8 New Year’s resolutions from retailers

At a time when many people are focusing on their health and happiness for the next year, jewelers across the country share with National Jeweler what goals they’ve set for 2015.

Brecken Branstrator brecken.branstrator@nationaljeweler.com

New York--With the New Year comes the opportunity to set and, hopefully, achieve new goals, both personally and professionally.

National Jeweler asked retailers across the country what resolutions they had set for either themselves or their stores in 2015.

Here’s what they had to say.

Jake Spigelman
Jay Roberts Jewelers, Marlton, N.J.
Spigelman has both a resolution and a goal for 2015.

The resolution: Engage in e-commerce by selling the brands he can online. “That’s certainly a direction our business is headed in. (But) right now, I don’t do it at all.”

The goal is to have a better year, aided by Mother Nature. “This year, we were hampered by the weather the first four months of the year,” said Spigelman, whose shop is located outside of Philadelphia. “We seemed to have a snowstorm every single week.”

Daniel Niebauer, vice president of operations
Ralph Miller Jewelers & Gallery, Erie, Pa.
Keep cranking on custom. The store has five jewelers on staff and has had much success manufacturing a line of jewelry under its own brand.

Niebauer said they plan to continue to do so in 2015, pushing into more galleries and other local shops to increases sales.

The store stands by its values of quality, craftsmanship and integrity. “That’s who we are, and we have great staff. That’s the key to success, great staff.”

Bill Longnecker
Longnecker Jewelry, McCook, Neb.
When asked about his New Year’s resolution, the Nebraska retailer offered a personal goal.

“I think my resolution is to finish my apartment remodeling project,” he said, noting that it’s been eight years in the making. “That’s my resolution, to finish my apartment.”

Jim Alperin
James Alperin Jewelers, Pepper Pike, Ohio
This suburban Cleveland retailer has a very honest take on this tradition of making promises that usually center on gym memberships or new savings accounts but fizzle by February.

“I didn’t make one,” he said. “I hate breaking them.”

Debbie Fox
Fox Fine Jewelers, Ventura, Calif.
When asked what her New Year’s resolution was, Fox noted that hers was probably different from most.

“My resolution is not to work so hard, but that is because I just came off of a year of gutting and restoration of a building, expanding our staff and moving our store.”

Stephanie Weber
Weber Jewelers, Kettering, Ohio
Weber said that the store has been focused on honoring who they

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are and not trying to be something that they’re not, and that’s a goal that they’re going to continue to work on in 2015.

Weber Jewelers is focusing on its past and what has set the store apart from the competition so far, and will go from there to help for the future. For example, they’ve always been strong in opals, which Weber thinks not many jewelers offer.

For the store, this also means working on education for store employees to explore this area and keep them competitive.

“It’s hard to imitate other people if that’s not who you are,” Weber said. “You can get ideas. But for the last few years, we’ve been going with what we’re strong in, and that’s what we’ll focus on this year, too.”

Susan Eisen
Susan Eisen Fine Jewelry & Watches, El Paso, Texas
For Eisen, 2015 will be all about change. Her New Year’s resolution for the store is to look closely at how things can be improved at the store.

This means not only the physical environment of the store, but the job descriptions and how they can incorporate more technology to improve efficiency. In consolidating the roles of the staff, Eisen is hoping that they will be able to give more quality time to the tasks that will build the business.

Kelly Newton
Newton’s Jewelers, Fort Smith, Ark.
Newton’s resolution for the store in 2015 is similar to Eisen’s--to find a way to be more efficient.

“As a store with a 100-year history, this is one area that we’ve really got to work on,” he said.

Newton particularly wants to work on the store’s buying: on being smarter when it comes to what and how much inventory the store buys.

Brecken Branstratoris the senior editor, gemstones at National Jeweler, covering sourcing, pricing and other developments in the colored stone sector.