JB: What business ideas or values do you think more retailers need to embrace to improve their bottom line?
DC: Today’s jewellers should continue to embrace a service model. I think customization and personalization are changing the entire retail landscape and jewellery is no exception. I anticipate this trend to continue to accelerate. Carrying ‘the right’ inventory is another concern—by that I mean providing more of what the customer wants, as opposed to what the jeweller has.
JB: The announcement that Signet Jewelers (parent company of Sterling Jewelers and others) was acquiring Zale Corp., (including Peoples and Mappins in Canada) raised a lot of concerns about consolidation in the industry. What is your take on this? Is there a need to protect the independent jeweller?
MS: We should always protect the independent jeweller—they are the backbone of the jewellery industry. I think the acquisition is a great thing for Sterling and a great thing for Zale. This industry has been really concerned over the last few years about Zale falling into bankruptcy. If that had happened, it would have hurt our industry and our independents much more than the great success Sterling can help bring to them with good management and a good business model. I truly believe that—I’m the ultimate optimist. Independents have grown substantially and benefited by Sterling’s commercials and advertisements. I’ve experienced the same thing in our own business, as we changed our paradigms over the last 44 years. As we got into findings, mountings, or branched out into metals, for instance, our competitors became fiercer. They advertised more and it created a stronger market. I think everybody wins that way. We need a strong jewellery industry. We want consumers to be looking at fine jewellery all the time and hearing the message they should buy for special occasions and events. I believe Sterling will bring a lot of value to Zale with its great marketing tools; independents need to be smart enough to take advantage of this opportunity.
JB: Danny, you were Stuller’s chief merchandising, marketing, and sales officer before you took over as president and chief operating officer from Jay Jackson, who retired late last year. What are some of the things you’re working on in your new role?
DC: There are three things Stuller needs to do for the future: we need to grow, we need to grow efficiently, and we need the right talent to be able to do it. Change is something I’m particularly passionate about. It’s also something I’ve had a lot of experience with and I know is very hard to do. A related aspect to change is speed. How do you go fast without going too fast? If you’re not careful, you can go too fast for the people inside your building and too fast for your customers. It’s always something you have to be very sensitive about. I had somebody once tell me that companies can grow 20 per cent a year, but people can’t. That’s always stuck with me. One of the things I’d like to do with the company is make it faster, make it more flexible, more agile, and more market-responsive.
