RAPAPORT...
“You’re family at Schiffman’s” is more than just a slogan for this 116-year-old company.
The Schiffman identity has been forged through four generations, beginning with the founder Simon Schiffman, a German-born watchmaker who opened his first store in Greensboro, North Carolina, in 1893. The original store was located on the west side of the city’s South Elm Street. By 1919, Simon’s sons Arnold and Harold had joined the family business and relocated the store a few doors down on the same street. In 1923, it was moved a second time to its present location at 225 South Elm Street, where it suffered a disastrous fire in 1936, and was rebuilt the following year.
After Harold’s death in 1948, his brother Arnold and sister-in-law Camille took over the reins of the business. Their son, Arnold Jr., currently serves as the company’s chief executive officer (CEO) and chairman of the board. The business itself is run by the family’s fourth generation, Arnold Jr.’s sons Arnold A. Schiffman III, H. Vance Schiffman and L. Lane Schiffman, each of whom carries a vice president’s title. Arnold is in charge of jewelry merchandising and accounting, Lane, watch merchandising and marketing and Vance is the diamond buyer.
As the family has grown, so, too, has the Schiffman chain. In addition to the three North Carolina stores that carry the Schiffman name, the family made a number of acquisitions between 1985 and 2007 of other historic, venerable names in the jewelry industry. The new members of the Schiffman family are Sylvan’s of Columbia, South Carolina, the first of the acquisitions in 1985; San Francisco’s Shreve & Co., which has a second California store in Palo Alto, acquired in 1992; Keller & George of Charlottesville, Virginia, bought in 1994 and the most recent acquisition, in 2007, Schwarzschild’s Jewelers, with three locations in Virginia. “We acquire brands similar to ours,” explains Lane Schiffman, stores with well-established identities, reputations and long histories. Sylvan’s and Schwarzschild’s, the “youngest” of the stores, were both founded in 1897.
Name DistinctionUnlike many large chains that quickly change the names and character of their acquisitions, Schiffman’s strategy is different. The company believes it is important to retain the original names and personalities of the stores in order to protect their value in the local market.
“We believe these brand names are important to their markets. In difficult times, these branded jewelry companies prosper,” says Schiffman. “We look for the unique position in each market for each existing brand. People identify with that brand.” In some instances, the acquired stores have been upgraded and merchandise added, but the overall style of each individual unit has been preserved.
One recent change was the opening of an enlarged facility for Schwarzschild’s in Richmond. The original store was small and hadn’t been updated in years. The Schiffmans found a larger location on the same street, created a new storefront with better visibility and more than tripled the store’s size.
While all members of the Schiffman’s chain share a long, established history, they have different clientele and sales patterns because of their different markets. San Francisco’s Shreve & Co, for example, is the most heavily tourist-supported store and a large portion of its sales comes from watches. The two-unit store’s tagline is “A San Francisco Original since 1852.”
Diamonds Reign
In smaller, regional stores such as Schiffman’s and Sylvan’s, diamonds are king. “It’s always been about diamonds for our company,” says Schiffman. “Diamonds are our success and history; they are our greatest strength.” Schiffman’s sells mounted and unmounted diamonds and tries to maintain quality of D to J color and SI2 and better clarity. There are branded diamonds, such as Lazare Kaplan and Hearts on Fire. Schiffman remembers accompanying his grandfather on a buying trip to New York when he was ten years old and personally meeting Kaplan, with whom the Schiffman family had a long relationship.
Relationships are the key to all phases of this business, says Schiffman, including relationships with suppliers, employees and clientele. “We’ve built our business on relationships with customers that begin with their engagement rings and beyond,” he says. “Over the years, the business has changed; there’s an ebb and flow. Today, diamonds don’t contribute as large a profit as before, but they continue to be the most important part of the business.”
The chain’s diamond business is centered around classic styles set with fine-quality stones. Fashion-forward, avant-garde designs are not a focus. Every now and then, a spectacular sale is made, like the $750,000 diamond watch that was in Shreve & Co. for a photo shoot when a customer scooped it up, but, most of the time, it’s diamond earrings, pendants and bracelets in the $5,000 to $10,000 retail range that make up the sales.
Community Relationship
Reflecting its own longstanding ties to its local communities, Schiffman’s encourages its staff to be community oriented. “We are wired to our communities,” Schiffman says, noting that local charities call every day for support. One of the big local charities supported by Schiffman’s is the Children’s Home Society of North Carolina, dedicated to finding homes for orphaned children. For the past seven years, Schiffman’s has staged a weekend-long golf tournament to benefit the organization, an event that also includes a bridge tournament and formal dinner.
As a representative of the fourth generation of his family in the business, Schiffman has fond memories of his grandfather, Arnold Schiffman Sr., who was known as Mr. A and who served as the first president of the Jewelers of America (JA). The younger Schiffman remembers driving his grandfather one day to a store branch a considerable distance away. He also remembers asking his grandfather why people would drive so far to shop in that store. “Son, people want to do business with someone of substance, someone they trust and who has integrity,” was the answer.
While Schiffman jokes that his family continues to be jewelers because they don’t know what else to do, he clearly takes pride in their achievements. “We’ve worked hard to stay close to our business,” he says. “It’s more than just a paycheck. Our goal is always to get better and grow stronger. Our relationship with our clients, established one at a time, is everything. It’s a core value to us.”
Article from the Rapaport Magazine - April 2009. To subscribe click here.