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A New Place With The Same Great Attitude: Randy Cooper Gears Up For A Bigger Store | May 30, 2013 (1 comment)
Wichita, KS-- Randy Cooper's Fine Jewelry is an almost-30-year-old American Gem Society member store that the locals consider "the go-to jeweler for all kinds of jewelry and services," says owner Randy Cooper. In the coming months, Cooper will relocate her business and her staff from one part of a tony shopping center to another.
It will be a quick transition. If Cooper can make the move in a week, she will. If she can't, she's prepared as well. "We're on schedule; we're cleaning out and tossing. We've planned to make this as smooth as it can possibly be. I'm not too worried about the move. I think it'll work out just fine," she said.
While a move from one part of a shopping center to another isn't generally a big jump, adding square footage to break the 4,000+ square foot mark is. Randy Cooper Fine Jewelry is in Bradley Fair, an upscale shopping center in Wichita with a number of both national and local stores. Cooper is delighted to be making the move. "It's THE place to be," she says. "It about a mile long and has a lot of traffic."
Above, Randy Cooper's Fine Jewelry current location; below, a rendering of the new store opening soon.
"We're moving to a free-standing building in the same center," says Cooper. "Our parking will be greatly improved."
And what will Cooper do with the extra space? "Rolex is going to put in a Rolex corner for us! It's very exciting; we'll have the only one in Kansas. Also our jewelry and watchmaker will be in larger spaces. We'll be putting in 30-plus more linear feet of jewelry showcases." Cooper notes she'll likely expand a few of the brands they carry, including Marco Bicego and Forevermark.
To her local clientele, Cooper offers one-stop-shopping and service work. "If we don't have it, we'll find it. On the service side, we have a jeweler and a watchmaker on staff and if we can't handle the job, we know someone that can. Plus, I think we're just nice people," says Cooper about her staff of 14, both full and part time. They treat the store like home, all pitching in as needed. "We all do it all: filing, dishwashing, helping our Graduate Gemologists, waiting on customer, cleaning rings -- everything. We all do what we have to do. It's very uncorporate-like."
About the only thing that Cooper doesn't do is buy gold from her customers. It's not something our current customers are asking for," says Cooper. "We do all we can to accommodate our customers."
Cooper reaches out to her customers through the traditional medias of newspaper advertising, duratrans at the airport in both concourses and billboards. Her ads let the viewers know that her store has integrity, knowledge and are proud to be members of AGS.
In social media, the company has an active Facebook page that showcases various events that have been held in-store. Cooper also works with a good number of local charities. "We always give something," said Cooper. Her website lists 20+ charities the store supports regularly.
Cooper and her family at an event in the store. From left, son and chef Kelly, who catered the event, husband John, Randy Cooper, and son John Jr.
The company also has a website that's scheduled to change as the physical location changes. "It's a work in progress," says Cooper. "We're getting new computers and new software coming in and so we have our plates full. One thing that will not change is that we are not planning to add e-commerce to our website."
While Randy Cooper's Fine Jewelry today is a full service jewelry store, it began as anything but that. She started in the business in 1984 with a partner, stringing beads at the kitchen table and having shows out of the house. A year and a half later, she moved to the 2nd floor in an office building, initially open one day a week (due to having small children) and then adding more days and employees. She and her partner parted amicably and Cooper was the first person to sign a lease in Bradly Fair, the shopping center where her business is still located after 23 years.
"I have always loved jewelry, always liked bright colors and sparkles," she said. "I'd saved my money when I first got married, and would buy a nice piece of jewelry when I had enough. I wanted to go into the jewelry business and knew I didn't know much but could learn." Her first show was Tucson and she started stringing beads after that.
It's been an interesting journey and Cooper keeps moving forward, expanding her business and her customer base. "My philosophy is to just keep on running and don't look back -- you'll run into a post," said Cooper. "Just keep going. Don't worry about who is following."