IndependentsFeb 06, 2025
106-Year-Old Jewelry Store Saved by New OwnersTwo attorneys purchased Windsor Jewelry, which was set to close, and will retain all existing staff at the downtown Indianapolis store.
EditorsFeb 08, 2017
The Malaise of Macy’s
One of Macy’s biggest problems has been its inability to convert Kaufmann’s shoppers, Editor-in-Chief (and Western Pennsylvania native) Michelle Graff writes.
Macy’s flagship store in Herald’s Square, New York City. The retailer ranks No. 4 on National Jeweler’s 2016 list of $100 Million Supersellers with an estimated $1.56 billion in watch and jewelry sales in 2015.
I started this blog on Friday after reading numerous reports about the possible sale of Macy’s.
Since then, there has been other major news that’s broken in the retail world.
On Sunday, Tiffany & Co. announced that CEO Frederic Cumenal was stepping down and would be temporarily replaced by Chairman and former CEO Michael Kowalski while the jeweler hunts for a permanent leader.
Though some news outlets seemed shocked by the news, I wasn’t.
The retailer’s sales have been, to coin Kowalski, disappointing. Worldwide net sales rose 1 percent, declined 6 percent and 7 percent in the last three quarters, and Tiffany has posted poor holiday performances back-to-back.
I don’t think it’s hard to understand why Cumenal no longer has the corner office, or why another big jewelry retailer, Signet Jewelers Ltd., also recently changed up its senior management after its holiday season was less than stellar.
Retail is changing and retailers--particularly public companies that have to answer to shareholders--have to change with it.
So, while I may return to the topics of Signet and/or Tiffany at a later date, for now I want to talk about Macy’s, Retail Dive and an interesting conversation I recently had with my mother.
While reading multiple stories about the murky future of Macy’s on Friday, I came across this excellent analysis from RetailDive.com.
In her article, Contributing Editor Daphne Howland argues that what’s killing Macy’s isn’t competition from Amazon or off-price outlets but, rather, Federated Department Stores’ (which later changed its name to Macy’s) 2005 purchase of The May Company.
The acquisition left the retailer over-stored and unable to offer exactly what customers want in every market.
Federated/Macy’s bought up “thriving” regional chains--like Kaufmann’s in Western Pennsylvania, a retail staple of my youth--with roots in their respective communities and made them “cogs in a machine,” the articles states.
The story struck a chord with me because of a recent conversation I had with my mother, in which we got to talking about the state of retail where I grew up, in Beaver County, Pennsylvania.
Mom was telling me how she’d read in the local newspaper (long live print journalism!) that the Macy’s store in the Beaver Valley Mall--which I made famous via this blog before--was one of the many Macy’s that closed at the end of last year.
She wasn’t surprised to read that Macy’s was shutting down because it
Editors' Picks
Sponsored by
was never very busy when she shopped there, which, she also said, was not that often because she didn’t really like it.
To my mom, the store went downhill after it was converted from Kaufmann’s into Macy’s; she never saw much in there that she wanted to buy and the store itself wasn’t as nice either.
And, Mom said, a lot of other people in the area felt the same way.
Kaufmann’s had deep local roots.
Founded by 1871 by Jacob and Isaac Kaufmann, the department store was part of the fabric of Western Pennsylvania for decades. There’s the iconic clock in downtown Pittsburgh (“Meet me under the Kaufmann’s clock.”) and Fallingwater, the amazing Frank Lloyd Wright-designed weekend home the Kaufmann family had built in Mill Run, Pennsylvania, a must-see if you ever get to the area.
There really wasn’t any way for Macy’s to emulate that and, as a result, what ended up happening is exactly what my mom observed: People really never came to love Macy’s the way they loved Kaufmann’s.
My mom’s musings on Macy’s sum up perfectly the point that was made in the Retail Dive article.
The retailer got too big to deliver any kind of personalized experience to customers, to stock each store with merchandise that suited them and to make area residents feel that Macy’s knew what they liked.
And, it seems, this lack of personalization was especially detrimental to Macy’s in Midwest metropolitan regions like Pittsburgh, as this is where Macy’s is expected to close the most stores, according to Retail Dive.
Retail today is so different and so difficult that I cannot offer jewelers a panacea, a single solution for all their store’s problems. I cannot say that being a town’s “local jeweler” will save a store because, as we’ve seen, longtime family-owned retailers are closing down too.
And I cannot say that remaining a Kaufmann’s would have saved this specific store, given the long, slow economic decline of the area surrounding it and the myriad challenges facing brick-and-mortar retailers today, particularly those situated in aging malls.
But I think what can be learned from Macy’s is that for retailers, local/regional names do carry weight among area residents and aren’t necessarily so easily replaced.
As National Jeweler columnist Peter Smith stated when commenting on this story about San Francisco retailer Shreve & Co. closing the Portland, Oregon storeit opened in the space once occupied by 88-year-old store Carl Greve Jewelers: “I wonder if things would have been different if they had kept the Carl Greve name? Shreve’s had no awareness in that market. Sad to see.”
There is value in having a connection to the community and in knowing exactly what your customers want.
To my mom, the store went downhill after it was converted from Kaufmann’s into Macy’s; she never saw much in there that she wanted to buy and the store itself wasn’t as nice either.
And, Mom said, a lot of other people in the area felt the same way.
Kaufmann’s had deep local roots.
Founded by 1871 by Jacob and Isaac Kaufmann, the department store was part of the fabric of Western Pennsylvania for decades. There’s the iconic clock in downtown Pittsburgh (“Meet me under the Kaufmann’s clock.”) and Fallingwater, the amazing Frank Lloyd Wright-designed weekend home the Kaufmann family had built in Mill Run, Pennsylvania, a must-see if you ever get to the area.
There really wasn’t any way for Macy’s to emulate that and, as a result, what ended up happening is exactly what my mom observed: People really never came to love Macy’s the way they loved Kaufmann’s.
My mom’s musings on Macy’s sum up perfectly the point that was made in the Retail Dive article.
The retailer got too big to deliver any kind of personalized experience to customers, to stock each store with merchandise that suited them and to make area residents feel that Macy’s knew what they liked.
And, it seems, this lack of personalization was especially detrimental to Macy’s in Midwest metropolitan regions like Pittsburgh, as this is where Macy’s is expected to close the most stores, according to Retail Dive.
Retail today is so different and so difficult that I cannot offer jewelers a panacea, a single solution for all their store’s problems. I cannot say that being a town’s “local jeweler” will save a store because, as we’ve seen, longtime family-owned retailers are closing down too.
And I cannot say that remaining a Kaufmann’s would have saved this specific store, given the long, slow economic decline of the area surrounding it and the myriad challenges facing brick-and-mortar retailers today, particularly those situated in aging malls.
But I think what can be learned from Macy’s is that for retailers, local/regional names do carry weight among area residents and aren’t necessarily so easily replaced.
As National Jeweler columnist Peter Smith stated when commenting on this story about San Francisco retailer Shreve & Co. closing the Portland, Oregon storeit opened in the space once occupied by 88-year-old store Carl Greve Jewelers: “I wonder if things would have been different if they had kept the Carl Greve name? Shreve’s had no awareness in that market. Sad to see.”
There is value in having a connection to the community and in knowing exactly what your customers want.
More on Editors
The Latest
MajorsFeb 06, 2025
Oscar Heyman Employee Celebrates 60 Years With the Company Adam Heyman joined the family business in 1965, just weeks after graduating from Columbia Business School.
CollectionsFeb 06, 2025
De Beers Jewellers’ New High Jewelry Pays Homage to the Beauty of TreesThe “Essence of Nature, Chapter One” collection echoes trees and roots, literally and figuratively, through three sets of high jewelry.
Brought to you by
3 Ways to Capitalize on America’s Newfound Love of Colored GemsColored stones are stepping into a jewelry spotlight typically reserved for diamonds—are you ready to sell color?
IndependentsFeb 06, 2025
Hamilton Jewelers Revamps Palm Beach BoutiqueThe fourth-generation, family-owned jeweler has given its Worth Avenue store a new look.
Weekly QuizFeb 06, 2025
This Week’s QuizTest your jewelry news knowledge by answering these questions.
CrimeFeb 05, 2025
‘The Timepiece Gentleman’ Sentenced to 5-Plus Years Behind Bars Luxury watch dealer Anthony Farrer pleaded guilty late last year to defrauding clients in a scheme with Ponzi-type elements.
FinancialsFeb 05, 2025
Pandora Posts Double-Digit Growth After Strong Holiday SeasonIn its full-year results, the retailer shared its 2025 outlook and an update on the global rollout of its lab-grown diamond collection.
Brought to you by
3 New Year’s Resolutions for Jewelry Lovers The new year feels like a clean slate, inspiring reflection, hope, and the motivation to become better versions of ourselves.
TrendsFeb 05, 2025
Amanda’s Style File: Feeling Fabulous in FebruaryCelebrate February birthstones and the gem shows in Arizona this month with a versatile stone like amethyst.
MajorsFeb 05, 2025
DCA Promotes Kristen Scheetz to Director of Education, MembershipScheetz has been with the nonprofit since 2007.
SourcingFeb 04, 2025
New Deal With Botswana Is Done, De Beers Confirms The agreement will allocate an increasing proportion of the country’s rough diamonds to the government of Botswana over the next decade.
Events & AwardsFeb 04, 2025
Van Cleef & Arpels’ Astronomy-Inspired Jewelry to Land at AMNH“Cosmic Splendor: Jewelry From the Collections of Van Cleef & Arpels,” opens April 11 at the American Museum of Natural History.
SurveysFeb 04, 2025
Valentine’s Day Jewelry Spending Forecast to Hit Record High, Says NRFThose celebrating Valentine’s Day this year are expected to spend a record $27.5 billion on jewels, flowers, candy, and more.
MajorsFeb 03, 2025
Qurate to Close HSN’s Florida HQ Amid RestructuringLayoffs will reportedly start next month as HSN plans to move into QVC’s location in Pennsylvania.
AuctionsJan 31, 2025
Elizabeth Taylor’s Diamond Bracelet Outshines Estimate at U.K. AuctionThe auction also featured the sale of a Cartier necklace made when Egyptomania was sweeping Great Britain.
CollectionsJan 31, 2025
Piece of the Week: Lalaounis’ Good Luck Charm for 2025The “Blossom Rosette” blooms with love, beauty, and hope for the year ahead.
IndependentsJan 31, 2025
Harvey Rovinsky, Longtime Owner of Bernie Robbins Jewelers, Dies at 77Rovinsky is remembered as a great mentor who made the employees of his stores feel like family.
Events & AwardsJan 31, 2025
Facets of Fire Has a Diamond Challenge for RetailersFor every jeweler who tries their luck, the company will make a donation to Jewelers for Children.
MajorsJan 30, 2025
WJA Chapter Leaders Resign as Fallout From DEI Remarks SnowballsThe boards of at least five chapters have resigned in response to controversial statements the WJA national board president made last month.
Policies & IssuesJan 30, 2025
RJC Executive Director Melanie Grant Is Stepping Down An experienced jewelry writer and curator, Grant led the organization for two years.
CollectionsJan 30, 2025
Pharrell Williams Brings Tahitian Pearls to His New Tiffany & Co. CollectionFive new designs were added, all donning Tahitian cultured pearls and spear-like trident motifs, along with the new “Titan” setting.
Events & AwardsJan 30, 2025
Registration Open for Converge 2025The inaugural event is being co-hosted by the American Gem Society and the Gemological Institute of America.
MajorsJan 30, 2025
24 Karat Club of New York Elects 5 New MembersJewelers of America’s Annie Doresca and AGTA CEO John W. Ford Sr. are among the new members.
CollectionsJan 29, 2025
Boucheron’s High Jewelry Takes the Form of ‘Untamed Nature’The jeweler’s latest high jewelry collection looks into the Boucheron archives to create a “living encyclopedia of high jewelry.”
FinancialsJan 29, 2025
LVMH Watch, Jewelry Sales End the Year DownWatch and jewelry sales slipped 3 percent in 2024, though the luxury conglomerate did see business pick up in the fourth quarter.
MajorsJan 29, 2025
Chanel Names New General Manager of Watches, Fine Jewelry for USOlivier Kessler-Gay will take over the role on March 3.
SurveysJan 29, 2025
Consumer Confidence Slips for Second Consecutive Month It hit a four-month low in January due to concerns about the job market, though consumers remain bullish about the stock market.
