just when we were getting much of the population back to work and small businesses like ours’ back on track, social unrest – if not a resurgence of the health concerns of COVID-19 – may derail the economy once again. It feels like insult added to injury following the Coronavirus at a time when things were just beginning to open up.
Our hearts go out to clients who have been hit, and to each of you who we call friends and colleagues in our industry. Peaceful protests are what we have come to expect in our country, but seeing the violence and destruction of our beautiful stores and our industry built on love and emotion has been painful.
While there may be little that we can do at this crucial time, our entire Gordon Company family sends its deepest sympathies to all who have been affected by the recent violence. Our greatest hope is for peace and harmony amongst all American citizens. If there was ever a time to draw together, it is now.
In reference to the challenges faced after World War II, it was Winston Churchill who first said, “Never let a good crisis go to waste.” The same might be said about the Coronavirus pandemic. No one planned for a Coronavirus crisis, but we must now face it head on as our businesses begin to reopen.
In reference to the challenges faced after World War II, it was Winston Churchill who first said, “Never let a good crisis go to waste.” The same might be said about the Coronavirus pandemic. No one planned for a Coronavirus crisis, but we must now face it head on as our businesses begin to reopen.
I always try to provide good content when I write, things that are thought-provoking, but practical, that you can use right away. In other words, I don’t try to sell in my messages. But I want to be right up front in this one.
Tens of millions of people have lost their jobs. Businesses in every sector have been devastated. Many won’t reopen because they can’t. The financial toll on our economy and on people will be hard to recover from this year. Candidly, everyone needs help. There are no exceptions.
Despite some governmental support for small businesses, like yours, there is never enough capital to sustain the average business long term. That’s where we come in. We are experts in dealing with adverse conditions in our industry. At a time like this, raising cash is critical to ensure survival.
In the current environment, you need to do something strong as your business reopens. A great deal of your precious capital is tied up in aged and underperforming merchandise. It’s time to have a major sale event to raise the cash you need to move your business forward. Tap into the resources we provide and help your business thrive, near and long term.
We look forward to hearing from you very soon because you never want to let a good crisis go to waste.
The COVID-19 crisis has devastated our medical community, and in some respects, has had an even greater impact on our economy. As the economy goes, so goes our jewelry industry. We need to get back to growing our businesses as soon as possible.
The COVID-19 crisis has devastated our medical community, and in some respects, has had an even greater impact on our economy. As the economy goes, so goes our jewelry industry. We need to get back to growing our businesses as soon as possible.
Here are four ideas to help you emerge stronger from the crisis:
Understand how excess inventory drains you. Aged and underperforming merchandise is a cancer you must eliminate to get through the difficult period that lies ahead. You must monetize undesirable inventory at all cost, or it will put you out of business. A good goal is to have inventory holdings equal to your annual gross profit. Most stores have double the inventory they need.
Generate cash and use it wisely. Cash is king today and it will carry you through the challenges that lie ahead. Cut expenses wherever you can and generate revenue in any way you can. Extend yourself to your client base. Help them with encouragement and contact. Remind them of birthdays and anniversaries that are nearing. Return repairs to customer doorsteps. Be present and active. Get things done that you never have time to do.
Continue to use technology to your advantage. E-tailing has been on the rise for years, and the Coronavirus pandemic will fuel it further. This doesn’t foretell the end of traditional jewelry retailing, but it punctuates the point about combining brick and mortar with effective online promotion and selling.
Exercise resilience. Above all, stay strong and courageous in these times. Lead your people. Keep them active and working on things. Take each day as a gift and adapt to the changes taking place. Worry only about what you can control. Stay positive.
These are only a sampling of things you can do to restore confidence and strengthen your business as we emerge from this crisis. The most important thing is to stay active and engaged. Don’t wait for things to happen. Make them happen.
If we can help you in any way, please contact us. We want to be your partner in progress because we are experts in adversity.
COVID-19 has placed the entire American jewelry industry in an untenable financial position. And with some states hesitant to reopen small businesses, the crisis can linger for much longer than anyone would like.
COVID-19 has placed the entire American jewelry industry in an untenable financial position. And with some states hesitant to reopen small businesses, the crisis can linger for much longer than anyone would like.
People calling us have been devastated economically and are searching for answers and advice on next steps. We assure them there is no shame in admitting that the Coronavirus pandemic has strapped them for cash. We get it. It has hurt everyone.
Most of our sales are 60-day events, but this isn’t always necessary to get out of an immediate cash crunch. We can do a 30 or 40-day sale event for what we might call “emergency” cash raising. An event like this can easily fit into the summer or fall time of year.
If cash is a definite need for you this year, we can help. Contact us right away for a thorough and complementary review of your needs. There is no time to waste if you are in need. Please let us know right away.
I’ve been writing to you a lot, trying to share creative and encouraging messages that resonate with the times we’ve all endured. But now that the tide is starting to turn and it’s time to start reopening our businesses, it’s vital that you get back on track quickly.
I’ve been writing to you a lot, trying to share creative and encouraging messages that resonate with the times we’ve all endured. But now that the tide is starting to turn and it’s time to start reopening our businesses, it’s vital that you get back on track quickly.
Bluntly stated, you need a jump start. The public has been cooped up for long enough, but many people will still be wary of getting out. Business will come back, but it will be slow and cautious. That being said, when you are able to reopen your business, you must personally determine how to give it a necessary jump start in the reopening process.
I don’t think there’s a better way to show your appreciation to loyal customers and your community at large than to offer them some special savings. After all, they’ve gotten used to bargain rates from the airlines and restaurants. Most other businesses, like hotels and specialty shops, are going to roll the red carpet out for their clients. Why not you?
You’ve generated very little income, if any, over the past many weeks or months. It’s time to clear out aged and unwanted merchandise and raise some much-needed cash. You also need to generate foot traffic and entice your customers to spend. A well-orchestrated sale event – with a sense of urgency and opportunity – is a great way to do it.
2020 is a catastrophic year in our history, medically and economically. Unique times call for unique actions. Let us help you re-invigorate your business, get it up and running quickly, and benefit from a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to make lemonade out of lemons.
Bottom line, you’ve been on life support long enough. Your prescription for getting well and jump-starting your comeback is a major sale event.
We are all continuing to suffer from the Coronavirus shut-down, but we see signs of flattening the curve and a time very soon when we can get back to business. This also means eventual recovery and a resumption of growth in our businesses.
We are all continuing to suffer from the Coronavirus shut-down, but we see signs of flattening the curve and a time very soon when we can get back to business. This also means eventual recovery and a resumption of growth in our businesses.
Your number one task right now is to plan a detailed outline of exactly what you need to do when your store opens up. Pick a date that is most realistic and work backwards planning your strategy. Consider every aspect of your business: employees, marketing, community relations, merchandise needs, and customer outreach, to name several.
Ask yourself a most important question. How can I build my business back up quickly and efficiently?
It is not our style at The Gordon Company to place pressure on clients or prospective clients, but I feel compelled to alert you to something that concerns me this year. We are getting a lot of calls from fine jewelers needing to rebound from the Coronavirus crisis and we are already booking major sale events for the Summer, Fall and Christmas seasons. I mention this because if you are considering using our expertise as we emerge from this current challenge, we need to know about it as soon as possible.
We are securing more resources to handle the demand, but please alert us to your level of interest now. We appreciate your understanding and your rapid response to help secure your year, and your future.
The global pandemic has ushered in considerable concern and uncertainty to the marketplace and to each of us personally. That’s one reason why we want to stay connected with you and to communicate on a regular basis. While we remain at a distance from you and your stores, we want to stay close because we want to help you get through these difficult times.
The global pandemic has ushered in considerable concern and uncertainty to the marketplace and to each of us personally. That’s one reason why we want to stay connected with you and to communicate on a regular basis. While we remain at a distance from you and your stores, we want to stay close because we want to help you get through these difficult times.
In our view, there is nothing you should do at this moment but to protect the lives of your staff and yourself from the onslaught of the Coronavirus. But we have every confidence that this, too, shall pass in time, which leaves you with the heavy burden of what to do next with your store, your staff, your customers, and your future.
As you know, we are intimately involved in handling precious assets and disposing of product on a regular basis. Our ear is low to the ground and our real-time experience can assist jewelry retailers now, as never before. We want to help you navigate the choppy waters ahead.
Now is the time to be strategizing on next steps in this process so you can be prepared to emerge from this scourge in a healthy, proactive manner. Begin to think out-of-the-box on what the landscape will soon look like. Consider how the way you do business, account for your overhead, market your store, respond to your customers, and position yourself in the community may differ from what it was before the pandemic. How will you cope? What needs to change? Who can best help you? When do you begin? How long will the economy be affected for the purchasing of discretionary items such as jewelry?
At The Gordon Company, we have experienced many market disruptions in the past and know how to handle them. As a key partner to upscale jewelers, we want to help you navigate the bumps in the road. Our business continuity plan has allowed us to adapt to your current and future needs and provide help as we emerge from all this for decades. And rest assured, we will!
Give us a call so we can assist with a no obligation consultation to help you come out of this stronger. As always, we stand ready to help you.
Car dealers are offering months of no payments and free delivery of new and even pre-owned vehicles. Airlines are slashing prices on flights with the cleanest seats and main cabins we’ve seen. Restaurants are making deals on take-out and delivery to stay in business and retain their employees.
Car dealers are offering months of no payments and free delivery of new and even pre-owned vehicles. Airlines are slashing prices on flights with the cleanest seats and main cabins we’ve seen. Restaurants are making deals on take-out and delivery to stay in business and retain their employees.
What will fine jewelers do to be as creative and to rejuvenate business quickly from government-mandated closures?
It’s time to innovate as never before. Connect with your staff and encourage clever ideas. Leverage your social media in every possible form. Use your point of sale system to remind customers of birthdays and anniversaries. Make phone calls to your best clients to let them know you care. This isn’t a time to be timid. Build a smarter staff by taking advantage of webinars and online classes being offered by consultants and trainers. And be a good neighbor, not just a good jeweler, by assisting anyone who can’t get out to shop for food or medicine.
It’s the business that reaches out first and best that will benefit the most.
Consumers have been cooped up far too long. People are going to want to get out, and when they do, you need to be ready for them. So get creative. Light a fire from within, and get your staff out of a funk and into the right mood. Use them to help, but lead them like an owner should. You need to grease the wheels to get customers back into your store. Devise your plans now!
The jewelry industry isn’t going away. Engagements will rise in the aftermath of the recent scourge. People want and need your products and your support.
Like you, we are doing our best to navigate the current, unprecedented challenge that our country – and our industry – is facing. We have always considered ourselves to be The Fine Jeweler’s Strategic Partner, not only in good times, but also in times of adversity. We are here for you in this unusual time of business uncertainty.
Like you, we are doing our best to navigate the
current, unprecedented challenge that our country – and our industry – is
facing. We have always considered
ourselves to be The Fine Jeweler’s Strategic Partner, not only in good
times, but also in times of adversity.
We are here for you in this unusual time of business uncertainty.
With this in mind, we want to provide whatever
support you may need to help you in your business. We are offering complimentary Skype or
telephone assistance to our fellow jewelers over the coming weeks to help you
find solutions to the difficult challenges you may be facing in your stores.
To set up a complimentary call or consultation with us on any business subject, please feel free to contact our office number below or reach out to President Ira Bergman directly by calling his cell at (917) 861-9607. We are happy to speak with you and offer our advice anytime, but more so during this unique and unprecedented period. Please don’t hesitate to contact us.
In the meantime, please read this 2-part article series below from The Centurion, where I offer some thoughts on what jewelers can do right now to combat against this pandemic:
You’re getting emails from the airlines, hotels, rideshare companies, and almost anyone you do business with expressing their concerns about the Coronavirus and what they are doing about it for customers.
You’re getting emails from the airlines, hotels, rideshare companies, and almost anyone you do business with expressing their concerns about the Coronavirus and what they are doing about it for customers. Obviously, the virus is on all of our minds, and we can hardly get away from the breaking news, including yesterday’s, with the World Health Organization declaring COVID-19 a pandemic. We feel for those who have thus far been affected by the virus in one way or another, but at the same time jewelers are equally affected by customer fears.
You need a clear policy on how to handle the conditions surrounding this outbreak for both your employees and your customers. Make associates who are sick stay home, but be flexible with respect to their sick time and paid time off. This is no time to be casual about the crisis, but it is also no time to be insensitive to the concerns that people have, both inside your business and outside of it. Emphasize the use of good hand hygiene and respiratory etiquette. Provide hand sanitizer and keep everything scrupulously clean. This is a good habit any time, not just during a time like this. More than ever, fingerprints on the showcase glass must be cleaned prior to the next customer coming in.
Finally, how will you handle a customer who walks in with a mask on? You probably don’t allow anyone to enter your store with a hood on or maybe even sunglasses. So neither should you allow someone to come in with a mask on or other head or face covering. Have you even thought about this? Leave it to thieves to take full advantage of this current scare by possibly wearing masks to cover their faces.
Bottom line: You must be vigilant during this unusual period of time. The airline industry now has a clear policy, as travel bans from Europe have been implemented, and you also need to have a well-defined policy with your staff and your customers too. You must communicate regularly with people to make sure your policies are known and followed. This crisis will pass, but how you handle things now will keep people safe and help the crisis pass much sooner.
I hope this is helpful, but if we can be of further assistance to you in any way, please reach out to us.
Gables Gems, located on Miracle Mile in beautiful Coral Gables, Florida, is a fine jewelry store specializing in diamonds, colored gemstones, pearls, and unique jewelry designs. It is owned by the brother/sister team of Miguel Gutierrez-Sampedro and Cristina Gutierrez-Taquechel, both of whom were born in Cuba and came to Miami with their parents when they were children.
People sometimes ask us who we are and what we do at The Gordon Company, so I wanted to devote this newsletter to answering those questions.
People sometimes ask us who we are and what we do at The Gordon Company, so I wanted to devote this newsletter to answering those questions.
First, we are a creative team of industry professionals devoted to helping fine jewelry retailers improve their businesses. We do this with a diversified line of services stretching from inventory reduction to cash raising to store closings to business transitions, including retirement sales and business closures.
Second, we are experts in
in-store promotions to reduce or eliminate aged, unwanted, and under-performing
merchandise. Cash flow issues and undercapitalization are common problems for
jewelry retailers and this can place significant strain on jewelry businesses.
This is where outside professionals can really help.
Third, we are brand protectors,
ensuring that the quality of advertising and marketing is tasteful, yet
effective, in accomplishing your financial goals. Our client list reads like a
Who’s Who in jewelry retailing, so protecting your brand name and reputation in
the community is a top priority for us, and for our upscale retailers.
Fourth, we are builders of
mailing lists, both postal and email. 30-50% of the customers who will buy from
you during one of our major sale events will be new to your store and will now
be part of your ongoing mailing list. The significance of this cannot be
over-stated for future business.
Fifth, we are teachers and
advisors to our clients in improving their business, before, during, and after
a sale event. We instruct them on marketing and merchandising techniques that
can continue the momentum generated through a sale, and help them retain and
build upon the expanded clientele they have just created.
Sixth, we bring a fresh
perspective to your business, and even get you out of your comfort zone by
introducing ideas that you have never considered. Each plan is tailored to your
unique situation after exhaustive analysis of your business.
Finally, what makes us different
from others is our decades of experience in the field; our professional
approach to advising; the quality of our promotional materials; our soft-sell,
seasoned approach with clients; the fact that we don’t own any inventory and
only want to sell yours; and most of all, our reputation for honesty and
integrity. We promise a great experience with tremendous results, and we
deliver it in a way that is unique to us.
If we can help you, offer advice, or be of service for whatever needs you have, it would be our pleasure to do so.
After a history dating back to 1898, the fourth-generation owners, brother and sister, Bill and Emily, wanted to retire and decided to close their jewelry store and conclude doing business. Maintaining their reputation in the community was important to them, so choosing the right company to help them execute a successful retirement event was really important.
Nancy Schuring’s modest beginnings in jewelry started in a tiny room in her apartment in 1975 and has evolved into a beautiful and gracious showroom you see today in Wyckoff, NJ. Her extraordinary store boasts of some of the finest brands in the jewelry industry with one of the widest selections of gems – over 100 different varieties – found anywhere in the United States
As you know, we see a lot of upscale retail jewelry stores and we speak with hundreds of jewelers across North America annually.
As you know, we see a lot of upscale retail jewelry stores and we speak with hundreds of jewelers across North America annually. While brands are still very special to consumers and to the retail jewelry industry, we are seeing more and more fine jewelers concentrating on promoting their own name in their community and their own house brand, particularly with custom design in a unique store setting. The experience is what really matters.
What is happening is a re-thinking of what each jeweler wants to represent in his region based on changing demographics, the consumer of today, shifting lifestyles, and new ways of doing business. Sharp entrepreneurs are taking bold steps to reinvent themselves. Bold isn’t crazy. It’s a strong, confident move to continuously adapt to these changes and to direct your business toward what will make you happy in the future.
You must ask yourself the hard questions. Am I still relevant to today’s jewelry consumer? Does my store represent what I want to be in the community? What changes must take place in order to grow and compete in the marketplace? Am I listening intently to what my younger staff are saying, or am I too set in my ways to adapt? Do I have the courage and energy to be bold in the face of challenge and change, and even to re-shape my store for the future.
Consumers still want to visit a store, see and feel the product, look a salesperson in the eye and know they can trust her, and enjoy the entire experience, often with their significant other at their side. Many retailers are reinventing the layout of their stores to accommodate today’s astute consumer, and to create an experience they simply cannot have online or in traditional stores.
At The Gordon Company, we are in business to help you stay in business and to meet your financial or retirement goals. Drop us a line or give us a call if we can help you re-think and plan for your future, and create the experience your customers seek.
The most consistent concern we hear from jewelers is the loss of traffic due to any number of factors, chief among them, the Internet. Most jewelers want and need to capture younger clients for bridal sales, and for future sales down the line. Most of these customers do their research online, and many shop online for gems and jewelry, largely because they can.
The most consistent concern we hear from jewelers is the loss of traffic due to any number of factors, chief among them, the Internet. Most jewelers want and need to capture younger clients for bridal sales, and for future sales down the line. Most of these customers do their research online, and many shop online for gems and jewelry, largely because they can.
Many jewelers also complain that Baby Boomers are not in the market for fine jewelry anymore, indicating that they have enough. That’s debatable in our view because they certainly have the most money, and women, in particular, haven’t stopped wanting diamonds and fine jewels. But what isn’t debatable is the fact that you lose customers over time and you need to constantly replenish them.
When you couple this idea with the fact that you have aged and unwanted inventory that you must reduce or eliminate, you have a perfect reason to do a major sale event in your store. Not only will you reduce and monetize previously unsaleable merchandise, which allows you to purchase or manufacture new lines, you will create an expanded mailing list of new buyers for future purchases. 30-40% of all purchases in our sales are done by people who had never previously bought from the store. That’s an amazing statistic that proves our ability to drive traffic and build mailing lists, the lifeblood of all businesses.
So if this makes sense, feel free to give us a call to see how we can help you combat Internet sales, drive new traffic to your store, grow your mailing list, eliminate unwanted inventory, and create necessary cash flow for fresh merchandise in 2020.
We speak with jewelers around the country every day and one of their biggest concerns is the decrease in store traffic. Part of the problem is that we’re all accustomed to shopping more and more via the internet, even if people aren’t necessarily buying jewelry online.
We speak with jewelers around the country every day and one of their biggest concerns is the decrease in store traffic. Part of the problem is that we’re all accustomed to shopping more and more via the internet, even if people aren’t necessarily buying jewelry online.
Another part of the problem is that many jewelers have discarded the use of inexpensive silver lines that generated a lot of traffic years ago, but not a lot of gross profit. More than that, these lines required a lot of labor to service them, so shedding the lines has become a relief in many respects.
Lower customer traffic is a reality, especially when measured with an electronic door counter. So in the spirit of kick-starting increased store traffic, one of the best ways to do it is by conducting a major sale event. This increased traffic, which is similar to what you experience during the last week before Christmas, creates tremendous buzz in your community and rings the cash register.
Another benefit, which is often a surprise to our clients but not to us, is the number of new customers who buy items during the sale. On average, 30% of the sales go to new customers. Additionally, the average retail sale for consumers who have never crossed your threshold is often much higher than for your regular customers. These same people are systematically added to your database and mailing list, along with what brought them into the store, yet another benefit of doing the sale.
Store traffic is an issue for every retail jeweler. The problem goes away when you do something dynamic to change it. If you need help or advice to increase store traffic by having a major sale event, please contact us today and we’ll help you get started.
This is no bulletin, but unlike fine wine and cheese, your inventory won’t get better over time. It ages, and also makes YOU age!
This is no bulletin, but unlike fine wine and cheese, your inventory won’t get better over time. It ages, and also makes YOU age!
You sold a lot of merchandise over the holiday season, but very little of it was aged inventory. So you’re still stuck with pieces that haven’t sold in years, and likely never will.
It’s time to clear out old product and monetize it in the most efficient way possible. Then use the money to do some serious buying at the winter/spring shows to refresh your holdings and start the new year strong.
Let’s face it. Underperforming merchandise ties up much-needed capital, hurts cash flow, and keeps you from growing your business the way you should. Running a unique sale event this spring can be just what you need to eliminate aged product and unleash a new beginning to the decade.
You’re already competing with off-price jewelers who are running sales repeatedly. You haven’t done that, so a one-time opportunity may be just what you need.
We are the experts in major sale events for upscale jewelers, so contact us if we can help you. We want you to be strong in 2020.
The tremendous focus on bridal over the past decade has created a huge problem in our industry. Opening orders of new bridal lines can bury you with numerous pieces that are extremely difficult to sell.
The tremendous focus on bridal over the past decade has created a huge problem in our industry. Opening orders of new bridal lines can bury you with numerous pieces that are extremely difficult to sell.
We meet with many fine jewelers who are overwhelmed with products in this category. Moreover, they have very few ways of extracting themselves from the products. Most items over a year or two old have very little chance of selling without a clever way to do so.
What caused the problem? A desire to be more things to more people and to satisfy the insatiable craving for new styles has added to the inventory burden of every fine jeweler. When we analyze the merchandise holdings of our clients, we have to be creative in how we help them sell unwanted products. Bridal products and semi-mounts represent a big liability and a huge challenge, but we have ways of selling them.
Sometimes we recommend a major bridal event to attract consumer attention. Breaking pieces up is also an option, as is mounting colored stones to create a new and different look. What we know better than anyone is that jewelers are carrying inventory in this category that is holding them back from doing business because the drain on capital is so problematic.
If I’m making sense to you and you have this problem, please contact us so we can help you. It took years to get into this problem, but it may only take months to get out of it. Call us today for a free, confidential consultation.
One of our recent clients wanted to set a new direction in his business. Though he built his business as a fine designer, he had gotten away from his core over the years by investing heavily in other designer-manufacturers. Frustrated and needing a change, he wanted to go back to his roots. So he called us to get some advice about steps he could take to rethink his business.
One of our recent clients wanted to set a new direction in his business. Though he built his business as a fine designer, he had gotten away from his core over the years by investing heavily in other designer-manufacturers. Frustrated and needing a change, he wanted to go back to his roots. So he called us to get some advice about steps he could take to rethink his business.
In computer terms, our client needed a reboot. He shared how times have changed and how business had become more of a grind than a joy. Especially in his later years, he didn’t want to deal with the headaches that had become a part of every new day. If this sounds familiar, you aren’t alone.
You know the facts. Good employees are hard to find. Store traffic is down. Customer loyalty is waning. New technologies dominate. And next steps for growth are confusing. Where are things going? And how will you get there?
Our client concluded that he couldn’t keep doing what he’d always done. Buried in aged merchandise with suppliers to pay, he wanted to get out from under the debt, the stress, and the cash flow constraints that kept him up at night.
Our advice was to have a major sale event to relieve the pressure, eliminate the debt, liquidate unwanted inventory, and start fresh with his new direction as a fine designer-jeweler. All this was accomplished in 65 days.
I came across the above sign the other day and asked myself, “What the heck does that mean?” Is it a construction sale where they’re selling construction equipment or construction materials, a sale because they’re under construction, or something else? Oh, and how does the American flag tie into this “construction sale”? I had no idea what message they were attempting to communicate here.
I came across the above sign the other day and asked myself, “What the heck does that mean?” Is it a construction sale where they’re selling construction equipment or construction materials, a sale because they’re under construction, or something else? Oh, and how does the American flag tie into this “construction sale”? I had no idea what message they were attempting to communicate here.
That sign reminded me of just how poorly we can communicate at times to our employees and our customers. We can’t be too clear in whatever we want to convey because people can’t read our minds, nor do they read every word we write or understand all the catch phrases we may use. Clear and concise communication is vital to getting our points across without ambiguity.
If the public doesn’t understand who you are and what you offer, your business will suffer as a result. You need a marketing and communication plan that is clear from a 360-degree viewpoint. Every element must be tied together and convey a common thought and a well-understood message.
That’s what we do when we create a theme for our sale events. No two events are exactly alike, although many carry the same elements to convey priority, urgency, and clarity. You only get one chance to knock it out of the park, so you need a proven partner to do the right thing in the right way to get the best financial results for you.
Our track record with upscale jewelers speaks for itself, but I want to be very clear. We work extremely hard to bring you maximum results with optimum professionalism with the integrity you expect from experts in the field.
So the next time you want to ensure clarity and success, contact us and you’ll get the clear choice in major sale events in the retail jewelry industry.
In my two previous messages, I shared views on whether selling a retail jewelry store to an outside party is a viable option, and thoughts you might consider in turning a business over to a family member.
Part 3: What Are the Benefits of a Going Out of Business (GOB) Sale?
In my two previous messages, I shared views on whether selling a retail jewelry store to an outside party is a viable option, and thoughts you might consider in turning a business over to a family member. In this message, I want to discuss the various aspects of having a Going Out of Business Sale Event.
To begin with, if you are convinced that you want out of all involvement with the jewelry business and want to ride off into the proverbial sunset, then a Going Out of Business Sale is probably for you. You should also know that a GOB Sale will produce the absolute best return on your life’s investment, for it is common that a fine jewelry store can do a year’s plus worth of business in only two-plus months during the extended holiday selling season.
But before you decide on a GOB Sale, you need to make sure that you really can retire completely because a lot of people opt for retirement and then regret not having something to do with their time. Have you developed hobbies that excite you, travels that you have contemplated for years, grandchildren to spend more time with, and other life experiences that you want to have? Because some jewelers question whether they want to get out completely, they opt for a retirement/store closing sale and choose to open a small office upstairs to become a “by appointment only private jeweler.” We are seeing more and more of this in recent years.
The two most important issues you need to consider are financial and personal/emotional. Can you afford to retire? Can you walk away from a lifetime of work? Are you emotionally prepared for the next stage in life? Are you okay with leaving your customers, employees, and other relationships in the business? Chances are, if you can answer yes to these questions, you will be best served by having a GOB Sale because the lump sum money you will receive will be worth it.
You’ll need this because you and your spouse/partner will want to at least maintain your current lifestyle, and have the funds to travel, expand on your hobbies, and enjoy the fruits of your labor. You must also make sure that you can live comfortably well into your 90s today, and that you have the money to afford proper medical care in those latter years.
So there you have it. A Going Out of Business Sale has worked for thousands of people over the years, and it can work for you, too. If we can be of help by answering questions, setting you up with projections, and sharing our expertise, please don’t hesitate to contact us.
In my last message, I discussed the challenges of selling your store to an outside party. It is really hard to get anything close to what you might think the store is worth, even if someone could actually write you a check for it.
Part 2: Transitioning Your Business to a Family Member
In my last message, I discussed the challenges of selling your store to an outside party. It is really hard to get anything close to what you might think the store is worth, even if someone could actually write you a check for it.
In this message, I want to
discuss a much more viable option in transitioning a business, and that is by
selling your store to a family member (or an employee or employees) who you
know and trust, and who will be able to continue the business with the values
and fine name you have carried in the community for years.
First, you have to determine a realistic value for the business. There are professional valuation experts who do this for a living and I highly recommend hiring one to establish a fair value to your business. Besides the all-important financial considerations are the personal and emotional feelings you have about the business. If you have no personal or emotional ties to the business continuing, then you can almost always maximize your monetary return on investment by having a Going Out of Business Sale. I’ll discuss this in my next message, so let’s continue with how to deal with a business transition to a family member.
In order for the family member to start fresh, the person may want you to clear out your old merchandise with a retirement sale. This is a very reasonable and viable way to go because it will eliminate most of the aged and unwanted inventory you have accumulated over the years and allow your family member to take over with a more or less “clean slate.” If you opt not to have a major sale event to liquidate the inventory, the price you must receive from the sale of the business, even to a family member, must be much higher than what you would get without a sale. You need to make sure you are financially covered in retirement because there are few, if any, alternatives left after you retire.
In my next message, I’ll discuss the merits of a Going Out of Business Sale, and how I would recommend doing it if you seek this direction. In the meantime, if you have any questions or if we can be of any help to you, please give us a call.
If you are at or approaching retirement age, you’ve probably considered selling your store. Unfortunately, retail jewelry store sales to an outside party are very rare today. It can be done, but most of those sales are modestly priced and include the storefront, the showcases, some equipment, possibly some aged inventory, and often the assumption of a lease.
Part 1: Can You Really Sell Your Store?
If you are at or approaching retirement age, you’ve probably considered selling your store. Unfortunately, retail jewelry store sales to an outside party are very rare today. It can be done, but most of those sales are modestly priced and include the storefront, the showcases, some equipment, possibly some aged inventory, and often the assumption of a lease. Just getting out from under a multi-year lease is worth sacrificing some dollars in a store sale. Of advantage to the buyer is the mailing list and the goodwill of the store, assuming both are current and have value.
But there is a balance to how many special events you should do during the year because you can’t keep going back to your customers and wear them out with invitations each month. I recommend that jewelers do some kind of special event about once a quarter, not only to stimulate business, but to keep your store associates excited and active in clienteling and selling. This will also keep your mailing and email lists current and up-to-date.
Bottom line, it is really hard to sell a store today for anything close to what you might feel the store is worth. I hope you know by now that your inventory – often dated with much of it underperforming – is simply not worth the original wholesale price you paid for it. It is equally rare for most anyone to simply write a check for your business, and you likely don’t want to be stretched out for years getting payments when there is no guarantee of the continued success of the business. Most banks won’t loan on jewelry stores, and while Small Business Administration (SBA) loans may be a consideration, it isn’t always easy for an individual to qualify.
So if I can’t sell my store, what’s my next best option? If you have family in the business, a good way to go is to let a family member take over the store for a reasonable period of years and pay you out over time. This is still dependent on the effective running of the business for both of you, but if a family member has been involved with the business for years and if you have confidence in the individual, this should be a realistic consideration. If you have no family members in the business, but have a loyal, dedicated employee (or employees) who has been with you for years, you may wish to consider a similar transition with that individual.
In Part 2 of this 3 Part Series, I’m going to elaborate on this a little more and give you some options to consider along the way. Stay tuned, and if we can be of help to you, even for just a phone call and some advice, please contact us.
I’m a big proponent of special events in your store. We find that those jewelers who do them – be they trunk shows, a lady’s night out, community charities, colored gem roundtables, or any such events – generate goodwill, excitement, and important sales in a month that may normally be just “so-so.”
I’m a big proponent of special events in your store. We find that those jewelers who do them – be they trunk shows, a lady’s night out, community charities, colored gem roundtables, or any such events – generate goodwill, excitement, and important sales in a month that may normally be just “so-so.”
But there is a balance to how many special events you should do during the year because you can’t keep going back to your customers and wear them out with invitations each month. I recommend that jewelers do some kind of special event about once a quarter, not only to stimulate business, but to keep your store associates excited and active in clienteling and selling. This will also keep your mailing and email lists current and up-to-date.
Sometimes jewelers conduct sale events each and every year, but we have found that your customers get used to this and they gradually tire of it. Eventually, such sales simply don’t work, and in fact work against your normal business because people know they can wait for you to hang a sale sign up every year.
We are often asked about special, one-of-a-kind inventory reduction sale events that are, in my view, very different from the aforementioned special events. When inventory stacks up over many years due to aging – and this happens to everyone in the business – you need a unique selling event that accomplishes a much different task – a necessary and significant reduction in inventory for financial reasons. Monetizing that inventory through a special sale event is a science all its own with a formula that requires expertise not normally found in any jewelry store. This is where The Gordon Company shines because of our vast experience in the process.
If you have questions about this unique kind of sale event, please contact us and we will be happy to answer your questions and provide insights that will no doubt help you. We look forward to hearing from you.
As if there aren’t enough things to keep you up at night while running an upscale retail jewelry business, debt seems to be the one that causes the most sleepless nights. I’m not referring to long term debt such as mortgages or short-term debt with suppliers, unless your cash flow is so bad that you simply can’t keep up.
As if there aren’t enough things to keep you up at night while running an upscale retail jewelry business, debt seems to be the one that causes the most sleepless nights. I’m not referring to long term debt such as mortgages or short-term debt with suppliers, unless your cash flow is so bad that you simply can’t keep up.
Banks aren’t loaning money to jewelers and are inclined to pull lines of credit these days, leading to problems mounting very quickly. And even if they don’t, untenable interest rates, especially from finance companies, can wreak havoc on your business and cause undue stress.
We see a lot of very fine stores today that are in this predicament. High-interest rates contribute to greater costs that put pressure on cash flow and profitability. Keeping overhead low is a fundamental of every business today, but it’s tough to do when you want to expand and grow your business.
One of the key issues that faces every jeweler is burdensome inventory from suppliers that simply doesn’t sell. This contributes to poor cash flow, and a necessity to make decisions that don’t come easy. How to monetize aged and unwanted merchandise becomes a central issue for all jewelers. Fortunately, there are options to consider that will eliminate unwanted inventory, increase cash flow, provide for investment in fast-selling merchandise, and most importantly, reduce or even wipe out burdensome debt.
At The Gordon Company, we specialize in major sale events that provide for inventory clearance and reduction of debt. Let us help you get your sleep back at night if these issues are keeping you up. We look forward to hearing from you.
We see so many stores in our work with upscale retailers that I want to take time in this message to summarize some key elements to focus on in your business.
We see so many stores in our work with upscale retailers that I want to take time in this message to summarize some key elements to focus on in your business.
• Re-order your fast-selling
merchandise. Every day you don’t have a fast-seller in your showcase is a
day you can’t sell it.
• Buy over-the-counter merchandise. Some of your best buys come from people who want to dispose of diamonds and jewelry. You make money when you buy, not just when you sell.
• Eliminate or at least reduce discounting in your store. You’re giving away profit and telling your customers that you charged too much in the first place.
• Increase your average retail sale. Most jewelers complain about reduced store traffic. The only way to drive top line sales is to increase your average retail sale.
• Get your margins up, especially on custom-designed pieces. Getting your margin is a key to profitability. You deserve a fair mark-up. Get it.
• Reduce or eliminate debt. Debt is an anchor that is holding you back. Do everything you can to become debt-free.
• Liquidate aged and unwanted inventory. This is easier said than done, but this is where we can really help you. We are experts in helping you reduce inventory holdings through major sale events.
There are a lot of things you can do to improve your business, but if you focus on these fundamentals, you can’t go wrong. Let us know if we can help you.
Watch this video to see how we helped Robert and Nancy Mann find greater success in their business:
The Levine Legacy began when Herb Levine’s father and Bill Levine’s grandfather, Rubine Levine, came to the Triple Cities to begin his own jewelry career. Prompted by opportunity and the will to establish a family business, Rubine’s honesty and fair dealing led the way for his son and grandson to follow his footsteps.
Since 1905, Sartor Hamann Jewelers is where Lincoln and Grand Island Nebraskans shop for the finest jewelry. Lincoln’s first quality jeweler was Ernest Sartor, who later partnered with Bill Hamman and his son, Don, to become known as Sartor Hamann Jewelers.
Huffords Jewelry has been a fixture in the greater St. Louis community since 1948, providing customers with fine jewelry, quality brands, and exceptional service. Duff Hufford was ready to take a step back from the daily operations and to move into semi-retirement with the intent of handing the reins over to his son, Dan, as the third generation jeweler to run the family store.
Harold Krasner began his journey in the jewelry industry along with his wife, Joy, in downtown San Diego in 1979. A second generation jeweler, Harold was born and raised in South Africa, so diamonds were his passion and his DNA.
Rowland D. Goodman establishes his jewelry store in Newark, New Jersey in 1932. Goodman’s guiding principles of treating customers with loyalty and respect became hallmarks of his service to the community. This led to opening more stores in New Jersey and New York City and fostered prosperity for the firm.
Situated on Main Street in the picturesque, historic town of Boerne, Texas, The Green Bull jewelry store was housed in a 110 year old building which originally served as the town’s livery stable. The nearby railroad depot would pick up visitors and transport them around town, and for only $1.50 a day, the stable would rent out a horse and buggy to its guests.
Romm Diamonds is the Boston MetroSouth’s oldest family jeweler. Founded by Alexander Romm in 1900 on Center Street in Brockton, MA, he came from a European family with roots in the jewelry industry going back to the year 1700. Third generation jeweler, Alexander Romm Rysman, took charge in 1986 and in 1993 moved to a splendid new location at 1280 Belmont Street, adjacent to Route 24.
Shelle Jewelers, Inc. opened in 1951 at 5 South Wabash, the center of the jewelry industry in Chicago. The founder was the late Sheldon M. Millman, who dreamed of having a jewelry store where the finest and most knowledgeable master craftsmen worked to create custom designed jewels. And they did.
Ken and Steffany Shelton brought a fresh perspective to the jewelry business in Little Rock, Arkansas. Steffany’s extensive background in the fashion business along with Ken’s knowledge and experience in the high-end luxury jewelry business made them uniquely qualified to identify jewelry trends and to meet the needs of the new jewelry consumer.
Merry Richards is a fine, family-owned, independent jewelry retailer founded in 1985 on Chicago’s historic “Jewelers Row.” Over the years the firm expanded from its original Wabash Avenue store into Oak Brook Terrace and Glenview in the Chicago area.
London Jewelers had a position in the Woodbury Common Premium Outlets in New York and chose to close the store after 10 years of operation and not renew the lease. Based on the long-standing reputation of The Gordon Company, the Udell Family chose Gordon to orchestrate the store closing sale event in the late summer/early fall of 2017.
Jacob H. Mednikow founded the store by his name in Memphis in 1891.Five generations later, Bob Mednikow and his son, Jay, grew the company significantly and began expansion. When the newly-built Atlanta store experienced a severe downturn in 2008, the Mednikows decided to close the store. They chose The Gordon Company to conduct a fully integrated sale event to maximize results while protecting the Mednikow name because they eventually wanted to reopen the business. The sale event was enormously successful financially and disposed of all aged and unwanted inventory.
Charles Schwartz & Son, Washington DC’s oldest jeweler, has been in business since 1888. 100 years later the Pastor family purchased the business from the Schwartz family and carried on a name that is arguably the most recognizable and prestigious in the region. Ownership took great pride in safe-guarding its coveted reputation and brand name, but with a drop in business from both stores and a shift in the type of merchandise sold, there was a need to reduce aged and unwanted inventory. President Paul Pastor called on
The Gordon Company to full his objective of eliminating the vast majority of under-performing merchandise and convert it to cash.
Max Lasker opened his jewelry store in Eau Claire, WI in 1928, and it was taken over by his son, Charles, in 1963 when Max passed away. The family also owned a second successful store in Rochester, MN. Charles’ two daughters, Nicole and Liz, sought to honor their father with a retirement sale event at the Eau Claire store. Unfortunately, just prior to the sale beginning, Charles Lasker passed away. But Nicole and Liz pressed on, knowing that their father would be proud to see their customers and the community at large served with a major sale event. And in addition to honoring their dad, they also sought to dispose of hundreds of thousands of dollars of aged and under- performing inventory.
Bachendorf’s is known as one of America’s finest upscale retail jewelers, but when one of their three stores was under-performing to manage-ment’s expectations, it called for some serious inquiry. Location and changing demographics are often good reasons to close down a store, and this was the case with one of theirs. But the question was how to do it without negatively affecting the other two highly successful stores and without tarnishing the stellar image of the Bachendorf brand. At the same time, management wanted to take full advantage of what a unique sale event could do for the business in disposing of aged and unwanted merchandise that had built up over the years.
As a first generation fine jeweler in College Station, TX, the home of Texas A&M University, David Gardner and his wife, Julia, built a very successful jewelry business over three decades. But in recent years, they had begun to notice a change in the buying habits of their customers. David, in particular, recognized that, unlike watches (where brands were very strong), the consumer was more frequently asking for custom-made, one-of-a-kind jewelry pieces. In order to implement this change, David needed to redefine his business model and build capital by reducing aged inventory levels of both branded and generic jewelry pieces. The vehicle chosen to do this was a carefully designed inventory reduction sale event.
Milton Doolittle wanted to retire, but had no family members to take over his jewelry store. A long-time employee was interested in purchasing the business, but couldn’t come up with the financing to acquire both the business and the inventory. The decision was made to conduct a Retirement Sale to lessen the amount of money that the buyer would have to raise. This allowed Milton to leave with an amount that was necessary to carry on his lifestyle in a manner to which he was accustomed.
Mann’s Jewelers was closing one of their two stores, but realized this would result in twice as much inventory as needed for the remaining store. They sought the advice of The Gordon Company to consider the best way to handle the situation. But when the actual store closing was nixed by mall management, a new theme had to be created and the recommendation was to conduct a customized, one-time inventory liquidation sale. Ultimately, Mann’s just told the public the absolute truth: after consolidating two locations into one, they were going to run a once-in-a-lifetime sale event, with every piece being offered at never-before-seen prices. The Gordon Company was selected to run the event and the results exceeded all sales expectations.
When a high-end retail jewelry store has never conducted a sale in its 96-year history, there is a natural tendency to question the decision to do so. But Lester Lampert, an iconic brand in the greater Chicago area, believed in The Gordon Company to hold such an event and lauded their performance and results.
San Francisco’s coveted downtown has been home to Shreve & Co. since March of 1906. And although the earthquake and fire that year couldn’t move Shreve & Co. from its historic building at the corner of Post Street and Grant, the company was essentially forced to leave after a bidding war with a jewelry super-power when its lease expired. Shreve took this as an opportunity to find a bigger store in the same area to better serve the jewelry needs of its long-standing, upscale clientele. Having done successful sales with The Gordon Company in the past, Shreve engaged them yet again, this time to conduct moving sales for both the San Francisco and Palo Alto stores.
Founded in Trenton, New Jersey, Hamilton Jewelers was established in 1912. Irving Siegel, a former errand boy for a similar store, purchased the firm on September 11, 1927 for $15,750 in notes payable to the former owners. He stocked the simplest of items such as silver dresser sets and cigarette lighters to finery ranging from diamonds to pocket watches, all in a small storefront at 122 South Broad Street. Siegel, or “Mr. Irving,” as he was known, began with one other employee – his wife Alice. Together, they built a modest business, working every day through the depression to establish themselves in the community.
TIVOL was founded by Charles Tivol in 1910. The founder’s fine jewelry skills, business abilities, attention to his customers, and relentless focus on high standards, enabled TIVOL to grow throughout the first-half of the 20th Century.
Now, TIVOL is led by the family’s third generation, Cathy Tivol, who joined the business in 1978 along with her son, Hunter Tivol McGrath, joining the company in 2011. In the intervening years, TIVOL added two stores, while receiving numerous honors and awards.
For their 120th anniversary, Zimmer Brothers wanted to conduct the most spectacular Anniversary Sale in its history. Michael Gordon and his daughter Jocelyn had conducted successful anniversary events every 10 years or so, but this year they had a substantial excess inventory as a result of the economic downturn. They wanted to dispose of a sizable amount of excess goods; The Gordon Company suggested Zimmer conduct a longer sale and sell more product than all previous events.
Founded in 1952, R.F. Moeller Jeweler was located in Saint Paul-Minneapolis, MN. A guild jewelry business, the company evolved, eventually operating three AGS stores in the Twin-Cities regional area. In the intervening years, management of the business was assumed by the founder’s sons Mark Moeller and later R. F. (Bob) Moeller II.
Founded during the Great Depression, Gleim the Jeweler was opened in 1931, in Palo Alto, CA. Three generations later, the prestigious jewelry company is still operated as a family business under the leadership of Georgie Gleim. In addition to her leadership as president of Gleim the Jeweler, Georgie Gleim became president of the American Gem Society, and received the coveted Robert M. Shipley Award.
This is a legitimate concern we hear from almost every fine jeweler we work with. The Gordon Company prides itself in working with the top jewelers in the country. Our professionalism is next to none in the industry, and we do everything possible to ensure the quality and integrity of each area in a sale event, from the marketing materials created specifically for you, to the type of advertising used, to the fit of augmented merchandise brought into your store, to the quality of our on-site Gordon Company representative. Most of all, you, the jeweler, approve each and every area of the sale. We want and need your 100% support. That is what makes our sale successful financially where your personal goals will be met and also guarantees the maintenance of your top-notch brand and quality image in the community.
“We also learned that it IS possible to maintain our high level of integrity and trust with our existing and new customers while conducting a sale. This was something we were never in favor of since we thought it would undermine our philosophy. But it did nothing of the kind because of the way The Gordon Company orchestrated the event.“
The event itself usually generates three to four times the average sales of the same period during the previous year. It does so because of the extraordinary marketing, advertising, and promotion administered through the sale. Logically, there is a short let-down or drop-off in sales after the event, but that should last only a minimal amount of time. Lessons learned during the sale period will help prevent a prolonged softness in business. Most of all, the continued focus of management on driving business is what is most important. (See next question.)
“Amazingly, we had continued success even after the sale with a 20% increase in our business.”
Absolutely. Owners and managers must continue to market and promote, albeit at a much more modest level after the sale, but the momentum built during the sale should continue with the store long afterward. One of the comments we hear most often is that new customers are generated to such a degree that they more than make up for any perceived short term loss. It ís the long term that really counts, especially for those jewelers who conduct an event to eliminate underperforming inventory, and want to move forward with the increased cash in-hand and the larger customer base generated from the sale.
“The Gordon Company marketing and advertising of the sale worked extremely well and we now have a much better idea of a marketing plan of how and where we can get the best ROI for the future of our business.”
Our clients have experienced a range between a 20% – 52% increase in customer base as a result of the sales event. We collect both street and email addresses on all customers. It is common for new customers to say that they never knew the store was there until they saw our advertising. This increased customer base adds significantly to the growth potential of the business.
“I thought The Gordon Company would help me with a positive sale, but I didn’t realize they would also help me with my future operations. 41% of the customers during the sale were new, and they added nearly 1,500 names to my mailing list, and over 1,300 to my email list! I now have a list of fresh, new customers, which I can transition into healthy sales going forward. I can’t thank The Gordon Company enough.”
Most jewelers have holes in their inventory mix (or will once the sale starts), especially with their desire to liquidate aged inventory that has been sitting around for many years. The augment jewelry helps to sell your owned inventory. Every successful sale benefits from augmented merchandise filling categories that are necessary to appeal to the widest possible audience. Don’t worry. We tailor augmented merchandise to fit your current merchandise mix, style, quality, and vendors. You will approve all products brought into your store and have the right to reject any of them.
“The supplemental jewelry The Gordon Company brought into the store was awesome! It matched our style of operation perfectly, and gave many options to our guests that they never would have had and helped to hold our margins high.”
Everyone has an opinion about the mood following the jewelry shows in Las Vegas, as do I. Here are my takeaways from the shows:
Everyone has an opinion about the mood following the jewelry shows in Las Vegas, as do I. Here are my takeaways from the shows:
• Many jewelers feel good about the business going into the second half of the year, while others are cautious and deliberate about both their spending and their position in the retail space.
• We are experts in disposing of aged and unwanted merchandise, and we were bombarded with questions about it from both retailers and manufacturers. It’s a problem that never goes away.
• In-store traffic is down for virtually all retailers and online competition continues to be the most commonly identified challenge.
• Manmade diamonds again dominated presentations such as that from Rapaport and they also dominated conversations among many within the trade. The question is not whether lab-grown will play a big part in the marketplace in the years ahead. It’s more a matter of how they will affect the demand, and even the price, of natural diamonds. Most everyone sees the price of manmade diamonds decreasing over time as production levels rise almost indiscriminately.
• Vendors, for the most part, and diamond dealers (because of lab-grown diamonds, I suspect), seemed anxious and were willing to make deals when it made sense for them.
• Social media in various platforms is still dominating the way jewelers want to advertise and promote their stores and their brands. I’m not always convinced we can measure the results of social. I think there are other ways to accomplish the goal.
• The Gordon Company was spread out from JCK to COUTURE to CBG, seemingly by necessity. The question is, are we cutting the industry’s pie into so many pieces that it’s actually hurting the trade, not helping it?
• Some jewelers have gone to smaller store footprints, lower inventory levels, the use of CAD, and more specialty items. A wave of upstairs private jewelers is beginning to swell as the bigger, better, stronger stores open in new markets with the power of Rolex and top brand names.
• Technology, whether we like it or not, continues to make its way into every facet of our trade, and will be even more important in the future.
That’s my take on what we saw and heard at the shows. If we can help you think through what you’re going to do with excess inventory and cash flow needs, give us a call or drop us a line. We want to help.
First of all, The Gordon Company doesnít own any inventory and the merchandise that is brought in is new product, not closeouts. That is one aspect of our work that is unique from other companies you may talk to. Our goal is to sell your unwanted, aged inventory and generate cash flow for your business. The additional inventory brought into your store is also yours to profit from, but typically only a modest amount of sales are from augmented merchandise.
“I was very pleased with the quality, value and variety of the inventory provided by The Gordon Company. I was also extremely satisfied with the strong emphasis that they put on selling my original inventory, as that was one of the most important goals going into the event.”
Founded in 1927, Jack Lewis Fine Jewelers was as much a part of Bloomington, IL history as was the Chicago-Alton Railroad Company, the company’s first client. Then, founder Jack Lewis was a “technical watchmaker”, serving railroad executives and conductors as well as Bloomington’s affluent clientele who eventually became the emerging fine jeweler’s core customers. Later, the Jack Lewis brand would become synonymous for skilled jewelers and quality diamonds earning the company membership in the American Gem Society (AGS).
Rowland D. Goodman establishes his jewelry store in Newark, New Jersey in 1932. Goodman’s guiding principles of treating customers with loyalty and respect became hallmarks of his service to the community. This led to opening more stores in New Jersey and New York City and fostered prosperity for the firm.
Are you old enough to remember Peter, Paul, and Mary’s famous song, Where Have All The Flowers Gone? Most jewelers are asking the same question about where all the customers have gone.
Are you old enough to remember Peter, Paul, and Mary’s famous song, Where Have All The Flowers Gone? Most jewelers are asking the same question about where all the customers have gone.
If you track people coming
through your door, you’ve probably noticed a continual decline over the years,
with a corresponding decline in overall transactions. If you are maintaining
sales figures year over year, it’s because you are increasing your average
retail sale, which you must do to stay in business.
But if you really want to increase traffic, you have to do something out of the ordinary to accomplish this task. Customer attrition is a stark reality. They move, cease purchasing, change lifestyles, and eventually pass away. You have to reinvigorate your database of clients because a continuous renewal of your customer base is vital.
One of the surprise benefits to most of our clients of conducting a Gordon Company sale (although it’s no surprise to us) is the number of new customers who buy jewelry during the event. These are people who have never been to the jeweler’s store. The percentage of new customers is usually around 30% of the total number of purchasers, and many of those new customers become clients well into the future.
So don’t settle for wondering where all the customers have gone. Let us help you build your customer list with a major sale event that will also eliminate aged merchandise, increase cash flow, allow you to pay off debt, and acquire fresh new inventory.
There is an almost ubiquitous belief in our jewelry industry that brick and mortar stores are a liability and that the growth of e-tailing is killing traditional retail. While online searching, shopping, and pricing has certainly impacted some areas of mainstream retail, the death of it is highly overrated.
There is an almost ubiquitous belief in our jewelry industry that brick and mortar stores are a liability and that the growth of e-tailing is killing traditional retail. While online searching, shopping, and pricing has certainly impacted some areas of mainstream retail, the death of it is highly overrated.
What is certain, however, is that e-tailers have shined a light on poorly orchestrated, traditional retailing, and this should be enough to get every jeweler’s immediate attention. Tired and boring brick and mortar stores are not attractive to Millennials, Gen Xers, or even Baby Boomers today. Stores that look old, feel old, and lack innovation in both design and product are going to struggle. Am I preaching to the choir here?
I visit a lot of retail jewelers in my work and in my travels. I see very few stores that are exciting, inviting, and truly appeal to the senses. After all, we are social beings who crave physical beauty in both nature and man-made structures. It’s why we still go out to great restaurants, luxury movie theatres, hip concerts, and attractive sports venues. We want to soak up the experiences that have become almost the norm today.
So this begs the question, “What should we do with our jewelry stores?” We don’t have to spend a fortune to make them look nice, smell good, display product well, and appeal to customer senses to own and wear fine jewelry. Your staff is also a big part of that attractiveness. Some luxury experiences online are actually better than what many experience in a store because of the variables that exist and the inconsistency of salespeople.
Your store says a lot about you as an owner. Take a look around and see if you would buy in your own store, and see if there is any jewelry you would want to own and wear. Better yet, hire someone to come in and critique your store, lest you become one of those who are in business today, but out of business tomorrow.
At The Gordon Company, we are in business to help you stay in business. Give us a call or drop us a line if you are in need of help.
I used to say that some things are done better as a team. Now that I’m a little older and a little wiser, I say that ALL things are done better as a team. There is no “I” in team, and that’s why building a great team is not only a key to success, but a key to succession.
I used to say that some things are done better as a team. Now that I’m a little older and a little wiser, I say that ALL things are done better as a team. There is no “I” in team, and that’s why building a great team is not only a key to success, but a key to succession.
So whether you are in it for the long run or are ready for a business transition, you need quality people to help you get to where you want to go. I have found this in my own company by investing in great people and it has helped me build and grow a thriving business.
I have also found that when I need help – and I’ve needed it several times in my many years in the business – I sought outside advisors who would provide counsel with no other agenda than to help me personally and help my business prosper. In fact, I still have a key advisor today who gives me great advice and provides an unbiased, objective perspective on the way forward.
I consider my advisor a key part of my team, even though he is a consultant, not an employee. In the very same way, my company is an extension of each of our clients’ team in the upscale retail jewelry industry. Our goal is to assist you with expertise you can’t get anywhere else, and to provide wise counsel in the area of sale events, cash raising, inventory reduction, store closing, and business transition.
So as good as your team undoubtedly is, it can be better with experts in sales promotions with a proven track record of success. Let us help you as we have with so many other quality jewelers by filling a unique need and taking you to a new level of cash flow with relief of aged and unwanted inventory. I look forward to hearing from you.
Too often I see jewelers running sales that just don’t work. They get frustrated and conclude – incorrectly – that sale events don’t work because the ones they’ve done haven’t worked for them.
Too often I see jewelers running sales that just don’t work. They get frustrated and conclude – incorrectly – that sale events don’t work because the ones they’ve done haven’t worked for them.
Running sale events too often teaches your customers that they are anything but real. Customers are smarter than that and see through fake promotions. They are tired of seeing jewelry stores with illegitimate sale signs. They don’t buy it, nor will they buy from you if done incorrectly.
Running a great sale event is both art and science. It’s an art because there are no two sale events that are alike. Each calls for creativity and nuance that can only be developed over years of experience. Knowing when and how to advertise, what mediums work best for your store and community, how to discount and frame promotions, and how to prepare your staff for maximum success are areas of expertise outside of the knowledge and experience of most upscale retail jewelers. You are great at what you do, but not at major sale events.
In addition to the art of a sale, such events are also highly scientific. Most jewelers will not recognize or know the formulas needed for a successful sale. Nor will they know the process of developing analytics that maximize return on investment. I can tell you within two days whether a major sale event will be successful based on proven empirical evidence.
But why am I writing about this. Because there is so much misunderstanding about the do’s and don’ts of running sale events. And that’s where experience is really the best teacher.
If you would like to learn more about how to run a successful sale event that brings you an incredible return, please contact us and we’ll show you how. Better yet, we’ll do it all for you and we’ll make your life easy and your cash register ring.
We work with upscale jewelers around the country and every client has both similarities and differences. One of the major similarities is in their inventory. One $10,000,000 jeweler told me that the only difference between him and a $1,000,000 jeweler is an additional zero on his inventory level. He’s right.
We work with upscale jewelers
around the country and every client has both similarities and differences. One
of the major similarities is in their inventory. One $10,000,000 jeweler told
me that the only difference between him and a $1,000,000 jeweler is an
additional zero on his inventory level. He’s right.
Another similarity is the aging process. Most merchandise ages and
the degree of aging is both disappointing and startling – if not downright
scary.
As a case in point, we recently
conducted a sale event for a jeweler who had owned inventory totaling $729,027
at cost encompassing a total of 2,964 items. Of the items, almost half of the
merchandise was over five years old. Of that, more than one-third of the items
were over 10 years old, which included 145 pieces over 20 years old.
I guess I could joke with you and
say that this kind of inventory aging only occurs in certain states, but you
and I both know better. Unfortunately, this jeweler’s holdings were very
similar to what we encounter in most store closings, retirement sales, and
going out of business events. It is inevitable that merchandise will age, and a
lot of this has to do with your buying habits and an inability to know what to
do with unwanted, under-performing merchandise.
We are experts in knowing what to do, so if we can help you as we have hundreds of upscale fine jewelers, please let us know. We would love to assist you.
Despite the corporate and individual tax cuts enacted last year, we hear a lot of reporting about reduced tax refunds this Spring. This tells us that retail jewelers are going to be hit two ways: The first is personally and the second is through less disposable income from customers.
Despite the corporate and
individual tax cuts enacted last year, we hear a lot of reporting about reduced
tax refunds this Spring. This tells us that retail jewelers are going to be hit
two ways: The first is personally and the second is through less disposable
income from customers.
Upscale jewelers are marketing
mostly to the upper middle class and wealthier people who have fairly
significant income and/or resources beyond the average person. Dual income
households are common, and this gives many people an edge to purchase jewelry
that single income households simply don’t have. But if their tax refunds are
lower, and if they don’t “feel” as comfortable with their capital – as was the
case last Christmas Season with the jittery stock market, the Fed hike, the
China trade deal question mark, and other confidence shakers – then they will
hold off on discretionary purchases, at least for the time being.
We get calls from jewelers every
day, and the reasons cover the gamut. Some feel it’s time to retire and have a
sale event to monetize their inventory holdings. Others are closing a store,
reducing their footprint, moving more to custom, or going from two stores to
one. Yet others are looking for increased traffic through an expanded mailing
list and better cash flow. And still others are concerned about bank debt,
supplier debt, mortgage debt, and personal debt, and want to get out of debt to
ease their minds and the stress that debt presumes upon them.
If this is you, we have an
answer. Let us help you get out of debt, free your mind, and start over fresh
with a sale event that will accomplish all of this and more. The expanded
mailing list you will get from new customers alone will be a boon to your
business for years to come.
For a free, confidential
consultation feel free to reach out directly to our President Ira Bergman
917-861-9607 ibergman@gordonco.com, or Vice President Barry Lustig
917-586-1984 blustig@gordonco.com.
The jewelry industry as a whole grew again in 2018, and a fair number of new businesses opened for the first time. But overall, the number of manufacturers, wholesalers, and retailers declined by about 4%, according to the Jewelers Board of Trade. A decline in brick and mortar stores, in particular, isn’t new to any of you, but there are a number of interesting things to consider as one looks at the industry landscape. Let’s look at a few of them.
The jewelry industry as a whole
grew again in 2018, and a fair number of new businesses opened for the first
time. But overall, the number of manufacturers, wholesalers, and retailers
declined by about 4%, according to the Jewelers Board of Trade. A decline in
brick and mortar stores, in particular, isn’t new to any of you, but there are
a number of interesting things to consider as one looks at the industry
landscape. Let’s look at a few of them.
1) People aren’t going out of
business for the same reasons they did during the Great Recession of 2008-2009.
Most of the retailers we speak to are choosing to retire because they have
reached that age and have family members who have chosen their own career and
do not wish to take over the family jewelry business.
2) E-tailers and online sales
are certainly increasing, but healthy brick and mortar stores are also doing
well. I believe the future of the retail jewelry industry will be in the
hands of those jewelers who have strong family businesses, manage their
inventory well, adapt to today’s consumer, bring a great experience to the
public, and continue to maintain and even enhance the trust factor in their
community.
3) Jewelers going out of
business leave an opportunity for those that remain. Look around your own
town and count the number of jewelry retailers, both large and small, that have
closed their doors. People who frequented these stores are going somewhere else
to buy their jewelry. Market share is there to take if you are innovative,
market savvy, and truly focus on your customers.
4) Options exist for those who
want to stay in the game. Some jewelers are going in a new direction, sometimes
with a store move because of a declining location or population. Some are
becoming “by appointment only” jewelers. Others are doing online sales and
working social media. Many have minimized inventory levels to retain capital.
Bottom line, there are plenty of options to consider.
The industry is changing and we
have to change with it. People look to us for help, and if we can assist you
with a sale event that will help you retire or get a fresh start, please
contact us for some free, experienced advice.
The major jewelry shows are only a few months away, but do you really have an open-to-buy, and if so, for what specific items? Is your money tied up with current inventory on hand with much of it aging day by day? How are you going to make your showcases more exciting for today’s customers?
The major jewelry shows are only a few months away, but do you really have an open-to-buy, and if so, for what specific items? Is your money tied up with current inventory on hand with much of it aging day by day? How are you going to make your showcases more exciting for today’s customers?
Wouldn’t it be great to have a specific plan and strategy to buy only what you need and can afford during the big shows? Having a plan will give you a clear conscience to make the right purchases, create the best product mix, drive more people to your store, and make more sales.
The process of buying and selling is an age-old problem that can only be solved through a disciplined approach to buying and an aggressive approach to selling. The Gordon Company can help you have a genuine “open-to-buy” with a strategic sales plan that reduces unwanted merchandise, improves cash flow, pays off bills, and allows you to purchase fresh products that will sell in a more timely fashion.
Let us help you gain peace of mind before you get into the buying spirit. It’s not that we don’t want you to buy. We want you to have the money to buy right.
Contact us for a free, no-obligation consultation. We look forward to hearing from you.
If there’s one comment I hear more than any other, it’s that store traffic is down. Jewelers obviously need more customers coming through the door. In this regard, I always advise upscale jewelers to have a gauge to measure store traffic on a routine basis because sometimes we think traffic is down when it really isn’t.
If there’s one comment I hear more than any other, it’s that store traffic is down. Jewelers obviously need more customers coming through the door. In this regard, I always advise upscale jewelers to have a gauge to measure store traffic on a routine basis because sometimes we think traffic is down when it really isn’t.
Often customers are in store and looking to purchase, but salespeople fail to close, so measuring the closing ratios of each salesperson is also very important. As the old adage goes, “what gets measured gets done.” Conversely, what doesn’t get measured – and this goes for every aspect of your business – doesn’t get done.
You own a sophisticated point of sale system like most every quality jeweler, but you likely use only 10-20% of its potential on a regular basis. In fact, the biggest complaint of software providers is that users fail to run daily and weekly reports that provide an objective pulse of the business they can’t get anywhere else.
You need to use every tool in your arsenal to measure the performance of your suppliers, your merchandise, your salespeople, and even yourself. As a tip, for traffic, we suggest you use electronic door counters (We use Trafsys.com) to measure incoming customers, and this can be combined with your POS system to give you closing rates.
But if you really need more store traffic, we have an answer that will allow you to secure more new customers than any other method we know. And that is to hold a high-intensity inventory reduction sale orchestrated and managed by my company.
The Gordon Company is the upscale jeweler’s best and most reliable friend for disposing of aged and unwanted merchandise while simultaneously garnering more new customers to market to in the future. Our goal is to keep you in business and to help you grow in the future with additional new customers who would have never frequented your store without our sale event.
Contact us today for a free, confidential, no obligation consultation. It is our pleasure to serve you.
We work with so many jewelers around the country that we get to see store layouts from A to Z. Traditionally, the bench jeweler is tucked back in a corner somewhere and hidden from customers. If the be..
We work with so many jewelers around the country that we get to see store layouts from A to Z. Traditionally, the bench jeweler is tucked back in a corner somewhere and hidden from customers. If the bench person is an introvert, he or she probably loves it. The fewer the customers the jeweler has to face, the better. Customers are viewed as a distraction to their work and simply get in the way. But jewelry repair is like a hospital for things that need to be fixed, and sometimes acts as an emergency room – a high speed service – for things that can and should be fixed quickly.
Recently I had the occasion to visit a store to check out one of their promotions and I was drawn to their glass walled shop that housed four jewelers hard at work. I was impressed. The glass drew me to the jewelers like a magnet, and I stood there for a while wondering why more stores don’t highlight their on-premise jeweler. This may not be possible with your current store configuration, but if you’re considering a remodel, keep your jeweler in mind.
One of our clients has a “hospital clean” design center in the middle of the whole store with all the jewelers wearing crispy white lab coats. A sketching table is next to a Computer Aided Design area that seats the CAD designer and an engagement couple who can watch the design of their ring come to life. Custom design allows you to cut inventory costs by a significant percentage and free up capital that would otherwise be sitting in aging merchandise. Despite what we may want to sell in our stores, customers want it “their way” and we are wise to provide exactly what they want if it is in our power to do so.
I share these ideas with you when I write because my company has only one interest, and that is to see you become more successful in your business. True, we are specialists in inventory reduction sale events that generate cash and relieve you of the burden of unwanted, under-performing merchandise. So while we can and do come in to help you dispose of aged inventory, the cash you get can help you pay for that all-important remodel. Even more than that, we pride ourselves in being advisors to upscale jewelers who – no matter their longevity or experience – can benefit from outside counsel.
Let us help you, too. Contact us any time for a private, confidential consultation with no obligation.
There is a degree of uncertainty in the marketplace and it is hard to pin down why. Corporate profits are still high, unemployment is still low, and the stock market had its correction, but seems to be settling back to a reasonable level. We know about the concern with China and a possible trade war, Europe and Brexit, and another threat to shutting down the Federal government again, but what does all this have to do with you as a retail jeweler?
There is a degree of uncertainty in the marketplace and it is hard to pin down why. Corporate profits are still high, unemployment is still low, and the stock market had its correction, but seems to be settling back to a reasonable level. We know about the concern with China and a possible trade war, Europe and Brexit, and another threat to shutting down the Federal government again, but what does all this have to do with you as a retail jeweler?
Uncertainty has a definite impact
on consumer spending and this unsettles the economy as a whole. Every business
owner must be mindful of the attitudes of consumers. Look no further than your
own personal concerns and you’ll have the answer.
The key is to have a plan to deal with the uncertainty of the economy and your business. Without a plan, or at least options to consider, fear takes the place of uncertainty, and that is not where you want to be. I don’t have all the answers. No one does. But I know that if I had most of my personal wealth tied up in one area, like many of you do, I would want to have a plan to hedge my bet on the future.
You know we help jewelers with
high-impact sale events that clear out aged inventory, increase cash flow, win
new customers to the store, and create innovative marketing strategies to reach
new and younger consumers. If you are ready to go out, we can help you there,
too, but at least consider your situation and have a plan to deal with the
uncertainties of the market.
If we can help you, or if you
just need some experienced advice, give us a call or drop us a line. We’d love
to assist in your planning.
Economy Finance Business Late last year the Fed sent a message to the country that the economy is good, maybe too good. Corporate profits are high and unemployment is near all-time lows. So the Fed raised interest rates the week before Christmas. Not the b..
Late last year the Fed sent a message to the country that the economy is good, maybe too good. Corporate profits are high and unemployment is near all-time lows. So the Fed raised interest rates the week before Christmas. Not the best timing for jewelry retailers. Somehow you made it through that week and the year, but have very real concerns about 2019. As you see from the chart below, the market dip provided buying opportunities and has started the year off strong.
Business for many was still good, but we know that past performance is no guarantee of future success. In fact, because of the two W’s (Washington and Wall Street) people are cautious, even squeamish about the new year. When people see their portfolios decline (even if only on paper), their mood changes and they simply don’t feel as wealthy as they once were. Whether right or wrong, that’s how they feel, and almost nothing we do can change that.
Hundreds more jewelers closed their doors last year for any number of good reasons. For many, it was simply time to retire, and no one was there to take over or to ensure a secure financial future for the owners. We helped many of these with Going Out of Business sale events to maximize their return on investment. But if you are among those who are trenching in and facing the new year, we are excited for you and open to helping you in any way we can.
A cautious public is looking for a deal, and you, like all upscale jewelers, have too much aged and unwanted merchandise. Let our expertise and experience show you how to purge product and reduce inventory levels. Our sales are a perfect fit with consumer sentiment that wants and expects reasonable discounts on their purchases.
So consider how you can meet your needs while meeting similar needs in your community as early as this Spring. You’ve spent decades building a great reputation in your area, and that is a huge benefit when you have a one-time inventory reduction sale.
If this sounds like a good idea, or even if you want to explore possible options, give us a call to discuss your needs on a strictly confidential basis. Don’t let the two W’s get you down. Take advantage of your unique position and turn an apparent negative into a huge positive.
Increasingly we are seeing fine jewelers moving to a much more modest level of inventory to reduce their drain on capital and to create more and more custom-design jewelry. This is understandable for two main reasons:
1) No one can..
Increasingly we are seeing fine jewelers moving to a much more modest level of inventory to reduce their drain on capital and to create more and more custom-design jewelry. This is understandable for two main reasons:
1) No one can afford to make buying mistakes that absorb cash flow and make monetizing unwanted merchandise a huge, long-term problem.
2) Computer Aided Design (CAD) technology has become so prevalent and affordable that customization is no longer a feat for only the vastly experienced hand craftsman.
When you add these factors to the mentality of most Millennials (and also Generation Zers, who are graduating from college and now entering the workforce), who want things “their way,” you have a formula that demands your attention now and in the future.
We are also seeing many long-time brick and mortar jewelers reduce their store footprints and become “by appointment only or private” jewelers, catering to their more exclusive clientele who seek larger, finer goods in a personal setting that provides a richer experience. Sometimes this is done at retail on the ground level, but very often these professionals opt for a nice office in a multi-story building.
Many jewelers aren’t ready to retire, but want to get away from the day to day grind. They want to take advantage of a more relaxed lifestyle while not getting completely out of the business. So becoming a “private jeweler” is very popular today, and reduces the need for excessive inventory, and maybe only a few important pieces that cater to their upscale clients.
The bottom line to all this is that aged and under-performing inventory is not just your problem. It’s an industry-wide cancer that stalls businesses at best, and forces them out of the retail industry at worst.
If I seem to be preaching to the choir and you are in need of help, please give us a call for a confidential, no obligation consultation. We are experts in inventory reduction and we want to help you.
People ask us what makes us different. We work almost exclusively with upscale fine jewelers across North America. They come to us because they know The Gordon Company difference.
We advise, monetize, and help you capitalize on your..
People ask us what makes us different. We work almost exclusively with upscale fine jewelers across North America. They come to us because they know The Gordon Company difference.
We advise, monetize, and help you capitalize on your primary business asset: your inventory. We apply our decades of experience and expertise to relentlessly get you the maximum return on your aged and under-performing merchandise. Each year, we help dozens of jewelers monetize tens of millions of dollars of unwanted product.
We protect, preserve, and promote your coveted brand name, reputation, and standing in your community. We aren’t GOB-centric. We are there to help you move into the future with strength and confidence. We take your future seriously because we want to be your partner for life.
We create, innovate, and think out-of-the-box to customize and tailor every sale event to fit your exact needs. No two jewelers are exactly alike, so we bring our entire management team into every sale to create customized solutions to maximize your return on investment and to make your job – and your future – the very best it can be.
We stay with you following your sale event. We don’t leave you once we complete your sale. We follow-up with detailed analyses on the sale itself: what advertising and marketing strategies worked the best, what suggestions and recommendations we have for your future success, and what observations we made during the event to help your business thrive in the years ahead.
So what makes us different? Industry-specific knowledge, speed and efficiency, financial knowledge, experience, ongoing service. These are all important. But maybe the thing that sets us apart is our care and concern for our clients. We have heart. We aren’t pushy. We exist to serve.
Contact us today to experience The Gordon Company difference and what we can do to help your business.
The value of being in business
for years or even decades is the tremendous advantage you have with your extensive customer base. Seldom used and often neglected, your mailing lists – both email and postal – are as valuable to you a..
The value of being in business for years or even decades is the tremendous advantage you have with your extensive customer base. Seldom used and often neglected, your mailing lists – both email and postal – are as valuable to you as most any other asset in your business arsenal.
So who is your best customer? An already satisfied customer!
That’s why gathering, updating, and using your mailing lists is critical to your business. Most any Point of Sale system will encourage salespeople to enter customer data, and this information becomes extremely valuable to you now and in the future.
So why don’t many jewelers utilize their lists more frequently? For sure, social media through Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, Yelp, and others have gained the upper hand on advertising and marketing today, but we always urge jewelers not to give up on email and postal lists.
We also see that a lot of jewelers are missing a key element of marketing today through clienteling. The value of using your lists to call customers to update their information can’t be over-emphasized.
One of the key assets we leave clients after conducting a major sale event is an increased email and postal list of some 30% to 50%. This list becomes extremely valuable for jewelers after the sale, and well into the future.
The moral of the story: Guard and use your customer lists to maximum value and reap the reward through increased sales!
If there is anything we can help you with, please give us a call.
If you are at a point of calling it quits, cashing in, transitioning your business, restructuring it to a
different form, or just in need of a jump start for the year, you are at one of the most crucial times in your business since..
If you are at a point of calling it quits, cashing in, transitioning your business, restructuring it to a different form, or just in need of a jump start for the year, you are at one of the most crucial times in your business since you started it or took it over. How can you maximize your return on investment and create a result that meets your individual needs? The good news is: You have options.
You can try to sell your store to a qualified buyer. Unfortunately, there aren’t many, and those less qualified will have a hard time getting a loan from a bank or generating enough cash to buy it. Then there’s the question of price. Most jewelers think their business is worth more than what the actual books will show. Often a son or daughter or relative has demonstrated the ability to run the business effectively, but then how are they going to pay you? Usually over years, with some degree of measured risk to you if they falter.
Scrapping it will give you the least amount of return, maybe 15 or 20% of what you have in it. So what about selling it to a close-out merchant? I guess that will work. But what will he give you? Maybe just a touch over scrap. It still isn’t worth it.
Since most of your assets are tied up in inventory, you must monetize a great portion of it in order to retire comfortably, or transition the business to a new owner, often a son or daughter. That’s a big reason why inventory liquidation sales have been so effective over the years. A sale event is a very reasoned way of getting the majority of your capital investment back in the form of cash, and over a relatively short, two-month period of time. It involves some hard work – but that’s what we do for you. We take the weight off your shoulders as expert facilitators while you enjoy an eight week sales extravaganza like the holiday season on steroids. A major sale event is well worth the effort, as many of our satisfied clients will attest to.
These and other methods are reasonable ways to liquidate unwanted jewelry, but there’s still no guarantee the merchandise will sell, and it costs you money just to hold on to it. So what gives you the best return on your investment for merchandise you need to liquidate?
At The Gordon Company, our goal is to advise you on the best course of action for you individually. Everyone is different and has unique needs all their own. Our expertise is in coming up with creative ways to make your exit and/or transition as smooth and as profitable as possible. I can’t possibly share more with you in this brief message, but I welcome your call to learn more about how we can help you.
Our business is to help you stay in business with inventory solutions that will free you to pay off debt, invest in fresh merchandise, develop new designers, expand your mailing list, and prepare for a successful future. Contact us today for a free, confidential, no obligation consultation.
It’s the age old question. What should we do with our aged and underperforming inventory?
Should we scrap it? After all, it’s been around for years. But it’s beautiful. Or is it? Your customers have voted on it for years, and they’v..
It’s the age old question. What should we do with our aged and underperforming inventory?
Should we scrap it? After all, it’s been around for years. But it’s beautiful. Or is it? Your customers have voted on it for years, and they’ve said NO! But maybe someone will come in the store tomorrow and buy it. That’s the dream you keep dreaming.
Scrapping it will give you the least amount of return, maybe 15 or 20% of what you have in it. So what about selling it to a close-out merchant? I guess that will work. But what will he give you? Maybe just a touch over scrap. It still isn’t worth it.
What about spiffing it to your sales staff or putting it in your “half off” sales case? That could work, if in fact the merchandise will sell. People may want to know what’s wrong with it. Nothing really. It’s just old and no one has wanted it for years.
These and other methods are reasonable ways to liquidate unwanted jewelry, but there’s still no guarantee the merchandise will sell, and it costs you money just to hold on to it. So what gives you the best return on your investment for merchandise you need to liquidate?
The answer: having a major inventory reduction event that will generate huge financial returns while eliminating merchandise that has been weighing you down. If this sounds attractive, we would love to discuss the options with you.
Our business is to help you stay in business with inventory solutions that will free you to pay off debt, invest in fresh merchandise, develop new designers, expand your mailing list, and prepare for a successful future. Contact us today for a free, confidential, no obligation consultation.
The first half of 2018 is in the books, but what do you have in store for the rest of the year? Is it time to step back and make some changes to accomplish your annual goals?
Here’s a formula to help you think through the process:
1)..
The first half of 2018 is in the books, but what do you have in store for the rest of the year? Is it time to step back and make some changes to accomplish your annual goals?
Here’s a formula to help you think through the process:
1) Take a critical look at your January to June performance. Analyze your financials against budget and look seriously at your marketing plan. Has your marketing effort matched your expectations? What adjustments must you make to meet your annual goals?
2) Break down each month in the second half of the year to see what you have to do in sales and gross profit to meet your annual goal. What changes must you make in the expense category to help you achieve that goal?
3) Rally your team behind your assessment. Challenge everyone to increase sales, in particular. Growing the top line will make achieving your profit goals much easier. And make sure your team knows that the store’s success means their success.
Our goal at The Gordon Company is to help you achieve your financial goals. We do this by providing advice and consultation with sale events that change the course of your year, and your future. Allow us to help you do just that. Give us a call today.
Everyone in retail knows that store traffic was down last year and the challenge has continued in 2018.
The good news is that many jewelers were up in sales, but the reasoning is somewhat mixed. Some jewelers had an increase in aver..
Everyone in retail knows that store traffic was down last year and the challenge has continued in 2018.
The good news is that many jewelers were up in sales, but the reasoning is somewhat mixed. Some jewelers had an increase in average retail sale, while others just had fewer “shopping” trips to their stores as opposed to “buying” trips. By this I mean that at least some of the lost traffic may have been from fewer “lookers” who tend to want to get an education about diamonds and jewelry, but can now seemingly get similar information online. And in many cases, the playfulness of shopping and browsing for information at your fingertips, let alone buying in many cases, trumps the hassle of going out to gain the same knowledge.
Take this example: Amazon Prime users often have multiple individual packages delivered to their home each week. The trouble it takes to leave the house, drive to stores (often in unfriendly weather), and not see what you really need to buy can be frustrating and a waste of time. Today’s time-constrained consumers tend to side with the efficiency of shopping from the comfort of their home. Most really don’t make jewelry purchases this way, but they certainly search for information via the web that will help them make buying decisions.
Regardless of the reasoning of why store traffic is down, it is disconcerting to most jewelers who gauge their business by their busyness, which is not always a good thing. At The Gordon Company we try to help jewelers in at least two significant ways. One is to generate abundant new store traffic that leads to fresh new customers for the store. Every sale we run generates 25 – 50% new customer purchases – people who have never shopped in the store before – leaving our retailers with a much larger email and direct mail list to market with in the future. Another is to help dispose of aged and under-performing merchandise that is weighing every jeweler down. We can usually dispose of 50 – 90% of unwanted merchandise, depending on the type of sale we conduct.
So if you need the kind of “lift” I’ve described, we welcome your call. Our goal is to use our expertise gained over many decades to help jewelers thrive.
As mentioned last week, our involvement in four different jewelry shows in Las Vegas this year gave us a unique vantage point to hear and feel the pulse of the jewelry business first hand. In addition to the very serious need of re..
As mentioned last week, our involvement in four different jewelry shows in Las Vegas this year gave us a unique vantage point to hear and feel the pulse of the jewelry business first hand. In addition to the very serious need of reducing inventory levels of aged and underperforming product, here is what we heard in Vegas:
• Most vendors reported fewer overall orders, but larger overall purchases. Buyers were very serious, but were also paying much closer attention to inventory levels than in the past.
• Manufacturers were getting more and more requests for trade-ins of old merchandise which can be helpful, but some reported such high trade-back ratios that it didn’t make sense to retailers. Most retailers acknowledged that trade-back ratios that are in excess of 3 or 4 to 1 simply get them in bigger inventory trouble down the line.
• Most retailers were very specific in what they needed to buy. Most were focusing on jewelry lines that produced the turnover they needed rather than those that wouldn’t move with respectable inventory turns.
• Retailers weren’t afraid to spend, but were hesitant to open too many new brands, and focused mainly on those brands with a proven track record.
• Items selected by retailers were based more on perceived value than on specific price points. Given the power of female self-purchase today, styles had to have the right look and feel to match the price on high or even modestly-priced products.
• Diamond basics continued to be strong, especially in earring studs and a surprisingly renewed interest in tennis bracelets.
• Retailers are still battling online competition, but a focus on improving the in-store experience is helping to appeal to today’s jewelry shopper.
• Custom jewelry demand from consumers who want things “their way” has seen tremendous growth and jewelers must adapt quickly to this need. This also leaves many stores with a growing problem of inventory levels that won’t go down without a major sale event.
Overall, business is good, but jewelers must be assertive in capturing consumer demand. Thriving in the jewelry industry today is not for the faint of heart. If you can use some help, please give us a call. We’ll be there for you.
The Gordon Company participated in four jewelry shows in Las Vegas this year: LUXURY, JCK, COUTURE, and CBG, which gave us a vantage point that few in our industry could observe. We were busier than ever and probably spoke to well ..
The Gordon Company participated in four jewelry shows in Las Vegas this year: LUXURY, JCK, COUTURE, and CBG, which gave us a vantage point that few in our industry could observe. We were busier than ever and probably spoke to well over 100 jewelers from every part of the country.
We mainly interacted with upscale jewelers, who we mostly work with. They are not looking to go out of business. Instead, they are looking to stay in business and grow, yet need to get into a better inventory position to do so. Delightfully, most everyone we spoke to was up in business, many of whom were well into double digit increases this year. This speaks to their marketplace reputation and the attitudes and buying habits of jewelry consumers today.
The biggest concern these same jewelers had was the excess inventory they still carried, which had been building over time, despite their increased business. This is preventing them from making the changes they feel they must make in their stores to continue to ride the current wave of growth and consumer sentiment, which in turn gets them in line with today’s times. What we heard was a constant refrain that went something like this: I need the newest and best available product in my showcases and more than ever I need to divest myself in aged inventory in order to have the open to buy for the most current, saleable product.
Our experience at The Gordon Company is that our sales generate better returns than a 3 or 4 or 5 to 1 stock balancing policy offered by many manufacturers. By the very nature of the deals that most vendors offer, retailers are being forced to over buy, which causes an even bigger problem for them down the line. Jewelers have a tendency to put off sale events hoping that something will change in their merchandise holdings and cash flow needs, but this almost never occurs without a hard-hitting change.
Join the many jewelers who are taking action now in order to ride the current wave of business growth. Please give us a call to see how we can help you.
The Stock Market is at all-time highs, the housing market is still strong, interest rates remain low, the economy continues to expand, and consumer sentiment is more than adequate despite a concerned societal outlook. Why then are ..
The Stock Market is at all-time highs, the housing market is still strong, interest rates remain low, the economy continues to expand, and consumer sentiment is more than adequate despite a concerned societal outlook. Why then are retailers in general struggling to compete for customers?
The answer is simple if we just look at the facts. The shopping habits of consumers – and that includes you – have changed. It has become a challenge for traditional retailers to adapt quickly enough to compete using their same historical model of doing business. E-commerce continues to take more market share of almost every consumer product, but as a recent article in The Retail Jeweler suggests, the end of the brick and mortar store is nowhere in sight.
But to remain competitive, all jewelry retailers need to adapt quickly to a changing marketplace and to squeeze more profit out of their business. Decisions about square footage size, staffing levels, and days and hours of operation are all being evaluated for efficiency and viable competitive advantage. Getting expenses and overhead under control and maintaining cash flow and liquidity are critical.
A key aspect of these financial imperatives is proper inventory levels and the right merchandise mix. Most fine jewelers suffer from bloated inventories, most of which include aged and underperforming products. Toxic merchandise is the cancer that keeps creeping into your business and there is no end to it. Having an inventory reduction sale every decade or two will eliminate most of your problems, increase cash flow, provide for future financial stability, and give you options that you never had before.
Please consider these words of advice as a strong warning to act before it’s too late. We’ve lost too many jewelers because they failed to recognize the signs of potential demise. As always, The Gordon Company is in business to keep you in business and is prepared to help you in every way we can.
Unless you were on a cruise to
Antarctica over the past few weeks, by now you are well aware that De Beers has announced its foray into synthetic diamond jewelry. They won’t sell loose, man-made stones and will only position goods ..
Unless you were on a cruise to Antarctica over the past few weeks, by now you are well aware that De Beers has announced its foray into synthetic diamond jewelry. They won’t sell loose, man-made stones and will only position goods under a carat in relatively inexpensive jewelry. At least for now.
The story that broke at the recent Vegas shows has had the industry reeling with reactions that range from horror and disgust to confidence and appreciation for their new venture. In truth, this seems to me like a well-thought-out and well-planned move that should not surprise anyone who thinks this process through.
If anyone really believes that De Beers wants to do anything that will negatively affect its natural diamond business, you probably should exit the jewelry industry right now. De Beers has done what De Beers always does. It is trying to secure and even bolster its $5 billion natural diamond business by controlling the message about synthetic diamonds, rather than leave the propaganda to synthetic diamond producers and distributors. Although many were caught off guard by the announcement, you might liken it to a mother bear protecting its cubs. No company has a more vested interest in the stability and strength of the mined diamond market than De Beers and its partnering countries.
De Beers is planning to drop the price of synthetic diamonds significantly (something that many observers would say will happen anyway over time), and pour tens of millions of dollars into both the production of synthetics and the messaging of synthetics to diamond consumers. In some sense, this bold move shows the impact that lab-grown synthetic diamonds have had on the marketplace, particularly in the past couple years.
How all this will play out over the coming decade will be interesting to watch. Will De Beers cannibalize itself through its controversial move? Is this just a De Beers step in the direction of covering itself with the inevitable decline of natural diamond production in the years ahead? Only time will tell. If there is anything we have learned in past decade, it is that the pace of change today is significant and that a disrupter of markets can have a devastating effect on businesses of every kind. Buckle up and stay tuned as we enter yet another era in the diamond and jewelry world.
One final note. My background is in the diamond and manufacturing industry with GIA, Lazare Kaplan, and Jade Trau. Our president Ira Bergman was a long-time manufacturer at Mercury and President of the Fabricant finished jewelry division, and our CEO Jeff Gordon is a true marketing and sales expert. We work hard to help you in your high-end retail jewelry business. Feel free to contact any of us for advice and counsel on your direction forward.
As professionals who run sale events for jewelers, we decided long ago not to own our own inventory. We feel it is the jeweler’s job to own inventory, and our job to help them sell it.
Our decision not to purchase close-outs and unw..
As professionals who run sale events for jewelers, we decided long ago not to own our own inventory. We feel it is the jeweler’s job to own inventory, and our job to help them sell it.
Our decision not to purchase close-outs and unwanted inventory is a strategic one, and is guided by our belief that we want to be completely unbiased when it comes to whose merchandise we sell. In effect, we are going well out of our way to avoid even the subtle appearance of a conflict of interest with our clients.
Call us old school, but this is how we feel, and how we operate. We do bring in augment inventory from key suppliers that is specifically tailored to the brand and image of every store, but there is no added incentive to sell it. Plus, each jeweler we work with has the final say on what additional merchandise is brought into the store and what is excluded from their product mix.
Every jeweler has holes in their merchandise assortment that must be filled with additional augmented inventory. When you work with The Gordon Company, you can be certain that none of that added merchandise is our own, and doubly certain that our primary goal is to sell your unwanted inventory and maximize your return on investment.
Please give us a call if you have questions, or if you would like a free, confidential, no obligation consultation on our extensive services.
Every jeweler has the problem of aging customers. It’s great that they have the financial resources to buy bigger and better merchandise, but the tendency of mature clients is to slow down on jewelry purchases, if not stop entirel..
Every jeweler has the problem of aging customers. It’s great that they have the financial resources to buy bigger and better merchandise, but the tendency of mature clients is to slow down on jewelry purchases, if not stop entirely. And every jeweler loses clients over time simply by attrition.
The biggest challenge for upscale jewelers is to attract and retain new customers. Bridal customers, in particular, are critical because they are young enough to become lifelong clients if we can get them into the store and give them an experience they won’t soon forget.
At The Gordon Company, we expand the reach of every upscale jeweler through creative ways of building their email and direct mail lists, getting people into the store during a sale event who have often never crossed the jeweler’s threshold. Customers tell us surprising stories. We hear things like: “I never knew you existed at this location.” Or, “I never felt comfortable coming into your store.” Or, “I didn’t think I could afford your quality of merchandise.”
Comments like these are music to our ears because we know we brought new customers to the store who had a great experience and will very likely come back to make more purchases in the future. Attracting and developing new customers is the lifeblood of every fine jeweler’s business. We help jewelers do this. Let us help you, too.
The refrain we most often hear from retail jewelers today is that traffic is down. How do I get more people into my store?
The only way you’ll know is to take counts of actual traffic in and out of your store, and to c..
The refrain we most often hear from retail jewelers today is that traffic is down. How do I get more people into my store?
The only way you’ll know is to take counts of actual traffic in and out of your store, and to closely monitor your number of transactions, including repairs, and see what your trends tell you. While you’re at it, take special note of who buys and what they buy, who sells and what they sell, and especially each salesperson’s close rate. All these analytics are at your fingertips if you have a point of sale system, and will help you assess where the needs are. You’ll even be surprised to see that your best salespeople only make one or two sales a day (other than repairs). They need to be calling and emailing clients every day to stimulate traffic and sales when there otherwise wouldn’t be any. We take great pride in our capture of addresses and email addresses, often as many as 50% of the purchasers will be from new customers who never stepped foot inside your store previously.
But why might traffic be down? There are several key reasons. One is that (and this is no bulletin!) all of us are buying more stuff online today, and jewelry of various price points is no exception. According to some reports, as many as half of all U.S. households are Amazon Prime subscribers. While this alone doesn’t signal the demise of walk-in traffic and traditional retail, it does signal a wave-change in consumer purchasing, and retailers need to take note of it.
Mall traffic is most certainly down and this is a function of being over-malled and over-retailed, as well as lifestyle changes and a desire for more and better experiences. Again, it should be no bulletin to you that Millennials, Gen Xers, and even Baby Boomers want more unique experiences when shopping, dining, exercising, traveling, recreating, and otherwise living life to the fullest. Malls are currently changing to become destinations for unique eating and lifestyle experiences, not merely places to go to shop. A wave change is definitely taking place.
So what is the answer for upscale retail jewelers? It’s creating a better experience for customers, and I don’t just mean better customer service. Everyone says they give great customer service. There needs to be more than that today. You need the right store location and the right sized store, the right mix of merchandise and maybe a few key brands, the right niche in your community, a consistent quality experience for customers, and salespeople who don’t just wait for customers to walk in. They need to get them in and know what to do with them when they are in. And if you’re an owner, you still need to work hard, and moreover, you need to work smart. Competitors are going out of business around you, so even this creates an opportunity. Someone is going to have to sell them jewelry, and it may as well be you.
Recently you may have read that over 1,600 jewelry businesses ceased to exist in 2016, the vast majority of which were retail stores. While this decline in numbers was very large on a comparative year basis – and rivaled the numbe..
Recently you may have read that over 1,600 jewelry businesses ceased to exist in 2016, the vast majority of which were retail stores. While this decline in numbers was very large on a comparative year basis – and rivaled the numbers in 2009 during The Great Recession – the main reason for business stoppages was not bankruptcy, but retirement. It’s good that most of these jewelers are choosing to retire and not being forced to close down. But for those of you who are still in business and want to continue, there are plenty of options for you to consider.
We speak to dozens of retail jewelers each month who are trying to decide on a future course of action. The jewelry business has certainly changed in recent years, but the opportunity to continue to grow and thrive still exists for the 20,000 jewelers who remain. We do very few Going Out of Business Sales because our primary goal is to help you stay in business. When jewelers contact us, we provide significant advice and counsel on how they can move forward. Many factors are involved, too numerous to mention here. But our goal is to help you determine the best course of action and to assist you in planning and executing a major sale event to monetize aged inventory, raise cash for next steps in business, build your customer base, execute a strategic store closing or relocation, assist in an ownership transition, and on select occasions, help you retire with a sizable nest-egg.
But the most important concept I want to convey is that we work very hard to help you stay in business because we are totally committed to a thriving retail industry for independent jewelers. Give us a call for a free consultation because we’re in business to keep you in business!
The Holiday Season is over, and hopefully you had a banner month in December and a good 2016. Now it’s time to do it all over again! Every year brings new challenges and opportunities, so it’s time to take stock of how you did l..
The Holiday Season is over, and hopefully you had a banner month in December and a good 2016. Now it’s time to do it all over again! Every year brings new challenges and opportunities, so it’s time to take stock of how you did last year and to consider what went right and what went wrong.
You probably have lower levels of fast-selling merchandise, but are still over-inventoried on product that just didn’t sell last year, or in previous years. It may well be time to consider selling off aged and underperforming inventory to get a smart head start on 2017. Review your aging report in your point of sale system and try to get a clear picture of what needs to be done.
Next, consider how you did in marketing and branding your store last year. Did you take a strategic look at the business and position it for the future? If not, is that something you should prioritize as you begin the new year? The business isn’t getting any easier, but the opportunity to grab market share is always there, especially when some of your competitors are calling it quits and closing their doors.
Despite the apparent growth of online shopping, most savvy consumers still want to buy jewelry from a knowledgeable professional they can meet in person, talk to in confidence, and rely on to be there for them long into the future. I’m tired of hearing about the demise of the independent jeweler. Most of my clients have powerful businesses that they continuously restore, refine, and reinvent to stay relevant in today’s modern age.
The most important thing you can do in this new year is to formulate a game plan to grow your business and your profitability. Our goal in the strategic sale event business is to keep you in business and to help pave a new road to the future that is lined with profit. When we say we’re the retail jeweler’s strategic partner, we mean it. It would be our honor and pleasure to help you make the resolutions necessary to plan your future in the new calendar year. Please give us a call.
The biggest dilemma for upscale retail jewelers is how to conduct a major sale event without tarnishing their solid image in the community. I probably understand this better than most because that is exactly how I feel about my ow..
The biggest dilemma for upscale retail jewelers is how to conduct a major sale event without tarnishing their solid image in the community. I probably understand this better than most because that is exactly how I feel about my own business. I would never do anything to denigrate the brand I have worked so hard to build over many, many years, nor would I ever ask my clients to do so.
That’s why I feel so strongly that an upscale retail jeweler must dignify every event by offering a totally professional approach to the opportunity. Whether it’s a strategic store closing, a move to a new location, an inventory reduction, or an ownership transition and retirement, it must be handled with the utmost care and a discriminating touch. That’s what we call “The Sophisticated Approach” at The Gordon Company.
Every event we conduct is carefully scrutinized and managed to ensure protection of the fine jeweler’s quality image. Anything less than this can lead to a long-term drop in sales due to a loss of image and a severe lack of trust by the consuming public. Think of it as a slow erosion of your quality brand, one that is difficult to pinpoint and even more challenging to re-build.
We conduct very few going out of business sales because our primary job is to help jewelers stay in business by creating events that raise cash, reduce aged and under-performing merchandise, substantially increase email and direct mail lists, and position a store for the next generation. So when you think it’s time to reignite your business with a strategic sale event, think of the company that focuses on “the sophisticated approach” to such events, and you can’t go wrong.
We are often asked about the goals of our Sale Events. Jewelers want to know how much aged inventory they can expect to sell. Great question, but a lot depends on the type of Sale Event that is conducted.
In a Going Out of Business ..
We are often asked about the goals of our Sale Events. Jewelers want to know how much aged inventory they can expect to sell. Great question, but a lot depends on the type of Sale Event that is conducted.
In a Going Out of Business (GOB) sale, we would expect to dispose of the vast majority (80-90%) of all owned inventory. A jeweler’s main goal is to convert his significant capital investment into cash. The same may be true for many Retirement Sales, depending on whether the store will continue operation under new management. Other types of sales, such as a Store Closing or Store Relocation, will have varying goals, depending on the wishes of ownership.
In an Inventory Liquidation Sale, the goal is usually only to get rid of aged inventory, which might comprise 30-60% of a jeweler’s merchandise. A retailer certainly doesn’t want to discount heavily on his most current, saleable inventory. So when we project how much merchandise will move in an Inventory Liquidation Sale, the percentage depends on how much inventory a jeweler has, how much of it is aged, and how much of it he may want to sell at some level of discount in order to generate cash.
Our goal in every Sale Event is to sell all of the inventory that our client wants to sell. Frankly, we have a moral obligation to do that and we take this very seriously. We don’t own any inventory, so we have no incentive to sell augment merchandise. Our only interest is to help every client maximize his return on investment and run the most successful sale possible.
In most cases we exceed our projections and sell more of a client’s inventory than anticipated. This is not only ethically correct, it is financially most favorable to the retailer. The more we sell of the jeweler’s inventory, the more cash he will receive because the client gets all of the money, less our minimal commission. It’s really that simple.
If we can help you learn more about a Sale Event that might fit your needs, please let us know. Our goal is your goal, and we look forward to serving you.
Running a sale in your store is a big deal. A very big deal. If you’re sold on doing a sale, you need to be very sure about the kind of sale you want to run. Conducting a quick one hour or even a one day sale can lift your sales fo..
Running a sale in your store is a big deal. A very big deal. If you’re sold on doing a sale, you need to be very sure about the kind of sale you want to run. Conducting a quick one hour or even a one day sale can lift your sales for the day or even the month, but you may be missing a much bigger opportunity that you haven’t considered.
Every jeweler has a problem with aged and underperforming inventory. The key is what to do with unwanted merchandise that is taking up space in your store, tying up precious capital, and keeping you from having the cash flow you need to reorder fast-moving merchandise.
Conducting a sale is a great option to improve your financial condition, but the kind of sale you run in your store is the most important decision you will make because having a sale is a privilege you must not abuse. If you overdo it, you run the risk of alienating your client base as well as those who might shop your store for a one-of-a-kind deal.
At The Gordon Company, we recommend a multi-week sale – often up to nine weeks – with very careful planning and a very sophisticated approach designed to protect your brand name and image. Why have a sale that does $50,000 for the day when you can have a well-orchestrated multi-week sale that generates 10 to 20 times that amount, creates tremendous excitement, extracts the majority of your dated inventory, and helps you eliminate debt? It also adds significantly to your mailing list and your ongoing customer base by attracting hundreds of new clients to your store who buy from you for the very first time. A one-day sale simply can’t do this.
Having a sale is an attractive option, but only if you conduct the right kind of sale with professionals who know what they’re doing. Give us a call if you’re considering a sale. We’d be pleased to advise you on steps you can take to reduce unwanted merchandise, maximize your return on investment, or accomplish any other financial goals you may have.
The Jewelers Board of Trade recently reported an increased number of store and business closings for the first quarter of 2018 over the same period last year. In total, 241 retailers ceased operations in just the first three months..
The Jewelers Board of Trade recently reported an increased number of store and business closings for the first quarter of 2018 over the same period last year. In total, 241 retailers ceased operations in just the first three months. Many jewelers have reached retirement age and have chosen to shutter doors. But this also represents an opportunity to gain market share in your community if your competition is calling it quits.
In a recent presentation at the AGS Conclave in Nashville, Harold Dupuy of Stuller, Inc. presented a powerful message on the state of the jewelry industry. In it he stated that there will continue to be more and more store closings in the years ahead. But he also pointed out that in the case of fine jewelry, people shop for information online yet still prefer to make their purchases in a brick and mortar store from a trusted jeweler.
At the Gordon Company, we can certainly help you go out of business with a dynamic closing sale event. But we also encourage jewelers to stay in if they have the will, determination, and ability to cope with the changes taking place in the jewelry-buying landscape. So if you have the will, we’ll show you the way.
Our expertise is in inventory reduction sales and anything related to strategic store closings, moving and relocation, retirement and business transition, and cash raising opportunities. We help you monetize aged and under-performing merchandise to get you in better shape financially and to set you on a course for better business in the future.
If any of this makes sense or peaks your interest, take a moment to give us a call to learn more. We love to share our knowledge, experience and expertise, so please don’t hesitate to contact us. We make it our business to help you stay in business.
You can come see us at LUX LOBBY 1 during LUXURY and JCK (by LUXURY Registration at top of rear escalator) We will be a sponsor at COUTURE (located in the Lafite Ballroom lounge area) And exhibiting at CBG (Caesar’s Palace May 29-31) To set-up a confidential meeting on or off-site meeting before, during or after the show, contact: Ira Bergman 917.861.9607 Barry Lustig 917.586.1984 or Jeff Gordon 305.216.7500
You and your staff have worked hard all year, but no month is as important as this one. You’re already stocked up and ready for the holiday selling season. Here are three critical reminders:
1) Be Motivated Every Day! Your motivatio..
You and your staff have worked hard all year, but no month is as important as this one. You’re already stocked up and ready for the holiday selling season. Here are three critical reminders:
1) Be Motivated Every Day! Your motivation as an owner or manager feeds into the motivation of your staff. It is critical that you be “up” every day and encourage your staff to sell and service customers. Let the busy work go for now. The most important thing that happens in a store is the sale. Make your time count.
2) Get the Rest You Need! I know. You’re saying, “Who has time for rest in December?” The holiday season is a grind, but you need reasonable rest to be motivated each day and to endure the longer hours that come with the season. Adequate sleep is critical, so make sure you get as much of it as you can.
3) Enjoy the Season! You’ve been waiting all year for the traffic and activity you’ll have this month, so delight in it. The average jewelry store will generate over 20% of total annual sales in December, so there is no reason not to enjoy this tremendous time of year.
Do these three things and here’s to a great holiday selling season!
By now you’ve read that nearly 900 jewelry businesses shut their doors in 2017. These included 706 retailers, 109 wholesalers, and 71 manufacturers. Another 151 companies either merged or consolidated and there were 29 companies th..
By now you’ve read that nearly 900 jewelry businesses shut their doors in 2017. These included 706 retailers, 109 wholesalers, and 71 manufacturers. Another 151 companies either merged or consolidated and there were 29 companies that filed for bankruptcy. Although these figures represent a large decrease from 2016, it still says a lot about the state of the industry.
But what does it say to you? Are you in the mood to stay in or go out?
One of the most frequent questions we get in our consultations with fine jewelers is what the future of the jewelry industry is going to look like. Is this the beginning of the end for independent retail jewelers? Will synthetic diamonds overtake natural diamonds like cultured pearls replaced natural pearls? How do I attract and retain the loyalty of the Millennial Generation? Is bricks and clicks really the way to go? Will the Internet continue to take market share at its current pace? Will margins continue to shrink in other categories like they have in diamonds?
These are all legitimate questions that demand an answer for those jewelers who are passing the torch to a younger generation while still dependent on a retirement income from the business. The majority of businesses that are closing today are doing so because many jewelers are reaching retirement age and there is no “next generation” to take over. It’s a natural process, and people must do what they need to do. At the same time, when jewelers decide to shutter their doors in your community, what are you doing to capture the market share that they have left behind?
I can’t tell you what to do, but I can suggest a host of options that are available. At The Gordon Company, we are here to help you navigate the challenges ahead with recommendations that will help you go out with financial freedom or stay in to compete for the added market share left by your competitors. The choice is yours, and we are here to help.
If you need a second opinion or an outline of options at your disposal, please let us know. Our goal in business and in life is to help fine jewelers achieve the results they desire. We look forward to serving you.
With so many retail jewelry stores owned by Baby Boomers, it isn’t surprising that many jewelers are involved, or at least considering, some form of business transition. While such transition may be to the next generation within a ..
With so many retail jewelry stores owned by Baby Boomers, it isn’t surprising that many jewelers are involved, or at least considering, some form of business transition. While such transition may be to the next generation within a family, more and more we see retirement transitions of many different kinds: management buy-outs, sales of empty stores with or without a firm’s intellectual property (store name, goodwill, mailing lists, etc.), or simply just a store closing with retirement when a jeweler is done. Most jewelers want to know what their options are and what will bring them the greatest monetary return for what is often a life-long investment of time and energy in the business.
Because most jewelers have a considerable amount of their personal wealth tied up in inventory – much of which is aged and underperforming – a thoughtful, comprehensive strategy needs to be developed and implemented to maximize a jeweler’s return on investment. Many times this means raising a significant amount of cash through a serious and well-thought-out plan to significantly reduce or eliminate merchandise.
But sometimes it isn’t a business transition or retirement that is desired. Every jeweler suffers from the unfortunate accumulation of unproductive inventory, so it is necessary at least once a decade to clean house and monetize aged product. This is vitally important in order to ensure proper cash flow and redeem a reasonable return on investment of merchandise purchased, in many cases, years before. This also allows jewelers to operate more effectively with their Point of Sale systems by lowering needed levels of inventory in today’s changing marketplace.
The most important element in all of this is to identify your goals as an upscale jeweler and business person, and to develop a plan to execute on those goals with the greatest possible assurance of success. Some jewelers try to formulate a plan to do it on their own, but our experience over many years has convinced us that the greatest net return for jewelers can only be realized through the use of outside counsel and the professional support that comes with it. This is exactly what we do at The Gordon Company, and if we can help you in any way, give us a call and we’ll provide a free, no obligation consultation.
As an upscale retail jeweler, your biggest problem is a lack of liquidity due to excessive amounts of aged and under-performing merchandise. Nothing cripples your business more than dead inventory coupled with an inability to pay y..
As an upscale retail jeweler, your biggest problem is a lack of liquidity due to excessive amounts of aged and under-performing merchandise. Nothing cripples your business more than dead inventory coupled with an inability to pay your suppliers and relieve debt. Large initial supplier buy-ins contribute to this, but that’s only the start of the problem. Inevitably, most products will grow old in your store and accumulate over time. We know it. You know it. And it’s time to do something about it.
Traffic Down?
Your inventory is way up, but your traffic is way down. People are buying more online today, including jewelry. Mall traffic is off across North America, and malls are beginning to shift to destinations for unique eating and lifestyle experiences, not merely places to go to shop. A wave change is taking place, but you aren’t riding the wave. So what should you do?
Would you like your store to look like this again?
We Have The Solution
The answer lies in a well-orchestrated, professionally-run sale event that eliminates unwanted merchandise, creates needed cash flow, cancels out debt, creates abundant traffic, and gives you a fresh start with a significantly increased customer mailing list. Executed properly, this works without tarnishing your coveted store name and brand image, something that is paramount to every jewelry retailer.
The Gordon Company is the industry leader in store sale events for upscale retail jewelers and we would love to assist you. Our goal is to help jewelers stay in business, not to take them out.
Visit us at both LUXURY and The JCK Show: LUX Lobby 1
At COUTURE, we are a sponsor and will be attending.
Also see our JCK Show presentation on Sunday, June 4th at 11am.
Nothing is more important than creating a healthy financial position for your ongoing business needs. We look forward to serving you.
P.S. If you would like a confidential onsite or off-site meeting before, during, or after the upcoming jewelry shows, please contact our president, Ira Bergman, at 917.861.9607 or me, Jeff Gordon, at 305.216.7500.
If you receive my monthly messages, you already know you are in the upper echelon of independent retail jewelers. You worked very hard to get there, and as importantly, you want to stay there. But are you marketing effectively to t..
If you receive my monthly messages, you already know you are in the upper echelon of independent retail jewelers. You worked very hard to get there, and as importantly, you want to stay there. But are you marketing effectively to the upper echelon of consumers in your region? And have those same consumers changed their attitude about purchasing high-end jewelry?
A lot is made of whether people with significant amounts of disposable income want to flaunt it as conspicuously as in decades past. The Great Recession of 2008 had a major impact on consumer attitudes and caused people to rein in on spending for items of extravagance. But nearly a decade later, what has changed, if anything, from the challenges that all businesses faced coming out of the recession? Not that much. To be sure, luxury isn’t dead. But consumer attitudes have remained somewhat cautious and the idea of flaunting jewelry is part of that caution.
At The Gordon Company, our primary target audience is you, the upscale jeweler. We want to do everything we can to help you stay in business, and to thrive doing so. When I read that most affluent consumers have continued to suppress their conspicuous consumption, I see a direct correlation in the massive build-up of aged and under-performing inventory in our top clients. With the banks pulling credit lines from our trade – almost like we’ve been targeted – the need for liquidity in business has never been greater.
The resistance to doing a major sale event for most upscale jewelers like you is the worry about tarnishing your great brand name. That’s exactly why we take a sophisticated approach to customizing every promotional event. You market to the affluent, and so do we. If you need to dispose of unwanted merchandise – and I suspect you do – and want to raise cash, reduce debt, increase your mailing list, and start a new 12-month cycle fresh, then we have the answer.
Give us a call for a free, confidential, no obligation consultation. It is our pleasure to work with the affluent in our industry, just like you.
If you’re like most upscale jewelers, you’ll do about 20% of your annual sales in December. This calls for pulling out all the stops and focusing on why you’ve been working so hard in 2017.
You’ve already done a lot of the heavy lif..
If you’re like most upscale jewelers, you’ll do about 20% of your annual sales in December. This calls for pulling out all the stops and focusing on why you’ve been working so hard in 2017.
You’ve already done a lot of the heavy lifting. Your Christmas brochure or mailer is out, you’ve stocked the showcases with what you need to have a banner month, and you have your staff in place and ready to sell.
Instead of dreading the long days and nights with less sleep than normal, you should be excited about what is about to take place in your store: triple the business than what you might do in a normal month!
Yet despite all the preparation you have done, the single most important thing that will foster a strong Christmas selling season is YOU! You are the glue that holds the store together. You need to be “upbeat” every day in the store. You need to motivate and encourage your staff to peak selling performance. And you need to lead by example because everyone keys off of your attitude and personal commitment.
At The Gordon Company, we often say that every day during one of our sale events is like the Christmas Season. The store is bustling with customers and the activity level is off the chart. So be glad that December is here and you can do business like no other time of the year.
Here’s wishing you the best selling season ever, and prosperous happy new year to come!
As an upscale jeweler, you know us as the professionals who help you run a unique, one-time sale event to dispose of your aged and underperforming inventory. And we do a great job at that. But I think few jewelers realize that we a..
As an upscale jeweler, you know us as the professionals who help you run a unique, one-time sale event to dispose of your aged and underperforming inventory. And we do a great job at that. But I think few jewelers realize that we are educators and counselors on how to operate your business more successfully long after we conduct a sale. We have an almost exclusive interest in helping you stay in business and thrive in the future.
The retailers who are suffering the most today are the department stores which have always tried to have the biggest footprint in a mall with the most inventory, the most employees, and a goal of keeping the customer shopping until they buy something. But as we all know, with the advent of the internet and mobile devices, retailing is changing rapidly. And this has most certainly spilled over to jewelry retailing.
In recent years we have seen a trend in upscale retailers to reduce store size and focus on quality over quantity, with select outside brands, custom one-of-a-kind pieces, and a strong “house” brand name and image. The idea, of course, is to re-invent the way you do retail, rather than retreat from it altogether. In other words, all jewelry retailers must find their niche, and quickly. So when we see our smartest upscale clients scaling back in size, creating greater selectivity, and focusing more on what they want to be to a new generation of refined jewelry consumers, we feel compelled to share it with you.
Bigger isn’t always better, and this has never been more evident to us than right now. So if you need advice on what to do next in your planning horizon, how to make a strategic change in business, or simply get a second opinion or assessment of your current situation, we would be pleased to help. Give us a call or drop us a line because we’re in business to keep you in business.
Peter Smith, president of Vibhor, recently wrote an article that caught my attention. Titled “What If You Started Your Business Today?” it spoke to a lot of the issues retail jewelers face. But the part that stood out the most to m..
Peter Smith, president of Vibhor, recently wrote an article that caught my attention. Titled “What If You Started Your Business Today?” it spoke to a lot of the issues retail jewelers face. But the part that stood out the most to me was what Peter had to say about aged inventory being such a drain to every jeweler. Here are some excerpts from Peter’s message that are excellent reminders of what you must do to succeed in business today:
“You cannot afford to wait until the worst performing products in your store find a new home before fully implementing your strategy for your future. Your liquidation plan should be very aggressive and devoid of the emotions that sometimes makes it difficult to rid yourself of ‘old friends.’ There are, of course, other reasons why retailers struggle to rid themselves of old and/or non-performing inventory, including:
Not willing to take the loss from an aggressive liquidation through third parties
Ignoring the fact that your market has voted and that product isn’t getting any prettier
Not making the liquidation project a priority
Convincing yourself that you can wait it out until it sells through, and
Not wanting to disappoint vendors with whom you do business.”
I’m sure that what Peter wrote is not new to you, but it is something you should take very seriously. At The Gordon Company, our singular goal is to help you raise cash and meet your financial goals in a way that is best for you.
So lift the weight off your shoulders and contact us now to set an appointment for a free, confidential, no-obligation consultation. It just might be the best decision you make this year.
A jeweler’s inventory is a little like cholesterol. When jewelry ages and underperforms in your store, it causes a buildup that cripples your cash flow and keeps you from buying product you need at price points that are missing in ..
jeweler’s inventory is a little like cholesterol. When jewelry ages and underperforms in your store, it causes a buildup that cripples your cash flow and keeps you from buying product you need at price points that are missing in your merchandise mix. Without a systematic method of purging jewelry items, this excess inventory can have a devastating impact on your business.
Most of us know that there is good cholesterol (HDL) and bad cholesterol (LDL). And we all know that if we have high blood cholesterol, we have a greater chance of getting coronary heart disease. To be healthy, we want to lower our bad cholesterol and increase our good cholesterol.
I’m no medical doctor, but I am a pretty good “doctor” of what ails your jewelry business. I know how good inventory contributes to great business and also how bad, dead, and aged inventory holds a business back, often to the point of constricting or even blocking profitability.
A high level of cholesterol usually has no immediate signs or symptoms that might alarm us. It’s there, but we really don’t feel it unless it manifests itself in some form of heart disease, often when it’s too late for us to do anything about it. And so it is with excess inventory until it becomes so high that it cripples our business and causes serious financial repercussions.
One tried and true method of coping with excess inventory is to run a sale event with professionals who know how to reduce aged inventory, maximize recovery value, and dramatically increase sales. And all this is done while building a customer base of 20-50% and protecting a store’s image, bringing peace of mind to owners and managers.
If this sounds too good to be true, it isn’t. Don’t wait to get a check-up. Just like with bad cholesterol, the build-up in bad inventory can cause significant problems to your business. Contact us. We have the solution.
On occasion we hear comments from fine jewelers that go something like this: “I would never use a liquidator in my store. It would demean my image and the stellar brand name I’ve built over the years.”
OK, fair enough. But are profe..
On occasion we hear comments from fine jewelers that go something like this: “I would never use a liquidator in my store. It would demean my image and the stellar brand name I’ve built over the years.”
OK, fair enough. But are professionals like The Gordon Company truly “liquidators,” or are they business consultants, turnaround management experts, and sale event promotors? I would argue the latter.
A liquidator is a “stalking horse” that attempts to come in and sweep up your inventory for pennies on the dollar. We don’t do that. We don’t own any jewelry and all we want to do is help you dispose of your aged and unwanted inventory so you can monetize it at very respectable prices.
For this, we are considered the experts in our field. Each member of our team has decades of experience in the sale promotion business. That’s what we do and we do it extremely well. We’ve worked with the finest jewelers in North America and with our guidance they have kept their stellar reputations and coveted brand names unblemished.
So I would ask every jeweler another question. Do you use professionals in other areas of your business? Do you use an ad agency, PR company, or marketing firm to handle your advertising? Do you bring in a store or display professional to design a new location or handle your showcases? Do you use an attorney or CPA to review your contracts during lease negotiations or other changes in your business? I’m sure you do.
I believe strongly in using professionals in my own business who have expertise beyond my own capabilities in areas where I need help. I hope you do, too, because that’s how we get better at what we do. I would never tell you how to run your jewelry store. You’re a professional at that. But you likely aren’t a professional at inventory management and merchandise reduction, or you wouldn’t have dated and underperforming product burdening your cash flow and liquidity.
So let us help. Use a professional for what a professional is designed to do. The Gordon Company stands ready to help you eliminate your unwanted inventory and substantially improve your financial position.
A recent article in National Jeweler referenced studies by The Knot and identified a drop in spending for both weddings and engagement rings last year. The Millennial’s focus on experience continues to buck tradition in ways that have many jewelers scratching their heads.
A recent article in National Jeweler referenced studies by The Knot and identified a drop in spending for both weddings and engagement rings last year. The Millennial’s focus on experience continues to buck tradition in ways that have many jewelers scratching their heads.
For instance, when’s the last time you attended a wedding in a church? Outdoor and destination weddings have become much more popular. It’s about the experience, even if it’s ridiculously inconvenient for those who have to travel to attend. It’s also part of the desire of Millennials to do something original, meaningful, and memorable – and post everything on Facebook and Instagram. I’m reminded of a friend who had to fly out of state and then drive two hours to attend a camp-out wedding and post-nuptial river-raft excursion. Certainly unique, but totally self-centered.
When it comes to engagement rings, the trend is most certainly on individuality, giving rise to more and more custom pieces. Young people want something different – something all their own. The use of colored gemstones is rising and, to the disappointment of many jewelers, so is the request for man-made diamonds as center stones.
But instead of criticizing, let’s analyze. What does all this mean to jewelers who have to adapt and change their focus in order to accommodate a whole new generation of buyers? What worked in the past may not work today, so what do you need to do to meet these changes head-on? Often it requires a paradigm shift.
One jeweler said it so well the other day. He became convinced that the direction of his business had to change, and when he reviewed his inventory, he found his merchandise to be totally out of sync with his new direction. He called us and asked what he could do. We held an inventory reduction sale event for him that cleaned out most of his aged and under-performing products, gave him a cash windfall that allowed him to buy new merchandise that fit with his new vision, and increased his mailing list by 30%.
If this is what you need to fit with your future vision, give us a call or drop us a line. We’d love to discuss the possibilities with you.
A brand is a promise, an expectation without compromise to the integrity of what you have built. A brand provides a specific belief in the minds of your customers. It’s the sum of the emotional and rational perceptions people have
A brand is a promise, an expectation without compromise to the integrity of what you have built. A brand provides a specific belief in the minds of your customers. It’s the sum of the emotional and rational perceptions people have about your products, your service, or your company. In jewelry, it’s all three. It’s what people expect from you. The brand never wavers. It guarantees a level of commitment that has your name on it.
Your brand isn’t a static creation that takes care of itself. It needs to be nurtured and developed, often requiring years to mature. And it must be maintained with extreme care and attention. For the upscale jeweler, nothing is more important than the brand you have built and the image you have created in your community. It took a long time to build that image, but it takes much less time to damage it.
So it is not surprising that we work especially hard to help our clients protect their brand and image in their community. We develop customized solutions for in-store sale events that respect the brand and image of every store. We create what we call “the sophisticated approach” to each event because nothing is more important than providing confidence and peace of mind to our clients.
Every jeweler has a story and that story creates a feeling of friendship and goodwill with customers. That feeling, that story, is what people believe about you. It’s what brings them in and keeps them coming back. We vow to protect that promise while delivering unmatched financial results for our clients.
If we can help you, it would be our honor and pleasure to do so.
There have been a host of smash and grab incidents of late, and even more serious acts of violence in 2018. It begs the question of whether jewelers are as security conscious as they should be. Every year, fellow tradespeople are i..
There have been a host of smash and grab incidents of late, and even more serious acts of violence in 2018. It begs the question of whether jewelers are as security conscious as they should be. Every year, fellow tradespeople are injured or killed as a result of mistakes made during a robbery. Sometimes it is inescapable, but often it is a matter of being alert and ultra-conscious of your surroundings and any suspicious activity around you or your store.
Let’s face it, you come to work every day as a pattern of life and it is easy to think that your job is as normal as anyone else’s. But it isn’t. You are a jeweler working in an industry of very high-value products that can attract a criminal element unlike most any other trade. You need to have security on your mind all the time.
Here are some questions to ponder:
Do you vary your travel pattern to and from work on a regular basis?
Have you trained your staff on proper security procedures?
Do you review these procedures with them on a regular basis?
Are you a member of the Jewelers’ Security Alliance (JSA)?
If a member, do you review their recommendations and alerts as a normal course of action and share them with staff members?
Are you aware of incidents and criminal activities in other stores in your region?
Are you part of a network of other jewelers who can alert you to possible criminal activity nearby?
Do you carry a firearm or have one in your store? The JSA recommends against such use.
Are you aware of the very real dangers, especially upon opening and closing the store?
Would a buzz-in system or security presence be advisable?
These and many other security questions are worth considering. We are fortunate to work in a wonderful industry where we sell beautiful products to happy people on special occasions. But we also work in the face of potential danger every day. Mindfulness about security isn’t just a good idea. It’s vital to the health and well-being of your entire staff. Make security a priority for everyone—just as the jewelry at your store is precious to you, how much more precious is human life?
