By Jacquie De Almeida
Historical ties aren’t the only thing a group of Canadian retailers brought with them to Louisiana.
They also packed up their desire to learn a few secrets to success from the experts at Stuller’s Bridge Conference.
A three-day event held at the company’s Lafayette headquarters in April looked to provide the contingent of Canucks with need-to-know information to help plump up their bottom line. About 39 Canadian retailers participated, all part of the Canadian Jewellery Group.
The Canadian-only event was a first for Stuller. And so were two days in New Orleans ahead of the conference organized by the company, allowing attendees to take in the French Quarter’s Creole and Cajun atmosphere. (Cajuns are descendants of Canada’s Acadians, French colonists who settled in what is now the Maritimes.)
Seminars focused on topics like how to capitalize on social media and understanding changing consumer preferences. At the heart of the conference, though, were the 3 Cs—choose, change, and create—a message delivered to retailers who are now operating in a very different landscape than even just a few years ago.
Competing with the Internet for consumer dollars is at the top of retailers’ concerns these days, and with good reason, says Matthew Stuller, the company’s founder and chair. What’s his advice? Fight fire with fire and create an online experience not only surpassing that of e-tailers, but one that compels consumers to embrace the bricks-and-mortar experience.
“Jewellers need an active and engaging website for their own stores,” Stuller tells Jewellery Business in an exclusive interview. “It’s important to not only attract customers to them, but to be educated about jewellery and to make themselves professional in the eyes of anybody looking them up. A website is also a very useful tool for being able to show not only new product, but the retailer’s specialty product, something that makes them unique.”
Jay Jackson, Stuller’s president and chief executive officer (CEO), likens online shopping with “having a relationship with your electric company or credit card company.”
“The retailer has to have a compelling and unique shopping experience that makes it fun to go into their stores and shop for jewellery,” Jackson says. “The old way of having everything behind the counter and showing one piece at a time is [outdated]. It’s just as easy to go on the Internet and do it that way. But if a consumer can actually try a piece on and feel it and get involved in the transaction, you really can’t do that on the Internet.”
Alain Filion, owner of TresOr Jewellers in Kingston, Ont., made the trek to the Bridge Conference. He says ramping up his store’s social media presence and putting the designer’s cap on his clients using Stuller’s proprietary custom design tool are his two takeaways. Although TresOr offers custom design, Filion, and his wife, Lise, agree their customers would welcome the ability to sit computer-side and create their own piece of jewellery.
“Being able to see what you’re designing is a very strong selling tool,” Lise says. “Nine out of 10 sales of engagement rings will always require some modification. It’s very rare that you’ll sell a ring as-is.”
Ernie Epp of Independent Jewellers says the conference drove home the message that change is inevitable and staying one step ahead, rather than simply keeping up, is critical to a retailer’s success.
“Our business is social-media savvy, but traditional in its appearance and way of doing things. We have to meld the two and bring them together,” Epp adds.
One of the biggest issues facing Canadian retailers is the line separating us from our neighbours to the south. Getting product shipped from the United States to Canada is simple enough, but returning it presents a bigger problem, so much so that Stuller invited a FedEx representative to answer attendees’ questions and work toward implementing procedures to ensure the paperwork does not create an administrative nightmare. Getting a refund on duties and taxes from customs for product returned to the United States is a major concern, particularly the six- to 10-month wait time.
Katie Smith, Stuller’s executive director, strategy and market development, says the conference created numerous opportunities to get feedback from Canadian retailers about what works and what doesn’t.
“Canadians are very appreciative of business ideas that make sense,” Smith says. “We’re thoughtful about not promoting everything just because we have it, but instead offer what they need from a sustainability perspective. For instance, our interiors business is one of the most exciting things for our American customers, but trying to get showcases across the border is a logistical concern.”
Beth Saunders, Canadian Jewellery Group’s general manager, says the Bridge event provided the perfect opportunity for participating retailers to pick up tips on how to better their businesses. One seminar in particular touched on the topic of retailers building a brand around themselves. It’s a tactic, Saunders says, that should be considered.
“Unless brands do a lot of advertising, I don’t think the message gets to the consumer,” Saunders notes. “Independents need to be the ones to set themselves apart from chains and the Internet. Anything they can do to keep their store front of mind and bring in customers—whether it’s radio advertising, private label, or in-store events—is worthwhile.”
While many would say Canada and the United States are very different markets, Stuller says the two face similar challenges.
“Canadian jewellers have the exact same problems as Americans. First, they are trying to bridge the gap from the old ways of selling jewellery to the new ways. They are also trying to employ technology and offer customers better selection with less capital. We think our Bridge event is a great opportunity for our Canadian jeweller friends to be able to help support their stores and find solutions to many of the issues we all deal with in our industry.”
