Retailers share the words that sum up the season

seemed more comfortable buying, but also were buying on a “much larger scale,” and sales and especially foot traffic were up greatly over last year. “If I had gone into the season with any expectations, this year would’ve crushed them.”

Cheerful also would describe the atmosphere at Longnecker Jewelry in McCook, Neb. and Ralph Miller Jewelers & Gallery in Erie, Pa., said Daniel Niebauer, the store’s vice president of operations. 

Ralph Miller Jewelers topped last year’s record holiday sales, aided by the early fall release of the iPhone 6--meaning the smartphone wasn’t necessarily detracting from consumers’ holiday budgets--and lower gas prices. 

“It’s (the lower gas price) giving a lot of energy to the economy and I think people were a little more carefree (with their spending),” he said.  

In Nebraska, Bill Longnecker said while they had some slow days, the “numbers came in,” enough to push the store’s total up over last year, which, incidentally, was the best year they’ve ever had. 

“We are doing an excellent job of taking care of our customers, and it’s paying off,” he said, noting the store offers, among other services, free sizing and adjustments like tightening stones for the lifetime of any ring they sell. 

Also helping the store is the fact that it’s located in an affluent rural community, where residents would have to drive an hour to a major city to find the same services Longnecker offers at his store.

Unusual
A trend noted by many retailers who spoke with National Jeweler this holiday season was the seemingly unpredictable foot traffic patterns. Many jewelers reported being surprised by the volume of sales early in the season, only to have it drop off and the store be less busy on days that it’s traditionally a madhouse. 

Jake Spigelman, of Jay Roberts Jewelers in Marlton, N.J., in the eastern Philadelphia suburbs, said,  

“Traffic … came at odd times.”

He wasn’t mobbed like he normally is in the last 10 days before Christmas and yet the store ended up hitting its numbers for the holiday season. 

“It was very erratic in the way it came but the numbers in the end were fine,” Spigelman said. 

Challenging-but-successful
Susan Eisen, who runs her eponymous jewelry store and gallery in El Paso, Texas, said she couldn’t narrow it down to one word because of all that the season brought. 

She noted that while this season was just “good” for the store and not extremely strong, she likes having such years because it forces jewelers to take a look at the way they are doing business.

“It’s good to have these situations sometimes, because it forces you to change and re-evaluate what it is you’re going to do for the year ahead. You’re afforded a chance for evaluation,” Eisen said. 

Pleased
While Jim Alperin, owner of James Alperin Jewelers in Pepper Pike, Ohio, would describe the holidays as just “OK,” that’s better than he expected. That’s why he picked the word pleased for his single term describing the season.

A rising stock market helped to lift the spirits of the store’s wealthiest customers and while the store made fewer sales, they were larger. 

Alperin said he sold a 5-carat-plus sapphire ring for $22,000, a ruby ring for $6,000 and an $8,000 pair of diamond stud earrings. 

Measured
For Weber Jewelers in Kettering, Ohio, the 2014 season has been a marked difference in spending and investment, according to Stephanie Weber. 

Last year, the store held a large retirement event for Weber’s father and also spent a lot more on advertising and marketing.

But this year, Weber said that they ran the business in a different manner--they spent less and were also more careful about the pieces that they were buying and the product mix that they were putting together in the store. 

As a result, gross profit went up and margins were stronger for Weber Jewelers in 2014.