Her husband and longtime business partner, Jeff Corey, says checking something off her to-do list might just be Kathy’s favorite thing to do.
When the couple first met, establishing their own jewelry business was at the top of their list.
More than four decades later, Day’s Jewelers is a chain of nine stores across Maine and New Hampshire.
Day’s Jewelers operates six stores in Kathy Corey’s home state of Maine, including this one in Waterville, as well as three stores in New Hampshire.
While Kathy and Jeff are now retired, they remain active in the business and the industry.
It all started with a love story befitting an industry that thrives on meet-cutes and celebrating special moments.
The year was 1979 and Kathy had just graduated from the University of Maine with a bachelor’s degree in nursing. She returned to her hometown of Fort Kent, Maine, and began working at Northern Maine Medical Center as a charge nurse.
She was already dating her future husband Jeff at the time, and she recalls that it was love at first sight.
“We made a strong connection on our first date night,” Kathy says. “We vowed that we would get married first and have a family together and then own a business together.”
“I’m kind of a dreamer and [Kathy] is more of a pragmatist and together we’ve been able to accomplish a lot.” — Jeff Corey, Day’s Jewelers
After two years as a charge nurse, Kathy was offered a position as a director of nursing in an intermediate care facility, a challenging role that she loved.
By then, Kathy and Jeff had gotten married and had a daughter, Emily, followed by another daughter, Erin, 19 months later.
They later also had a son, Joseph.
Now a mother of young children, Kathy decided to make a change.
“It was time for me, I thought, to pull back from my career. I decided to stay home for a bit, which didn’t work so well for me,” she recalls.
“So, then Jeff invited me to come work in his family’s business because he felt that it would get me out of the house.”
Jeff’s father, Robert Corey, had opened Robert’s Jewelry in Madawaska, Maine, in 1955.
“As a result of it, I fell in love with the jewelry industry and then I started reminding [Jeff] of our promise we made to each other on the night we met, that we were going to open our first jewelry store,” Kathy says.
It took a lot of convincing on her part, she says, but they found the perfect spot in Waterville, Maine, located about five hours south of where both Maine natives were born.
In 1984, the pair opened Jeffrey’s Fine Jewelers at the site of a former Day’s Jewelers store.
Captain Harry Davidson opened the first Day’s Jewelers store in Portland, Maine, in 1914. His sons Sidney, David, and Herman soon joined the business.
Over time, the family-owned jewelry store chain grew to 22 locations in Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont.
Jeff’s father, the late Robert Corey, worked there as a stock boy when he was 11 years old.
In the 1970s, the chain began to downsize. With no succession plan in place, the company sold one store after another until there was only one location left, in Westbrook, Maine.
Jeffrey’s Fine Jewelers was “extremely successful” thanks to the emphasis they put on the customer experience, Kathy recalls, but there was something appealing about that final Day’s Jewelers store.
“Day’s original owners worked very hard to build this hugely successful and very large chain of jewelry stores,” she says. “We didn’t want to see the Day’s legacy go away.”
To make it happen, the pair partnered with Jeff’s brother, Jim Corey, and a business partner, Mark Ford.
“We bought the Day’s Corporation and set on a mission to build a company that would stand the test of time,” she says.
As for Jeffrey’s Fine Jewelers, it became a Day’s Jewelers.
Expansion Begins With an expansion came new challenges.
“With one store, we were the jack of all trades. Everybody did everything,” Kathy says.
She oversaw marketing in the early days and slowly got involved in buying jewelry.
As the business expanded, there was a need for more defined roles.
Her two primary positions over the years were vice president of personnel and then vice president of merchandising.
She oversaw employee benefits, training, and satisfaction, along with any other human resources-related functions. Her nursing background was particularly helpful in this role, she recalls.
Her job as vice president of merchandising took most of her time though, she says, as she had to oversee a team of buyers as well as inventory and operations.
“My role was more strategic in terms of, ‘Where are we going with merchandise?’ and making sure that all the nuts and bolts behind merchandising were executed according to our Day’s standards,” she says.
There were a lot of moving parts, and Kathy and Jeff had to decide who was going to handle the various tasks.
“As we opened new locations, we both agreed that in order to fulfill our mission to build a company that stands the test of time, we had to develop an infrastructure that would allow us to grow to 100 stores if we wanted to,” she says.
“We started writing protocols and procedures for everything we did within our four walls that represented best practices and the highest level of standards for our employees from a training perspective, and for our customers from an experiential perspective.”
The retailer’s training protocols are extensive, says Kathy, and they continue to develop.
Kathy and Jeff had to set up an organizational structure, including establishing job descriptions and performance standards.
“We really stay true to making sure that every employee who works for Day’s has a very good understanding about what it means to be a Day’s employee,” Kathy says.
Day’s Jewelers employees are seen above on a hiking trip. A strong company culture has been vital to its success, says Kathy Corey.
The retailer’s employees are included in decision-making conversations, rewarded for good work, and encouraged to build a strong relationship with their supervisors, she says.
The employee-supervisor relationship is especially important, Kathy notes, so they can have open discussions about their career paths and where they’d like to go within the company.
Day’s Jewelers has been named one of the “Best Places to Work in Maine” more than half a dozen times.
The retailer conducts evaluation and employee engagement surveys, looking to see continuous improvement.
“We take this work very, very seriously and some would say, ‘Oh, that’s such a distraction to the business. Roll up your sleeves and make sure the cash registers are always ringing,’ but we know that these things happen if our employees are happy and engaged, resulting in better profitability and happier customers,” Kathy says. “And it all feeds together. It really is important, that connection.”
People Skills Kathy’s strong rapport with their employees has been an asset, says her husband Jeff.
“One thing Kathy has always brought to the table is that if the employee is not happy at home and does not feel that things are secure on the family side, then that is of no benefit to anybody,” he says.
“She’s very sensitive to people’s needs and she’s always ready to give a helping hand in any way she possibly can to help make a person’s life more comfortable and interesting.”
The couple’s affection for each other is obvious.
While some may raise an eyebrow at the idea of spending so much time working side by side with their significant other, Kathy and Jeff are a complementary pair.
“She is one of the kindest, most loving individuals you’ll ever meet. She’s very much invested in people. And she enjoys people,” Jeff says.
There have been a lot of great things about working together all these years, he says, but first and foremost is the fact that they bring out the best in each other.
“Oh, it’s absolutely spectacular. We’ve been a team for 47 years and we’re a good team,” says Jeff, who was inducted into the Retailer Hall of Fame in 2000.
“I’m kind of a dreamer and she is more of a pragmatist and together, we’ve been able to accomplish a lot. We complement each other and it’s just fantastic that she’s been [inducted] as well because we are a team.”
Kathy agrees that the two are a good pair.
“My husband is very visionary. He is a big-picture guy and sees the world in a way that few people do,” she says.
His entrepreneurial spirit pairs well with her planning and execution skills, she says.
When Jeff gets an idea, Kathy’s wheels immediately begin turning on how to make it happen.
“What’s really worked with both of us is that we have a mutual respect for each other. We have a common goal. We have a respect for each other’s talent. And we also trust each other,” she says.
Those components are important in any relationship, whether it’s a marriage or a business partnership, she says.
“He always lets me do my thing,” she says. “We come together on idea-sharing and things of that nature, but we never stood in each other’s way, which allowed each of us to flourish and learn, independently and together.”
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Kathy’s appreciation for a work-life balance also has been key, says Jeff.
The jeweler announced its transition to a six-day work week in 2022, deciding to close on Sundays to give employees more time off.
“You can be very, very successful at business, but then at the expense of what? It could be family, it could be relationships with your spouse or others,” Jeff says.
“Kathy is very much in tune to that balance. It’s important to her that when she makes decisions, she views the consequences of her decision from the point of view of all the people who will be affected.”
Their son, Joseph, speaks just as highly of her, and is happy to see his mother honored with her own induction into the Retailer Hall of Fame.
“It’s very well deserved. She’s given back and contributed so much to the industry in so many different ways,” he says.
Joseph Corey (center) cuts the ribbon at the retailer’s Manchester, New Hampshire, location in May 2024 to mark the completion of the store’s renovation.
She’s been a role model, serving on various boards to make the jewelry industry as successful as it can be, like Diamonds Do Good.
It’s a lesson more people in the industry, himself included, should take to heart, Joseph says.
He describes Kathy as a “get-it-done” person who is organized and collaborative, apt descriptors for a woman known to love a to-do list.
“She’s the type of person who is able to put herself into the shoes of the people who surround her [in order] to make the best decision,” Joseph says.
Kathy brought process and procedure to the buying and inventory management end of the business, he says, something that has been crucial to Day’s success.
“It’s a balance of having the most fashion-forward products for your customers, but making sure your inventory turns,” he says.
When he took the reins as president of Day’s Jewelers in 2021, his parents gave him a key piece of advice.
“Surrounding yourself with very good people is the way to success. Growth can only be done through growth with other people and you can’t do everything yourself,” he says.
“Empowering people and retaining good people is vitally important.”
Retirement Planning When it was time for Kathy and Jeff to retire from the retailer’s day-to-day operations, that strong employee connection they spent so much time and energy developing played a key role.
Kathy says she’s often heard from people her age who say they’re ready to retire but have no succession plan, which happens often when children are not interested in carrying on the family business.
The Coreys didn’t have that problem. Their son, Joseph, is president, and their second daughter, Erin Corey Moran, also contributes to the family business.
Still, Kathy and Jeff started their retirement planning early and asked themselves some hard questions.
How would they step away from the company?
And how would they fulfill their mission statement—to build a company that lasts?
They could host a going-out-of-business sale, but that would involve closing all the stores, which was not in line with their mission statement.
They could also sell the company.
“We knew that would most likely affect the culture of our organization, so we didn’t have much appetite for that,” says Kathy.
Another option was to pass it onto their children, but that didn’t make economic sense.
“Jeff and I looked at each other and said, ‘Well, you know what, we’d like to get our money out of this organization at some point,’ because we were retiring and we had our own plans,” she says.
So, instead, the pair began exploring an option they had heard about several years prior, an employee stock ownership plan, or ESOP.
On Nov. 1, 2021, Kathy and Jeff transferred ownership of Day’s Jewelers to its employees. Shares of the company were distributed based on both tenure and pay.
By selling the store to the employee-owned trust, the pair received some money upfront and will receive the rest over time.
“I will say, from the bottom of my heart, I see a very bright future. And those words don’t come easily to me because there are a lot of challenges out there.” — Kathy Corey, Day’s Jewelers
Evolving Role Kathy has retired from the day-to-day operations of the business, now serving as chair of the board of Day’s Jewelers.
In November 2021, Kathy and Jeff transferred ownership of Day’s Jewelers to their employees, including their son Joseph, who is president of the company.
In her free time, she enjoys the company of her six grandchildren.
“They are the apple of my eye. They really fill my heart with love and I love spending time with them,” she says.
Kathy and Jeff, who is also retired, spend half the year in Maine and the other half in Florida, but she spends as much time with family as she can.
“I don’t sit idle very much,” she admits.
“I’ve taken many leadership positions on boards [outside the jewelry industry], which really excites me because I like to learn something new,” she says.
“Serving on boards gives me different perspectives of different organizations, whether it’s education or health care. I love to learn and I love to be engaged with people on boards where there’s collaborative effort, especially when we achieve great things together.”
Kathy is also an outdoorsy person, spending her time in her vegetable and flower gardens when she’s in Maine.
From left to right, Joe Corey, Erin Corey Moran, Kathy Corey, Jeff Corey, and Emily Corey Eynatian
She and Jeff also enjoy sailing and have traversed the coast of Maine every year for the last 30 years or so.
“There’s always something going on in our lives, which keeps us engaged. It’s fun,” she says.
Future of the Business While Kathy is mostly retired, the future of the business is still top of mind.
“Some people call me a very ‘two feet on the ground’ individual. I am very realistic in my outlook on things,” she says.
“I will say, from the bottom of my heart, I see a very bright future. And those words don’t come easily to me because there are a lot of challenges out there.”
Independent jewelers today have to contend with increased competition from online retailers, the rising price of gold, and an unpredictable geopolitical climate.
In the end, though, it’s the people who make up the business that give Kathy that assurance.
“The key to success is the people who are guiding and navigating that ship,” she says.
“At Day's Jewelers, we have such an embedded and strong culture with the elements in place to grow this company. I see a very bright future because of these remarkable individuals.”
