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“Have We Met Yet?” Is The Question At Louis Anthony Jewelers | July 17, 2013 (0 comments)
Pittsburgh, PA--"Have we met yet?" is a stock phrase at Louis Anthony Jewelers. It has been emblazoned on billboards and direct mail pieces (along with Louis Guarino's image) since the early 1990s, after the store opened. It's still in use today and it has made Guarino a very recognizable figure both behind the counter and about town.
The catchphrase was coined by Veronica Guarino who, with husband Louis (the couple are pictured at left), started their own jewelry business in 1990. Their initial $10,000 in funding came, ironically, from the sale of Veronica's wedding ring.
They weren't strangers to the jewelry business. Louis had been in the trade for nine years, working at Bailey, Banks & Biddle, first as a salesman, then as a manager. "It was an awesome training ground," says Veronica. "He learned so much by being there." But when that part of the Zale business was sold (it has since been reacquired by Zale) Guarino wasn't able to service his customers the way he wanted to. So the two took the money from Veronica's ring and began their own business.
"This was in 1990," says Veronica. "We didn't have a mailing list, so I did it the old fashioned way. I drove around the neighborhoods with our kids in the back of the car, making notes on where people we knew lived, to build a list. We didn't know how to start a business; we just did it. We couldn't afford someone to do marketing for us, so I said, 'Let me try to bring in the people; I'm your biggest fan.'"
Exterior of Louis Anthony Jewelers.
The family. Today, Veronica still handles the marketing and is still her husband's biggest fan. The two met in Pittsburgh as teenagers, at a dance. Today, they have three kids, all in the business. "It's gone very well," says Veronica. Their oldest daughter, Amelia (they call her Amie), designs a line for the store (Amelia Jewel) as well as acting as a guest designer for the 1884 collection at Couture this year. The couple's son, Lou, came on board after graduating from New York University with a degree in communications. He returned to help with marketing, and discovered that sales works for him as well. The couple's youngest daughter, Vanessa, graduated college in 2012 and works in the store's social media department.
"One thing that's difficult about a family business is dishing out constructive criticism," says Veronica. "It's different when your parents are telling you something instead of your boss." So how does she get around this? "I'll say, 'This is your boss speaking, not your mother.' It generally works."
The store has 13 employees total, five of which are family. Below, team Guarino, from left: Louis A Guarino, Jr. and Veronica Guarino, Amie Guarino, Louis A Guarino III, Yadouga and Vanessa Guarino.
The family, above, and an interior view of the store, below.
The merchandise mix. "We're known for having a really eclectic collection," Veronica notes. "We're fashion forward. For instance, we've been doing rose gold for years and years. We have several showcases of it. Much of our rose gold is from Italy. We are finding rose is also popular in our fine timepieces. The color compliments everyone and has a retro feel. The store is also known for its designer jewelry. Between jewelry, bridal, giftware and watches, they stock over 50 brands. (Their online catalog is located here.) But they were not always a watch store. "We were proud to be chosen as an authorized Rolex Jeweler in 1997and are now working on a branded Rolex boutique that will be built with Rolex’s signature style and material.”
Louis Anthony's current Rolex boutique.
The location. Louis Anthony Jewelers’ first location was small and in a free standing building. They moved in 2000 to another location about a mile away in a strip center, expanding to about 3,000 square feet. Today, the store, in the same location, has about 6,500 square feet. Of that, 5,000 is devoted to sales and the remaining area includes offices, a conference room, lounge, and repair shop.
And the marketing. Along with her son Lou, Veronica still handles marketing at the store. While the catch phrase remains the same, she takes care to keep the marketing fresh. "We come up with creative direct mail programs every year. We know that many people are intimidated to come into a jewelry store, so we try to keep our marketing approachable. One Mother's Day, we sent out a card of Lou as a baby, sitting on his mother's lap. People loved it. We want that humanness to come through in the marketing."
And it does, especially the 'Have we met…yet?' ads. When she first created the campaign, Veronica wanted to brand Lou as a real person rather than a name on a sign. At the time, no one was doing billboards. She tried them and they worked—very well. "I do not have a marketing background," she said. "I'm humbled that the things I've done have worked."
A recent "Have We Met Yet?" Ad featuring Lou III, Amie, and Lou Jr.
Veronica has tried to change the 'Have we met...yet' campaign over the years. The response? "We got a public backlash from our customers," she said. So, it stays generally the same, with the latest ad showing Louis and two of their children asking, "Have we met yet?" Veronica calls it Generations of Style. "We have great, great support from the people in this area."
Along with the popular billboards, Louis Anthony Jewelers reaches out to their customers on Facebook and Twitter. "We've seen online sales from our daughter's line of jewelry," says Veronica. "But social media is a struggle. We're trying to feel our way through it to build a fan base."
While the ad campaign may be set for the foreseeable future, the Guarinos continue to expand and improve their store, keeping personal contact at the forefront. Recently, their personal contact has taken the form of cupcakes. "We made a few dozen cupcakes for family and brought some to the store for customers. Today, where can you go where someone says, 'Take home a homemade cupcake. That attitude is disappearing in retail today. It's a personal connection and we are able to still relate to our customer in that way. We know our customers, we ask about their lives. I like knowing the people that come in here and shop," Veronica says.
The store continues to be updated and the merchandise is constantly evolving. When asked about future plans, Veronica says she and husband Louis have no plans to retire and let the kids run the store. Yet. "We're not old enough to retire," says Veronica. "We're not even thinking about it. We're here for a while."
And did Veronica ever get a new wedding band, since hers was sold to start the business? She did indeed. "Lou wanted to replace it with the perfect ring," said Veronica. "It took 15 years to find the right one. I do have a new ring and he promises never to sell it again."