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Jewelry Stores are from Mars, Women are from Venus
April 3, 2007
Debra Savage, one of the owners of 1700 Ocean, wanted to vent about why, despite research, books, and articles about the spending power of the female shopper, this industry still hasn’t picked up on this and catered to her in a big way. (see: Pocketbook Power: How to Reach the Hearts and Minds of Today's Most Coveted Consumers--Women by Bernice Kanner, Don’t Think Pink: What Really Makes Women Buy and How to Increase Your Share of This Crucial Market by Andrea Learned, JCK’s "Person of the Year" December 2005, JCK's interview with renowned business guru Tom Peters in September 2006, InStyle executive editor Martha McCully’s presentation from the Centurion Jewelry show, and the sold-out $46,000 Louis Vuitton bag Jennifer Heebner blogged about yesterday). The alarm clearly has sounded but the fine jewelry industry keeps hitting the “snooze” button. Anyway, you’ve heard me rant about this topic often enough, so here, in Debra’s own words, is the perspective from a designer/retailer (read: one of your peers!):
“In the last two months I visited about 60 retail jewelry stores.
While 1700 Ocean makes jewelry, we also have a jewelry store operating under the same name. We're located in the Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel, giving us the distinct advantage of meeting people from all over. One thing we hear every day is “Oh, this is so cool. Why don’t they have anything like this where I live?” So I went to look and to see where our new line of jewelry might sell best.
If you're wondering why sales are lagging and people aren't getting that excited about your merchandise, you might want to look at your local upscale clothing boutique for an answer. I visited one major Mecca for the rich and spending where there were at least 15 jewelry stores in a square mile; the best “designer” diamond and precious metal jewelry was in—not a jewelry store—but a clothing boutique called Augustina. Not only was the choice of jewelry great, aimed at the biggest growing jewelry spending demographic (female self purchasers), but the staff was friendly, engaging, and understood fashion.
In contrast, “Is there something in particular I can help you find?” were issued by look-a-like suited sales associates in 98 percent of the jewelry stores I visited. Most of those were men. Men go into a jewelry store generally like they shop for underwear—looking for something specific, spending only what they have to, and exerting as little effort as possible. Unless they are looking for a watch for themselves, then they start to spend more time.
But women LOVE to shop. We may or may not be looking for anything in particular. Shopping is a hobby and for some of us, a way of life. If we see something new and we like it, a helpful but not pushy staff member goes a long way to lighten our bank accounts.
Women are actually best at shopping when they're ‘just looking’. We can go to 10 stores and leave empty-handed. We're persistent, but we can only take so much. But put us in a store with some great, cool, new stuff when we're just ‘just looking’ and watch those credit cards swipe. Wake up jewelers and smell the change.
By change, I mean the shopping landscape and how women approach it. (By the way, I owe my knowledge of the ‘change’ to Earl Allen, my partner and the king of stats and trends, and one man who gets ‘it’.) In the year 2010, 49% of the population will be between 33 and 65. What are you doing today to address that change? Most of these women won’t be buying million-dollar jewelry suites, but if they are spending $2,000 on a handbag, I bet you could relieve them of up to $5,000, with less formality, some enthusiasm for something new and different (provided you have it), and a story to tell. Will upscale clothing stores eat at what is left of your profit?
My last rant is about disclosure and jewelers that either don’t inform their employees or simply ignore the issue. At one jeweler I visited, I inquired about a beautiful Burmese ruby and the owner suggested to me that if I had a problem with the embargo on them, perhaps I shouldn’t buy Chinese goods or drive a car. Last time I checked, there were no embargos on either of those items, and anyway, what does that have to do with disclosure? This person clearly does not get ‘it’. Another store told me “Well, Tiffany doesn’t sell Burmese ruby, but it’s not nearly as nice as ours, and ours came from Thailand” (via Burma…hello….).
Buyers are savvier than you give them credit for and are more likely to buy from someone with ethics and knowledge. Just because jewelers know more than the average shopper, doesn’t mean we aren’t obligated to educate our shoppers. Take a lesson from Gap and other companies. Gap donates half of sale proceeds from Product Red items to Global Fund to fight AIDs. The Gap and your friendly fashion jean store are selling silver and gold jewelry now. Are they going to get your customers and the dollars that keep your business going?
It is time to start thinking outside the box about your customers, your potential customers, and ethics. Or, an alternative is to host a going-out-of-business sale. I hear they are popular these days.
Just the road rantings of one from Venus.”
By: Debra Savage, 1700 Ocean, 866-290-1700
Posted by Hedda Schupak on April 3, 2007 | Comments (3)
