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From Downtown To Freestanding: The Evolution of Shellé Jewelers | November 12, 2014 (0 comments)
Northbrook, IL—Shellé Jewelers, founded in 1951 by Sheldon M. Millman, today offers customers great jewelry, coffee and conversation, and a welcoming attitude. It's a winning combination for this family-owned business. Quality was the focus for Sheldon Millman and still is for the business today. Sheldon worked for another jeweler after WWII and after a few years, began his own business. He opened on 5 South Wabash in downtown Chicago and stayed there until 1972. Many shoppers who frequented that part of Chicago were price shopping rather than looking for the best quality.
"I grew up hearing work stories from my grandfather," says third generation jeweler Brian Millman. "He made it his mission to offer a quality product, service and knowledge. In 1972 Sheldon moved the business to Michigan Avenue across from the Water Tower. The new location had the added benefits of being more prestigious and had fewer customers who were just looking for the lowest price.
Shellé Jewelers remained in that location until 1987. The building's owner decided to knock the building down and replace it with a 50-story skyscraper. While the company could have stayed nearby with the same landlord, it was time for a change. Downtown was getting to be a harder place to work for second-generation jeweler Manny Millman. Parking was hard and often Manny was making deliveries on the way home.
"He ended up working all day and all night," says Millman. "In 1987 he said, 'Let's just move up North.'" The business moved to a small town outside Chicago, Glencoe, and stayed until 2004. Their clients liked it; it was close, had easy parking, and they didn't have to navigate downtown.
Since 2004, the business has moved a few more times. "Lots of moves and lots of swearing," says Millman. "In 2008 we moved into a brand new building. It was the worst time in the world to move. The bottom fell out from underneath us [due to the economy] but we survived. The building we are in today is freestanding; we are able to do so much more. We're having great success here. We should have done it years ago." The new building is 2,500 square feet with about 1,100 feet of selling space.
Shellé Jewelers is on a busy street, Skokie Boulevard, in Northbrook, IL. "Approximately 17,000 to 21,000 cars pass here per day. Someone will be stopping in. We had no parking in Glencoe. Now, we have our own parking lot."
The sales staff at Shelle Jewelers, from left, featuring Manny Millman, Allison Grandt, Pattanin Chaijenkit and Brian A. Millman.
Did third generation jeweler Brian Millman plan on being a jeweler?
"I pretty much wanted to go in family business," says Millman. "I always knew I'd be in it." Millman graduated college in 1997 and then from GIA in August 1998. Today he leads a team that includes his father, Manny. The two work well side-by-side.
Employees. Millman counts the age-range of his employees as a great benefit. Essentially a learning experience. "We have 8 or 9 employees, depending on the time of year, including my father and myself," he says. "My dad is active in the business. He's one of our older employees, the youngest is 28. That's a huge range. You can learn from every generation. Everyone does things differently and we all learn from each other; often it's how to do something better and faster." Ask Manny is a feature on the Shellé Jewelers' website and Manny's bio on the website offers customers a cup of coffee and a conversation when they drop in.
Customers. "Our target age is 12 or 13 up to around 90," says Millman. "Our average customer is between 30 and 50; that's our most active age. Our older customers come in once a year, on average. Our customers aged 30-55 come in three or four times a year, buying each time." So how exactly does one successfully market to the kids/tween crowd? For Millman, it was easy. He keeps candy, chips and sodas on hand for the kids. Because of his high drive-by traffic location, many of his customers drive by each day on their errands -- and with the treats for the kids, all that driving by is to his benefit.
"Every time the kids will say, "Mommy, let's stop [at Shellé jewelers]. So that's where we start. We love this new location."
Custom work. Millman credits his dad Manny with the store's focus on custom work. "When Dad took over, he really wanted to make everything himself. He did a lot of his own creations. He even created some screw posts. The custom work was his thing." The focus on custom work is a hit with Shellé Jewelers customers. "Our custom business has never been higher," says Millman. "Everyone in this area wants their own 'special something.' We often use our customers diamonds. We tell them, 'Let us make it for you.'"
Millman employs bench jewelers onsite and keeps them busy. "We do everything here, from concept to creation. We make sure the customer gets what they want."
Marketing and advertising. As with most jewelers, Millman considers his advertising a work in progress. "For many, many years, we did lots of print advertising. We spent a fortune with not much return. We saw money going out but not much came back in."
So, Millman moved in another direction. "We revamped how we advertise. We found a lady who brands your product. She spends the least money to get the best results. We focus now on email marketing and also offer instore trunk shows. We wanted better contact with our customers. Many of our customers find us through word of mouth from other happy customers."
Clearly his strategy is working. "We get approximately 1,100 new customers a year. 60% of those are referrals."
For bridal, Millman works with The Knot, in print and online. His message is that Shellé Jewelers is high end but affordable. He does see some threshold resistance to his new building, so he works hard to make sure that customers feel that they can come in and have a good buying experience.
An interior view.
So what is Millman's favorite part of the business? "I love the custom work," he says. "I love being able to create something that no one else has. I love it when the customer says, 'This is exactly what I wanted.' That makes my day."