“Affluent retail customers are steering away from high-end dressy jewelry and focusing on purchasing fewer, finer things that are rare and will hold value. Even if the pieces are very expensive, they want to wear them more often and don’t want ‘vault’ jewelry. This is influencing our buying habits. On our buying trips, we will bring home a handful of truly special stones to entice our clients, versus filling our showcases with over-the-top diamond necklaces and bracelets. We are managing our vendors and categories very carefully in terms of turn. Online is another ongoing challenge. The big boxes are rolling out new technologies at lightning speed to make shopping online more personable, like in a store. Trying to keep up is no easy task, but it is a necessary one. Service has always been the independents’ strength, so you have to find ways to out-service the big boxes. And tha