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BORSHEIMS FINE JEWELRY AND GIFTS: THE BIG STORE WITH A BIG HEART | November 21, 2012 (0 comments)
Omaha, NE--Borsheims Fine Jewelry and Gifts has a simple mission: 'We are privileged to share in the special moments in our customers' lives. We will treat this opportunity with the respect and importance it deserves.'
That mission sums up Borsheims' attitude as a company and it's a sentiment that trickles down through management to sales associates to the consumer through superior customer service.
Borsheims' director of jewelry, Sean Moore, sums it up, "As cliché as it sounds, I think the exemplary customer service that we ask the sales associates to provide is the reason customers keep coming back. Profit and revenue goes out the door when we discuss keeping our customers happy. It's about relationships. We try to do the right thing, doing the best we can to make our customers happy."
Borsheims is known for being a large single-store jewelry store in Omaha, Nebraska. It was bought in 1989 by Warren Buffet's holding company Berkshire Hathaway. "We're no longer a family business but we still operate like one," says Moore. "We've kept the same qualities as a small business. We have happy, smiling faces greeting customers as they come in the door. We try to be a great addition to our community. We work to maintain our reputation of being a great place to go for jewelry."
While Borsheims is largely known for jewelry, the store also carries a large selection of giftware. "We carry handbags, fine china, fine gifts and crystal. It's a nice addition to the business and a great draw. While the customers may come in initially for gifts, they have to walk through the jewelry to get there and that gets them looking at jewelry," says Moore.
Borsheims' interior, above and below.
Borsheims does a number of events each year to reach out to their customer base. Approximately 1.2 million people live within a 50-mile radius of Omaha. Moore considers those within that radius his target customers. "We've done some recent personal appearance ones with our designer partners. We had Roberto Coin in as well as Marco Bicego. Some nice business. We have three or four trunk show a year, bridal shows once or twice a year with 4 to 8 bridal designers at each event. The shareholder's event also brings in a number of brands for that five day event. We have about 25-30,000 people come through the store during that time. It starts with a cocktail party on Friday night and a cocktail party/brunch on Sunday for shareholders."
Borsheim's president Susan Jacques, right, with Warren Buffett, center, and an animal trainer and amphibian friend during a shareholder's meeting.
In December, Borsheims will host a 'Weekend of Giving,' with a portion of proceeds from those three days going to Project Harmony, a children's charity. During that weekend, Borsheims will feature a Holiday trunk show featuring 8-9 vendors.
Along with the events, Borsheims reaches its customers through a variety of methods. "We're not overly aggressive in TV; we prefer print and we're social media conscious. We do lots of local billboards, ads in regional magazines and a ton of clienteling," says Moore. Moore defines clienteling as personal contact such as direct mail and notes, sent directly to specific clients.
A page from the store's website.
While all these methods reach customers, Borsheims knows that customers and potential customers generally start at the website and Facebook before they set foot in the door. "In 1999, when we first started discussing our website, we wanted to have e-commerce. In 2000, it was a great decision. We were immediately selling merchandise online and we were in a good position to capitalize on that new channel of business. We've tried to maintain a good looking, efficient, productive website."
Borsheims' website is fairly extensive (including e-commerce, live chat for a customer representative, Deal of the Day, a 'Design Your Own Ring' feature and a gift finder, for example) according to Moore, the website actually produces a very small percentage of Borsheim's sales yet it is a very valuable tool.
Borsheims maintains an e-commerce department with four full-time employees, but that's actually a small part of their overall employee/sales associate total. Borsheims keeps approximately 45-50 jewelry sales associates employed and have another 20-25 'reserves' that come in for special events. For gifts, there are another 25 people. All-in-all, Borsheims' count is around 260.
Twelve of that count is bench jewelers. And they make innovative use of one of the bench jewelers. "One of the 12 is always on the main level in what we call the 'pod,' located behind customer service." When customers bring in items for cleaning or repair, the jeweler takes a look at it. If it can be easily fixed, the jeweler will do the repair right then and there. "We try to do as many on-the-spot repairs as we can," says Moore. "That keeps the shop from getting clogged up and it serves the customer. A fair amount of repairs lend themselves to quick resolution. We don't think of the shop as a revenue generator. It's more about servicing the customer and keeping them satisfied."
Borsheims is 62,000 square feet on two levels, housing both selling space and office for support staff. The jewelry sales area is about 20,000 square feet. "Space here is affordable," says Moore with a smile.
Sean Moore, Borsheims' director of jewelry. At right, Moore presenting a watch to Olympian Ryan Phelps.
Today, Moore is the director of the jewelry division. He's been at Borsheims for 21 years. "I've seen the company really grow into being more corporate from a family business. I'm proud to say we've maintained our concern for doing the right things for the customer, creating great relationships, and creating great service for customers. I spent 10 years as a buyer; it was great. Now, I'm move involved with day-to-day operations to please and assist customers. I love the face that we are here to make people happy. It's a lot of fun."
A Brief History of Borsheims (from www.borsheims.com)
Louis Borsheim opened a jewelry store in downtown Omaha, Nebraska. In 1948, Louis Friedman bought the business and operated it with his son Ike. While Louis and Ike Friedman kept the Borsheims name, they ushered in a new era of success for the jewelry store.
The old store in its downtown location.
Ike, a dynamic businessman, developed the business philosophy that still guides the company today - offer an extensive inventory and exceptional customer service at the lowest possible price.
It was an approach that worked, leading Borsheims to outgrow its downtown facility and move to the anchor position in Regency Court mall in 1986. In 1989, renowned investor Warren Buffett purchased a majority of Borsheims stock, making it part of his famous holding company, Berkshire Hathaway, Inc.
Borsheims continues to grow today under the leadership of President and CEO Susan Jacques. Asked to run Borsheims by Mr. Buffett in 1994, Jacques has led Borsheims through a major renovation and unprecedented growth. Borsheims' single store location in Omaha is now more than 62,500 square feet, including a large watch department, gift gallery, full-service jewelry repair and design shop and private showing areas for shoppers wishing to escape the public eye. The store houses more than 100,000 pieces of jewelry, watches and fine gifts and serves an international clientele spanning 50 states and six continents.
A newspaper ad from 1948 riffs on the fact that it was an election year.