There’s an oft-cited fact about family businesses: The first generation establishes them, the second grows them, and the third ruins them. But John Henne is proving these statistics wrong. The fourth generation of his family to run Henne Jewelers in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, he is leading with an eye to the future and a respect for the traditions and core values that remain the cornerstone of the successful business his great-grandfather founded in 1887.
“Only once in my life did my father, Jack Henne, ask if I would come into the business,” notes Henne, who at that time worked as a CPA with plans to earn an MBA. Deciding that he would learn more from his father than he would in two years at business school, he joined the company in 1999 and began to put his own stamp on it.
“When I came in,” Henne explains, “I probably just changed the business by the fact of my being younger and incorporating current practices such as using technology and computers to facilitate greater analysis about trends and product mix. Based on those analyses, I made a great change in bridal, which my father had largely given up on as a viable category.”
Betting on bridal At the time, fine jewelry and fashion were driving the business, with bridal accounting for less than 2% of sales. Henne explains that it wasn’t “commonplace” to have certified stones, and his father competed with jewelers who would “comfortably over-grade their diamonds,” making his stones seem more expensive in comparison. However, the younger Henne made a concerted effort to grow the company’s bridal business.
“I learned that I would have to establish relationships with people through all their jewelry-buying years,” he says — beginning with the twentysomethings looking to get engaged, and continuing to serve them as they celebrate other important moments. That approach is reflected in the company tagline, “Jewelers for Life.”
In an attempt to attract millennials looking for transparency and competitive pricing, Henne created a separate case of engagement rings under $6,000 in the store’s dedicated bridal area. Bridal now contributes slightly more than one-third of the jeweler’s total business, with Tacori as its top brand, followed by Precision Set. Henne points out that the company has a significant custom business — almost 50% — consisting of both in-house and generic manufacturing.
Over the years, Henne has upgraded the product assortment and introduced in-store promotions, and in 2003, he oversaw the move to a larger store in the same neighborhood of Shadyside. Throughout, though, he’s remained dedicated to the principles of “exceptional customer service” and to a lesson he learned from his father: “When it comes to making business decisions, you don’t do it based on money or what you’ll make or lose — you do it [based] on what is right.”
Applying the happy test A man of strong faith, Henne admits to losing sleep if the customer or employee isn’t happy. Recognizing that hiring a multigenerational staff of the “right people” is a critical component of making the store “better and stronger,” he asks prospective employees an unusual question: “On a scale of one to 10, how happy are you?”
“People are generally honest,” he says. “I will never hire anyone less than a seven or usually not less than an eight, because if you’re not happy with who you are, you can’t be happy for other people or our customers.”
Henne’s four sons are too young to enter the business, although his 13-year-old has helped sell a diamond-and-gold bracelet.
“I want them to choose either to work here or somewhere else doing something they really love and work at with excellence,” he explains. “I am very fortunate to have had this opportunity to carry on the family business, but also to inherit my family’s legacy of trust and strong work ethic. That is a greater privilege to pass on to my children than the privilege of luxury.”
Image: Henne Jewelers in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.Article from the Rapaport Magazine - December 2017. To subscribe click here.