As the holidays approached, retailers stepped up their efforts to connect with their existing customers and discover new ones, primarily through digital efforts. Competition for December dollars is stiff, so stores used various methods to distinguish themselves, from unusual product mixes to outside-the-box store events. Owners were hopeful that sales would exceed those of previous holiday seasons, but in an inconsistent year like this one, just breaking even sounded like a good way to wrap up
the year.
New York: Custom and digital
Nerik Shimunov, owner of Crown Jewelers in New York, has been preparing for the holidays in multiple ways. “We want to make sure we have all the products ready,” he said. “We’re notifying customers and having sales and social promotions.”
For the coming holidays, he’s stocking up on men’s jewelry, such as tie clips, signet rings, and his line of custom-made cufflinks. “I want to concentrate on men at the moment,” he said. “With women, there’s a lot of competition.”
His cufflinks, which cost between $1,000 and $2,500, feature rubies, sapphires, emeralds and diamonds. Shimunov hopes to bring them to show wholesale customers by the spring. He also expects to be busy with custom orders. “Business will be busier this year, based on what I see from customers in the past month.”
In terms of marketing, Shimunov is focusing on digital. “We try to post a few items on Instagram, mostly, and then Facebook,” he said. “I want to target
new customers. We try to stay in contact with existing customers, but they don’t buy as much jewelry as they buy electronics. Still, they always look at our website and see what we have, and they bring in repairs.”
California: Personal touches
On the west coast, Stuart Benjamin, owner of Stuart Benjamin Jewelry Designs in San Diego, California, said he was expecting business as usual for the December holidays.
“We think it will be a $500-to-$1,500 holiday as usual,” he said. “There’s a lot of uncertainty out there, so you have to work your top-client list. We’re going to send individual letters, saying, ‘We have things on your wish list,’ and stuff like that.”
Benjamin has been making changes to his store’s stock and plans to increase his traffic and floor space by March 2020, when he relocates to a bigger and more convenient space within the mall where he is based.
“I [recently] cut down on inventory
and increased our price points,” he said. “But we’re still personal and intimate, and that helps.”
Benjamin said 2019 had been steady so far. “The year’s okay, despite everything that’s going on, and the internet, and everything else,” he said. “And Christmas will be okay. I had a couple of big sales.”
Still, he went on, “we don’t buy the
way we used to. Before, if you liked it,
you bought it because you knew it would sell. Now, you have to find a product that looks a little different, and not the same old dreck.”
Wyoming: Event planning
In Cheyenne, Wyoming, Burri Jewelers was making a few minor adjustments to its holiday strategy, according to manager Patrick Larkin, though he said he didn’t expect any huge changes. “We have some newer [brands] in the store. But we’re still watching what we’re buying. Going into a voting year next year will be interesting.”
Larkin said his year so far had been good and that he hadn’t yet seen some of the sales and traffic problems that had been plaguing stores in other states. “I’ve heard everyone is down a bit, but I think I’m up a bit.”
He said prices for holiday gifts generally ran between $1,000 and $4,000 for diamonds, and $200 to $400 for watches. “It can be really low or high,” he explained, adding that he planned to have a special “beer and brat” sale to draw in shoppers at the beginning of December. “We don’t want it to be a champagne and caviar sale. And we don’t do Black Friday, because companies like Zales and Kay are heavily advertising that, and it’s tougher for us to compete against them on those days.”
Article from the Rapaport Magazine - December 2019. To subscribe click here.