Comedian Dana Carvey performed for a standing room only event Tuesday for LUXURY & PREMIERE exhibitors and retailers.

Retailers who have been in attendance during the first two days of LUXURY & PREMIERE, represented Aucoin Hart Jewelers, Bernie Robbins Fine Jewelry, Birks & Mayors Jewelers, Borsheim’s, Bighams Jewelers, Childress, Congress Jewelers, DeScenza Diamonds, Joe Escobar Jewelers, Lux Bond Green, Scheherazade Jewelers, Smythe Jewelers and hundreds of others.

The second day of the event started with presentation about the luxury goods market and the affluent consumer. John Clarkin, national sales director of W magazine, presented consumer research on “Connecting with the Luxury Consumer.”

Clarkin revealed that, “Two percent of US households, represent 28 percent of income in the country, making a strong point that the US Luxury Market is fairly insulated from the current downturn in the economy. Following his presentation, Clarkin invited a panel of retailers onto the stage to offer insight into Customer Retention Programs, how Internet sales affect their business, and how they train their sales staff to overcome negativity. The panel included Garrett Rudd of Scheherazade Jewelers, Minneapolis, Minn., Aida Alvarez of Birks & Mayors Jewelers, Tamarac, Fala.; Mark Motes of Smythe Jewelers, Timonium, Md.; and Sean Moore of Borsheims, Omaha, Neb. 

On Thursday morning, Andrea Hill of Hill Management Consulting and Training presented “Differentiation Blueprint: Using Strategy and Brand as Tools to Set Your Business Apart.”

“The first two days of LUXURY & PREMIERE were great,” said Sonny Sethi of Tara & Sons.  “We launched the Vintage Collection to a great response.”  Bellarri Adleman of Bellarri said, “We just love this venue, and have cemented relationships and built new ones during LUXURY & PREMIERE.”

JCK