How are retailers responding to the Coronavirus crisis?

The COVID-19 outbreak has changed the face of the market, with many jewelers struggling to stay afloat. Here, US store owners discuss how they’re handling their business, and what’s next.

By Leah Meirovich

David Rotenberg Owner, David Craig Jewelers
Newton, Pennsylvania
Staff: 8

What are you doing with your staff during the coronavirus crisis?

I have been bringing staff members in two at a time for about four hours a day, three times a week, organizing our inventory and back lots. I rotate them in shifts. I’ve offered them the option of vacation, but most have chosen not to take it, picking up hours when they can. When they’re not working, they are primarily on unpaid leave, and all have applied for unemployment benefits. We’re lucky, because we also do appraisals, so when we get a seizure [of jewels from customs authorities and the pieces need appraising,] it gives us a little more work and boosts hours slightly.

Have you applied for government financial aid?

I’ve filed for paycheck protection and disaster relief, but I haven’t gotten a response yet. Unfortunately, this is difficult because documents need to be verified through the banks, and most banks don’t want to do the work. One bank I spoke to was not receptive at all, but another bank I do business with had me send forms to them. But the government is not just sending you a check. They’re dealing with the banks you appoint, and if those banks decide they don’t want to get involved because government regulations are too hard for them, they’re going to send you away. You have to find a bank willing to serve as a middleman.

What’s your strategy for bouncing back when it’s all over?

I don’t want to spend a lot of energy on a grand reopening. I don’t think that would be appropriate, and given my location, even if they announce today that the ban is lifted, I don’t see tons of people coming by the end of the week. So I think initially I’m just going to do a slow and steady return. I think we’ll open for business again, we’ll get our employees back up to speed working, and we’ll try to do a big catch-up on all the work that hasn’t been getting done, sort of do a slow build, and increase the speed if we see we’re going to get a good customer response.

David Lampert CEO, Lester Lampert
Chicago, Illinois
Staff: 22

What are you doing with your staff during the coronavirus crisis?

We are not letting anybody go, and we are continuing to pay the employees. We haven’t made any final decisions on whether this time will go toward their paid time off or not. This has been explained to our staff, and they are all very understanding and appreciative.

How are you keeping the relationship going with your customers?

This has been tricky. What I’ve done is download each salesperson’s sales from within the last four years (as a starting point) and asked them to personally reach out to clients in the way they feel is most appropriate (text, email, handwritten note). The message is basically: Just touching base to let you know we’re thinking about you. Stay safe, and if you want to connect, we can still do so.

What is your strategy for bouncing back when stores are open again?

From experience, like after 9/11, what we saw was that people wanted to get back to a “normal” life. That meant celebrating, buying gifts and enjoying life again. I think a lot of people will feel like they have some money from not going on a trip or...from not going out every night. This found money may become jewelry purchases.

Mark (and Monika) ClodiusPresident, Clodius & Co. Jewelers
Rockford, Illinois
Staff: 15

What are you doing with your staff during the coronavirus crisis?

Our state shutdown occurred on March 21, and having seen the trends, we furloughed the entire staff, including ourselves, so that all might apply for unemployment.

Have you applied for government financial aid?

Yes, around March 15, I contacted our bank, accountant and the Small Business Administration (SBA). The SBA had a loan program available, and it took me about 14 hours to fill out the forms for the loan…only to have that program be withdrawn.

Since then, we have applied for every form of relief available, such as the emergency Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program, [which was meant to offer] $10,000 emergency funding within three days [of applying], with up to $500,000 available on loan. We had our application filed the day after the program was announced, and the SBA emailed that we had successfully applied. It’s now been three weeks, and our SBA contact says the maximum now available is only $25,000, but they have no idea when any funds will become available. The promises made by our government have mostly turned out to be lies.

What lessons have you learned from the crisis?

Conservative fiscal management and keeping “emergency” funds are the only reason we have not missed mortgage, tax, insurance, utility and payroll obligations.

What is your strategy for bouncing back when stores are able to open again?

We intend on a full customer relationship management (CRM)/digital-media push and a mailer to invite people back into the store. We will be emphasizing our gold and jewelry buying and service capabilities.

How do you see the crisis changing retail?

I believe it will affect the casual-gift and self-purchase market negatively. In my experience, women are often more innately fiscally conservative than most men. This event has and will continue to shake core confidence levels, and that will show itself in decreased self- and luxury purchases.

Amanda Coleman-Phelps Owner and president,
Nelson Coleman Jewelers
Towson, Maryland
Staff: 19

Owner, Jewelry By Designs
Woodbridge, Virginia
Staff: 10

What are you doing with your staff during the coronavirus crisis?

We were able to sell online, plus we had shipments still coming in and needed staff to help ship out, so we did a bit of a combo with our team. Initially, from March 12, we gave employees the option of working from home. We didn’t lay anyone off initially, so that they were eligible for Emergency Paid Sick Leave (EPSL) under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA). We did a lot of research on this and how it may affect them, and what the best choice was for the team financially, as well as for their health. We technically didn’t make our first layoff until April 15. Our management team is the only group we kept on, and we’re just starting to bring some people back based on their job description and our needs at the store.

Have you applied for government financial aid?

We applied for everything: state funds and grants, the Small Business Administration emergency relief loan, and the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). We didn’t know when funds would dry up, and we wanted to make sure we could get something to help us get over the hump.

How are you keeping the relationship going with your customers?

We certainly didn’t want to look like opportunists in this crisis and try to make light of the fact that people are dying every day, so we chose our marketing carefully and created campaigns centered on what people need at this time. Figuring out ways we can give back to the community has been a focus of ours. Since we are closed to the public, we are trying to have the American Red Cross come do a blood drive in our parking lot. Every little bit helps.

What lessons have you learned from the crisis?

I’ve learned a lot of lessons: You can only control so much, and you need to be okay with that; stay focused and stay empathetic; your team is everything, and without a good team, you can’t survive; research the heck out of anything and everything that you don’t know or understand in a crisis — knowledge is power, and your ability to pivot and survive is built on knowledge; utilize your resources, mentors and advisers; and don’t be afraid to ask for help.

What is your strategy for bouncing back when stores can open again?

We need to make sure what we do is affordable, and we’re operating with this new normal. We need to keep our team and customers safe, and make sure we’re taking measurements to do that. Pivot with our marketing, how we interact with clients but in store and virtual. Stay connected to our client needs, keep a close eye on cash flow. Listen to what our team is saying and what our customers are saying. It’s a holistic strategy.

Have you implemented any special initiatives you didn’t have before?

We’ve started a number of them, including creating digital coloring books for kids home from school, as well as some other fun activities for parents. Free earrings and then pearl necklaces to anyone who is working on the frontlines in hospitals to remind them that they are truly making a difference and to keep going. Mail-in repair options for people who still need that service; socks that you can purchase, where we donate half to the American Red Cross; informative video and also interactive live video while you’re stuck at home; and getting our entire inventory online.

Stewart BrandtOwner, H. Brandt Jewelers
Natick, Massachusetts
Staff: 3

What are you doing with your staff during the coronavirus crisis?

I have had to lay them all off.

How are you keeping the relationship with your customers going?

I’ve been sending emails, calling them and posting on social media.

What lessons have you learned from the crisis?

I’ve learned to always maintain three months of expenses, and how messed up the US government is.

Have you implemented any special initiatives you didn’t have before?

I’ve created an eBay store, cleaned up my website, and am posting more to my Etsy shop.

Debbie FoxOwner, Fox Fine Jewelry
Ventura, California
Staff: 15

What are you doing with your staff during the coronavirus crisis?

I have furloughed all my staff, but that is being treated the same as a layoff in California.

Have you applied for government financial aid?

We are trying to apply for the Paycheck Protection Program, but it is super frustrating!

How are you keeping the relationship going with your customers?

We are using social media, we’ve sent out an e-blast, and we wrote cards to our top customers. We also installed webchat on our site and are getting requests from around the country. While I’m glad to have webchat for our clients, the major portion of the inquiries just take time and don’t produce revenue.

What is your strategy for bouncing back when stores are open again?

I don’t think there will be a “bounce back” for fine jewelers. We will watch carefully and shift some advertising dollars to gold buys, repairs and redesigns of clients’ jewelry.

Have you implemented any special initiatives you didn’t have before?

Other than the webchat, I’m improving our site and getting more products on it, which I never had time to do before.

How do you see the crisis changing the way things are done in retail?

Eventually, things will normalize, but with a permanent acceleration in online activity, including inquiries and sales.

John HenneOwner and president, Henne Jewelers
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Staff: 35

What are you doing with your staff during the crisis?

We furloughed the entire team, giving them two weeks’ pay and continuing benefits.

How are you keeping the relationship going with your customers?

We are doing online sales and posting on social media. We hope to bring the team back shortly after we receive the Paycheck Protection Program, and then plan to reach out to our customers just to check in, to see how they’re doing and if there is anything we can do for them. Not to sell them anything.

What is your strategy for bouncing back when stores can open again?

We’ll continue doing the things we’ve always done, putting our customers and our people first. We’ll make sure our team is as safe as possible. We’ll make sure we keep our clients safe and provide alternative ways to do business with us. We need to think out of the box and be creative. We’re also exploring a new CRM software package that will allow our team to reach out to customers from their phones and iPads more easily.

How do you see the crisis changing retail?

I think we need to be creative in how we can still give the personal touch when working with customers, but not always doing it face-to-face. I think there will be a stronger sense of community that comes out of this and a desire to support local businesses. /fieldset>

Images: David Lampert, Amanda Coleman-Phelps, Stewart Brandt, Mark and Monika Clodius, Debbie Fox, John Henne

Article from the Rapaport Magazine - May 2020. To subscribe click here.

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Tags: Leah Meirovich