In January, James Speltz, the former CEO of gifts and gadgets company Brookstone, was named president of Luxury Brand Holdings, parent company of Ross-Simons and the Sidney Thomas jewelry chain. Here, he talks with JCK about what he hopes to accomplish.
What do you see as your main goals?
We have a true multichannel operation that has upside opportunities for all the brands. I’m looking to aggressively grow the direct-to-consumer part of the business for Sidney Thomas. We will be venturing onto Amazon.
You have nine Sidney Thomas stores and one Ross-Simons showroom. Do you envision brick-and-mortar expansion?
It’s premature to say. The potential is enormous. We had a very strong 2016.
You are a newcomer to the industry. What opportunities do you see?
The consolidation that is happening in terms of independent and multigenerational jewelers is an opportunity that we have to seize upon. The regional players don’t have significant e-commerce capabilities. Some of the big players that have displaced a lot of those jewelers have proven excellence in e-commerce, but they lack the brick-and-mortar presence to bridge the two worlds. Today, consumers want to be serviced where they want and when they want. Being multichannel and direct-to-consumer is a core competency of ours.