Lasker Jewelers
Eau Claire, Wisconsin
EXCESS INVENTORY LIQUIDATION SALE EVENT
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 underperforming inventory.
The Gordon Company Challenge:
The Laskers selected The Gordon Company to conduct the sale and leaned heavily on their expertise and experience in handling hundreds of successful sales events. The biggest challenge was that Lasker sales events in the past were very disappointing and The Gordon Company had to come up with a robust plan that would entice Lasker customers to come in and buy, as well as those in the community who had never shopped at the store.
In Liz Lasker Faulkner’s words: “In the past, we had held holiday sale parties which generated little customer interest, yet a lot of work for us. Our expectations for that first evening were therefore low, but the results were spectacular. Our store was packed, our parking lot was overflowing, and we had a great evening with lots of sales.”
The Gordon Company did what they always do:
- Create a compelling and progressively urgent marketing message to the community at large
- Bring in additional, augment merchandise of Lasker quality to fill the holes that inevitably exist in every jeweler’s inventory
- Provide a superb sales supervisor to work seamlessly with the store sales and administrative staff
“Dad would have loved the store sale event. I had one man tell me he was so appreciative that we treated him like a king, even though he didn’t have a lot of money to spend. We had record sales in December, and afterwards, lots of very happy customers.” – Nicole Lasker
The Gordon Company Solution and Accomplishments:
- Achieved client’s primary goal, in selling over $1,000,000 of owned inventory at cost, $400,000 of which was aged inventory, with 60% of that number being 5 years old or older
- Added 1,506 customers, who had never been in the store previously, to the Lasker database, who represented over $500,000 in sales to add to their existing customer base significantly
“We are so grateful to The Gordon Company. There were lots of moving pieces during the sale event and they handled them beautifully. Their service was well worth the fee they earned. We couldn’t have done it without them.” – Nicole Lasker
