Recently, I was invited to speak at the Atlanta Jewelry Show on the topic of the Internet and the retail jeweler. My remarks reflected a somewhat contrarian view, because I believe retail jewelers can effectively compete despite apparent inroads by Internet jewelry sellers. Today, you cannot pick up a jewelry trade magazine or general business publication without reading something on how the Internet is taking more and more business away from retail. But the sky isn't falling. The retail environment is simply going through another change. We need to understand that the Internet is—or can be—a valuable tool. It is, however, essentially a device to gather information. It also can be an efficient but impersonal method to purchase a wide variety of products. However, logic should tell you that selling consumer products on the Internet requires a brand name. How many brand names in jewe