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Samuel Gordon Jewelers
Sep 2, 2004 12:25 PM
By Sayre Priddy
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Established in 1904 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, by a European immigrant, the eponymous Samuel Gordon Jewelers is one of the rare single-store independents in the industry to achieve widespread recognition and experience great success. The firm, celebrating its one hundredth anniversary this year, is run by Gary Gordon, the chief executive officer, along with his son Daniel Gordon, the president and the fourth generation of the family to run the business. Following Samuel Gordon’s death in 1956, his son Norman ran the business until his death in 1980. The business was then turned over to Norman’s son Gary, who has worked tirelessly to improve the firm’s standing.
Growing the Business into . . . a Single Store
In 1985, after running the family business for five years, Gary Gordon had an epiphany. At that time, Samuel Gordon Jewelers was a three-store operation and a very solid number two in the Oklahoma City market. Gary Gordon realized that the firm was not performing up to its potential — “Something came over me and I decided that, ‘You know, we have the tools to maybe not replace the number one spot, but at least we could be considered right up there.’” He sat down with a legal pad and came up with a five-pronged plan to improve business — merchandising, achieving industry recognition to attract designers, local marketing, improving professional credentials and improving the physical location. “I have never wavered from it,” Gary Gordon says. “And it’s an ongoing process; I am still not finished.”
In regard to merchandise and improving industry recognition, it became clear that the firm needed better lines and to offer designer jewelry. Later in 1985, the first designer to accept Samuel Gordon Jewelers as a customer was Henry Dunay. After Dunay, many designers followed, especially after Gary Gordon embarked on his crusade to get his stores recognized. “I made up my mind that if we were going to attract the lines that we wanted to attract that I needed to start doing trade magazine interviews, which I had always previously declined,” he recalls. Since that moment, Gary Gordon has become known as an industry leader — giving interviews in addition to giving seminars at various trade shows, as well as serving on the board of many organizations, including the American Gem Society (AGS), the Jewelry Information Center (JIC) and the Jewelers For Children (JFC).
In the area of marketing, Gary Gordon decided to model his local ad campaign on an advertisement that fashion designer Bijan was running at the time, which featured the principal surrounded by models, implying that Bijan had a lot to do with the models’ beauty. In Gary Gordon’s case, while not everyone “got” it — “Some customers thought I was on this big ego trip,” he says — the campaign ran for three years and was effective as far as sales go. The firm also decided to back up its promises with expertise and it became a member of many leading industry organizations such as Jewelers of America (JA), Jewelers Vigilance Committee (JVC) and the AGS.
In 1988, the volume of the three Samuel Gordon Jewelers stores was growing so tremendously that Gary Gordon knew it was a just a matter of time before they needed a new location. Simultaneously, some of the neighborhoods where the stores were located were rapidly deteriorating. He struck upon the idea of putting the entire business under one roof. “We got very lucky and found an old Goodyear tire store located across from the city’s most successful shopping center,” he says. “At that time, centralizing everything was considered very daring and I believe that we are one of the pioneers of superstores in the upper range of our industry. However, while the industry perceived it as being risky, the local community never did.” The store opened for business on November 1, 1990, and has become a big triumph in the industry.
Diamonds and Marketing are the Keys to Success
Today, Gary Gordon says that Samuel Gordon Jewelers is an eight-figure independent store and that diamonds have been central to that achievement — 40 percent of business is generated by diamond jewelry sales. His best-selling diamonds are rounds followed by princesses and while the average carat size of the stones he sells is 0.85 carats, the median is 5.25 carats, suggesting that customers regularly make a few larger-stone purchases. The Gordons’ pitch to move the diamonds? “We sell based upon the diamond’s ‘light performance,’” he says. “And, we use lots of romance combined with the correct balance of technical information that every customer deserves to have.”
In terms of marketing and promotion, the firm has been celebrating its centennial anniversary since last fall with its “Wedding to Remember Giveaway,” a campaign in which a wedding valued at $50,000 was “given away” in August. To mark the milestone, the store also introduced a “Samuel Gordon Century Diamond,” a “high-light performing stone as measured by the GemEx system.” The Gordons also have many other events scheduled. They are planning a Scott Kay sterling trunk show and will be introducing five new designer lines this fall. Finally, they have billboard, television, radio, newspaper and local ad campaigns in place, as well as ads on their own and other websites.
The store’s “typical” customer age range is 20- to 80-years-old with a socioeconomic demographic of lower-middle class to upper-upper class. “What they all have in common,” says Gary Gordon, “is that they are all fashion conscious, style conscious, image conscious and lastly, value conscious.”
While diamonds are the single category that make up the bulk of the firm’s business, the other 60 percent is a combination of five categories. Wedding and engagement rings are number two with 20 percent, watches follow with 15 percent, designer and generic fashion each make up 10 percent and repairs and appraisal round out the list at 5 percent. Although they generate only a fifth of the total volume, Gary Gordon is pleased with both his designer and generic fashion lines, especially the impact they have had upon his wedding and engagement rings: “They are definitely very important. We are the proud representative in our market of most of the leading designer jewelry lines, and we even do very well with fine generic manufacturers, too.”
The Future
The Gordons seem to have found a formula that works and intend to keep their family business on a very similar track in the future. “We’ll never, ever let up on customer service,” says Gary Gordon. “Our firm is known for making customers feel truly appreciated; we know they have a lot of choices. We will always work hard to please them. They deserve that and more. No egos here; we are lucky to have the customer base that we have!”
“Also, we will focus on more jewelry and watch collections that are stylish, timeless and priced fairly,” adds Daniel Gordon. “And, we’ll continue to stock the largest selection of unset diamonds in this market, and we will definitely continue to do the best job we can to educate our customers about the products we sell. Diamonds are still somewhat mysterious to the general public, so a jewelry store owes it to its customers to provide extensive knowledge so that the buying public can make informed decisions.”
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Tags:
American Gem Society(AGS), Collections, Industry Organizations, Jewelers for Children , Jewelers of America, Jewelers Vigilance Committee, Jewelers Vigilance Committee (JVC), Jewelry, JVC, Trade Shows
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