The benefits of carrying a cause-related line

As with any line, retailers must have a display strategy for cause related jewelry: where in the store is it going to go? Does it need to be kept in a locked showcase, or can it sit out where customers can touch it, feel it and try it on freely?  

At MJ Christensen, they display the $6 bracelets in a heart-shaped basket on top of the repair counter, along with $4 BeadforLife shea soap and lip balm. On top of the showcase next to the repair counter are the actual pieces of jewelry that the women have created, all of which retail for less than $100. 

Miller says the strategy behind the placement of the BeadforLife merchandise is the physical manifestation of the store’s philosophy that service starts at the repair counter. That counter is where many customers get their first introduction to the store that, hopefully, sparks a relationship.  

The placement also helps shift the perception of customers who might come in to have their watch battery replaced but don’t look around because they assume the store doesn’t carry anything they can afford. “It’s just amazing what it does to break down that threshold when they enter a very fine jewelry store,” she says. 

Two weeks from now on Nov. 12, MJ Christensen will hold its annual Runway for Life Event. Now in its fifth year, the event, which is both a party and a special sale of BeadforLife merchandise, has grown in size and scope. 

This year, Miller says they are holding the party at Emerald at Queensridge, a Las Vegas event space. She says other local businesses wanted to get involved with the Runway for Life event after they saw the size of the crowd MJ Christensen attracted each year.

Pulling in other local businesses to help with events is a good idea for retailers. It gives them the ability to provide guests with services they can’t offer--MJ Christensen, for example, is bringing in Elements Massage to give hand massages with the BeadforLife lemongrass cream, a well-known stylist to show women how to wear the paper bead jewelry at a “style bar,” and has a local florist donating bamboo. 

In addition, the retailer will have African-themed cocktails, food and drumming, raffle prizes and, of course, a larger-than-usual selection of BeadforLife jewelry, including three special one-off necklaces that retail for $220. 

“It’s been really magical to see how it’s impacted our community over the past five years,” Miller says of BeadforLife.