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.

Many jewelers think negatively of sales. They believe it hurts their image, tarnishes customer relationships, and casts a dark shadow over their business…

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.

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 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…

Is the economy getting better or worse? It’s hard to tell.

on 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.

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.

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:

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

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:

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.

Pompano Beach, FL—I’m not a tax expert, but I stay up on legislative issues like you probably do. 

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.

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.

People are selling their homes while prices are very high. They know the current wave won’t last forever.

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.

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.

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.  

The U.S. is opening up from the pandemic, but the months of July through October are historically slow for the average retail jeweler.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

I’m concerned. And you should be, too.

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.

Running a sale is good business most any year, but it is especially good in 2021 for these five important reasons:

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Our personal and professional lives have been tested in 2020. Something good has come from it: the patience and resilience of jewelers across America.

Despite your attempts to create a great Holiday Season, it always seems to come later and later each year.

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.

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.

Remember when toilet paper seemed to be our biggest problem. Seven months have passed and the world has been turned upside down.

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.

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.

Face the facts. We are still in the most challenging period of our lifetimes. And there are no guarantees about the near-term future.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

As you know, we see a lot of upscale retail jewelry stores and we speak with hundreds of jewelers across North America annually.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

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.”

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.

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.

Everyone has an opinion about the mood following the jewelry shows in Las Vegas, as do I. Here are my takeaways from the shows:

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 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?

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.

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..

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?

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..

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..

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..

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..

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..

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..

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)..

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..

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..

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 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 ..

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 ..

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..

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..

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..

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..

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 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..

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 ..

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..

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..

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..

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..

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 ..

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..

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’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..

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..

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..

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 ..

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..

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 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

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..