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Five Uniquely Interesting Things About Stanley Jewelers Gemologist Inc. | June 26, 2013 (0 comments)
Five Uniquely Interesting Things About Stanley Jewelers Gemologist, Inc.
Disclaimer: Author Caroline Stanley is one of three third generation Stanleys and grew up in this family business. She made every effort to offer an unbiased story—but admits that some family pride may have seeped in.
North Little Rock, AR—Stanley Jewelers Gemologist was founded in 1936 and while, like many other prestige jewelers, the business has progressed through three generations, Stanley’s unique company personality sets it apart. The Centurion spoke with second-generation Loyd Stanley and third-generation Laura Stanley recently about what sets them apart.
1. Estate/Consignment Jewelry Takes Up Half The Store. "The estate department was born about 25 years ago, when business was so bad it was hard to make ends meet," said Loyd Stanley. "We were getting lots of 'Do you buy diamonds? Do you buy jewelry?' phone calls. So [one day] I said we'd start taking items on consignment for the next person that called."
The estate/consignment department began in one showcase and quickly grew. The premise was simple: get the [selling] customer a fair price for their jewelry, and offer it for less than a similar new piece would cost to the [buying] customer. Stanley managed to do both, offering those with jewelry to sell two-thirds of the selling price. In the years since that department began, Stanley has helped customers sell all sorts of jewelry, flatware, and serving dishes, gold and silver ingots, coins and anything made or partially made from precious metals.
"As business got better, we were able to offer a 'consignment' price and a 'buy' price. We began adding to the estate department with items we bought," said Stanley. Today that department takes up almost half of the 1,600 square feet of selling space (total store space is about 2,500 square feet) and accounts for almost half of Stanley's business. "Our promotion of that department has led us to bidding on estates from individuals and local trust departments."
Is there anything that Stanley won't take on consignment? "Lawnmowers," he said with a smile.
Loyd Stanley helping a customer, above, and the interior with the staff, below.
2. Buying Old Gold, And Always Did. "We do buy gold/jewelry from our customers," says Stanley. "Somebody needs to pay a fair price for gold. The gold buyers that come to town and set-up shop in a local hotel don't pay a fair price. We feel it's a part of a full-service jewelry store to pay a decent price for scrap gold. My dad, prior to Stanley’s, worked as a watch repairman in a pawn shop in the 1930s, where he bought gold, so we continue that tradition today."
Stanley and staff tell customers to shop around when they are selling gold. Those that do generally end up back at Stanley Jeweler’s to get the best price. While he's seen a decrease in the amount of gold and jewelry being sold over the last six months, Stanley reports that sales are still strong and show no signs of stopping.
3. Weekends Off. Stanley’s is one of the few street level businesses only open during the work week. Yes, that's right: they don't work on weekends, except during holidays. Stanley's is open Saturdays before both Valentine's and Mothers’ Day, and seven days a week between Thanksgiving and Christmas. The jeweler also takes appointments. Stanley reports that his customers dealt with the changes just fine and business is better than ever.
It wasn't always that way. Twenty years ago they were open long hours, six days a week. Finally realizing that no significant sales were being made other than during 'working' hours, Stanley made the decision to go to a five-day workweek. Perhaps the happiest group about this change was the employees. It's a great perk for the staff of seven (and one part-timer) to have weekends free. Plus, it keeps all employees in the store at the same time during working hours instead of scattered “days off,” which the customers appreciate.
4. Customer service and attitude. It's necessary for today's retailers to offer great customer service and Stanley's is no exception. "We like to offer our customers a little gift when they don't expect it," said Stanley. "I recently paid sales tax for a long-time customer who bought a big gift. He didn't ask for it, I offered it, and he left with a smile on his face."
Stanley says that when customers leave with a smile on their face, they tell their friends. When they don't, they tell everyone.
Stanley's tries to anticipate what a customer wants and needs. "We never ask 'Do you want this gift wrapped?'" Instead we say, 'I'll have this gift wrapped for you in a minute.'" says Stanley. "When we deliver a package, it's in a Stanley's sack with a coffee mug or a bottle of jewelry cleaner and possibly a ball point pen with our name on it. We just ordered Stanley mini-flashlights to spice up the freebie collection. And if the customer says 'I've already got the coffee mug', we say that we'd like them to have service for 12."
Not surprisingly, the mug that Stanley's sales associates offer to customers is fondly referred to as "The Stanley Cup." Stanley's favorite line is asking a customer, 'Do you like hockey?' If the answer is yes (or even when it's no), he awards them a Stanley Cup with a flourish.
The store is big on hand-written thank you notes and they offer coffee or something to drink to customers as well. "We try every single day to exceed our customer's expectations."
They also offer a bowl of magnifying eyeglasses for those customers who left their readers at home, more reminiscent of a nice restaurant than a jewelry store. Instead of offering to come back with their glasses at another time, customers can borrow a pair and the shopping continues.
5. A watch repair drive-through...really? Stanley explains. "In the 50s, the traffic from residential North Little Rock to the business part of Little Rock (a popular commuter route) was rerouted to one block off Main Street, where the store was first located. My dad felt like it was hurting our watch repair business. So, we leased an old service station and opened the "ultrasonic watch repair shop." We had the first US ultrasonic watch cleaner in the area and we had a drive though service there. It was a modest success, but not worth the trouble," Stanley concluded.
The customers and the promotions. The usual customer at Stanley Jewelers Gemologists, Inc. could be almost anyone. The store promotes diamonds for all types of engagement ring customers as well the estate/consignment department, and Stanley says they "really serve the whole gamut" of customers. They have a solid following of female self-purchasers as well. "Our favorite customer is an old guy getting married for the third time. We have lots of older customers. Typically they have a good amount of disposable income and their money in the bank is paying so little these days that they treat themselves more."
Advertising consists mostly of radio and TV spots. Stanley says they always mention that are AGS members. Stanley also says the store's advertisements are geared toward "people remembering who we are when that special occasion rolls around."
Stanley's also has a strong Facebook presence, a regular email newsletter and a blog. The social media efforts are led by vice president Laura Stanley. "We're establishing better connections with our customers via Facebook and our blog postings. (Stanley uses a service for non-competing jewelers called TheJewelerBlog for her blog postings.) We can start a conversation in cyberspace and finish it over the phone or here in the store."
Family and branding. Stanley's is a family business. At some point, all three of Stanley's children worked in the store. "Today, our wonderful staff here has two of my children," said Stanley. "Laura has been full time for 24 years -- she's the one who was never going to work in the store. My son Stephen has been here for ten years and is getting more involved in the business. My daughter who was always going to work here, Caroline, stayed for a decade and moved on to other industry pursuits."
Loyd, Laura, and Stephen Stanley.
Stanley says his store name is his brand. "We have few brand names (as lines). We assemble a lot of our diamond jewelry. Our customers know our name and know that we offer quality jewelry. After spending 20 years at the bench, I know too much about how jewelry is made," said Stanley. "We offer exceptional value in everything we sell."
The history. "My dad, Charles Stanley, grew up in a small town of Beebe, Arkansas. In very tough times, the early 1900s, he quit school in 7th grade, and went to work for the local drugstore. The drugstore had a watchmaker, common in those days, and the watchmaker had too many clocks to fix. My dad had mechanical abilities, and pretty soon he was making $1.25 a week fixing clocks and only 50 cents a week for making milkshakes. He became a pretty good watchmaker in the next few years, moved to North Little Rock, and in 1936 borrowed $400 dollars from his father-in-law, and they opened Stanley Jewelers."
Stanley's original Main Street store in North Little Rock, AR.
Loyd Stanley joined the business full-time in 1959 after "a few unsuccessful years at college. In 1960, my Dad opened a second location on Park Hill in North Little Rock and my mother and I stayed downtown until 1967 when the two businesses were consolidated," said Stanley.
In those days, Stanley's carried a full gift department, tabletop, and even suitcases. "I had convinced my dad that we needed to be out of that business. The last day of 1974 the store burned, which sped up the process," he said with a smile.
The old store--which burned at the end of 1974--had a full tabletop department (above) but the fire helped Loyd convince his father to stop selling luggage. Exterior view, below.
Stanley's father bought a microscope in the early 60s, which interested Stanley in diamonds. "While never a good student, my love for the product became apparent as I studied the GIA courses. Stanley's was the first central Arkansas AGS member in 1967. Today, I'm proud to say we have four AGS Certified Gemologists (CGs) on staff."
Both Loyd and Laura Stanley have put in time and effort for the American Gem Society. Loyd is a past national board member and Laura is a current one. She is the International Guilds Chair, and since 2011, she and a leader of AGS’ Philadelphia-area guild, Meier Opalek, have seen over 20 guilds activate. One secret to their success: "Turns out that Facebook is a great way to reach jewelers today," said Laura Stanley. "Once we got people talking on there and had a person in the field to facilitate efforts, it began to come together." She credits Opalek with the fieldwork that got the guilds up and moving again.
Today. Stanley has seen a lot of changes in the industry since he joined the store in 1959. One of them is the way that traveling salespeople are giving way to other methods of selling. "We see fewer sales people today and get more phone calls," said Stanley. "We are located a half mile off the intersection of Interstates 30 and 40, so we saw a lot of salespeople. We used to babysit lines in our walk-in vault and the salepeople knew that even if they were not our vendor, they could leave their line overnight. That's becoming pretty rare. They also know our coffee is very good, so we still get a few coming by."
A full view of the exterior of Stanley Jewelers Gemologist today.
Loyd says his favorite thing after 50+ years is that "I love making people happy, selling them things that make their lives more fun. And as well all know, when business is good it's fun to be in business. The last several years have been really good."