RAPAPORT... The 4Cs are not the only things that make a piece of diamond jewelry a sales winner. In an ongoing series, RDR explores the “3Ws” — what’s selling, what’s not and why — by going straight to the people who really know — jewelry retailers. Each month, we ask a sampling of retailers to comment on the important issues that are facing the industry today. Here is what they had to say when asked: Are customers asking for brand-name diamond jewelry or are they buying generic diamond jewelry?
DAVID ABRAMS, PRESIDENT/OWNER
GRAND JEWELERS
ONTARIO, CALIFORNIA“We’re a generic store; we have been in business for 47 years as a family company. We will sell a certified stone as either Gemological Institute of America (GIA) or European Gemological Laboratory (EGL), but we have tried to position ourselves in the market over these decades as the place to go because we can be trusted. We have the expertise.
“I’m not interested in committing $50,000 or $100,000 in capital to stock a finished line’s goods when I have my own inventory. And I have my own problems dealing with the economy today.
“We stopped selling high-end goods a year ago because of the economy out here. We’re smack dab in the center of subprime territory. There was no September last year and the last quarter died. What we’re doing today to survive is we’re concentrating on price points, a lot of customer service and on buying a lot of product for resale. Customers are coming to us because they trust us. Whether they come to us to buy or they come to us to sell, we have the reputation and that’s the whole key.”
NAGI OSTA, OWNER
NAGI JEWELERS
STAMFORD, CONNECTICUT
“I feel whoever markets out there more, whoever is advertising more, whoever is telling a good story about the product and doing it in the right fashion — that’s what we’re getting calls for. One is David Yurman and another is Marco Bigeco. They are doing it the right way. We have some bigger brands than them, but they’re not as sexy, not as important. People see them in The New York Times and every magazine. That’s what it is.”
SUSAN PURNELL, OWNER
KUHN’S JEWELERS
SALISBURY, MARYLAND“My women customers definitely come in looking for designers, particularly in bridal. They want that Tacori set, that Simon G. set; they’re lured by name. My men pretty much could care less, other than Rolex.
“We are seeing a whole lot more women coming in with the men to pick out engagement rings. It used to be a guy would come in, pick out the six-prong Tiffany-style solitaire and that would be it. And now, it seems almost as if the setting is more important than the diamond.”
COMAN BAUM, OWNER/PRESIDENT
COMAN BAUM FINE JEWELRY
BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA“We’re such a one-on-one, mom-and-pop style, old-school store that it’s based on the relationship. Most of our customers know the shape and size and have a budget that they want to be within. You do have occasional people wanting the Hearts on Fire or Flanders or something that they’ve heard out there, but for the most part, what they want is honesty and one-on-one service.”
JIM SCHWARTZ, OWNER
ROBIN JAMES JEWELERS
CINCINNATI, OHIO“We do stock some designer brands — GelinAbaci, Simon G. and others. We do advertise through our website. But most of the people coming into our store are looking for generic.”
LEE HAUSER, CO-OWNER
HAUSER’S JEWELERS
NEWPORT NEWS, VIRGINIA“Personally, I feel that our customers come in looking for us, rather than brand names. We don’t advertise a lot of brand names; we do generic ads. We stock Roberto Coin, Simon G., Fabergé. We’re a family business that’s been around for 110 years and we’re known fairly well, so they come in because they trust us.”
HARTON WOLF, DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS
HENNE JEWELERS
PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA“Obviously, I can only speak to our store and in our store, they’re coming to buy from Henne Jewelers. We stock both brand names and generic pieces, but our customers are not necessarily coming in for particular designers.
“On occasion, brand is important. But normally, we’re the one who introduces the brand, not the customer. I would say that more than half the time, if they’re looking for a brand and they are our customer, we have introduced them to that brand.”
BRIAN S. MERKLEY, PRESIDENT
MERKLEY KENDRICK JEWELERS
LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY“Our customers are going for more generic pieces. Our history goes back 176 years, so our reputation within our marketplace is that we’re the high-end jewelry store that people go to searching for nice pieces. Customers walk into our store trusting us and knowing our name. They are not walking into our store searching for branded merchandise. We stock designer pieces and some of them we display — some as separate lines and others out with the rest of our merchandise. But in our customers’ minds, we’re the brand they’re coming in for.”
Article from the Rapaport Magazine - October 2008. To subscribe click here.