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Industry News: JA Elects Board Chair And Directors; Edge Sales Data Tops 1,100 Retailers August 05, 2019 (0 comments)
Jewelers of America Announces New Board Chair, Directors
New York, NY—Jewelers of America (JA) has elected Holly Wesche (left), G.G., C.G., owner of Wesche Jewelers in Melbourne, FL, as its new board chair. She succeeds John Henne of Henne Jewelers in Pittsburgh, PA.
Wesche Jewelers is the largest independent jeweler in Brevard County, FL. Its staff includes both an AGS Certified Gemologist and Certified Gemologist Appraiser, two jewelry designers, and a master goldsmith. It also has a fully accredited gemological laboratory.
Wesche, a third-generation jeweler, is a past president of the Florida Jewelers Association, a speaker for Jewelers Education Foundation, and a past vice chair of the Leading Jewelers of the World. She also is actively involved in her community, where she has been a Melbourne Regional Chamber of Commerce board member for over 10 years.
“Being involved with Jewelers of America has been a priority for my family for generations,” says Wesche. “My great uncle, Herb Underwood, was president of the Retail Jewelers of America (now JA) and my dad, Jim Wesche, was the president of the Florida Jewelers Association. I am honored to be part of the JA board and to serve as chair during this exciting time of change for our industry.”
“Holly Wesche has already made tremendous contributions to our Board,” says JA president and CEO David J. Bonaparte. “She is a brilliant businesswoman whose passion for Jewelers of America runs deep. We look forward to her leadership helping to guide JA forward.”
Wesche will lead an executive committee: chair elect, Robert F. Moeller II, R.F. Moeller Jeweler; vice chair, Coleman Clark, BC Clark Jewelers; vice chair, Karen Goracke, Borsheims; treasurer, Craig Rottenberg, Long’s Jewelers; and secretary, Matthew Rosenheim, Tiny Jewel Box. John Henne will serve as past chairman.
Directors elected for a three-year term were: Lawrence Bock, Bachendorf’s; Caryl Capeci, Chow Tai Fook North America; Tobey Ritchie, Harry Ritchie’s; Lenny Kramer, Leo Schachter; Stan Razny, Razny Jewelers. For more information, click here.
Edge Retail Academy Aggregates Data from Over 1100 Stores
Omaha, NE--The Edge Retail Academy announced that it now has over 1,100 retail stores contributing sales and inventory data to its Edge Pulse program. The aggregated data of these doors exceeds $5 billion in sales. Retailers can access this real-time data through ERA’s Edge Pulse program on any device, from anywhere. The benchmarking feature allows them to measure their own performance against their peers, easily identify growing categories and brands among peer stores, and take quick action to capture any trending categories.
“We are the single largest aggregator of independent retailers, which gives retailers and vendors access to the most robust data,” said Sherry Smith, director of business development.
Vendors can subscribe to the aggregated data to better understand sell-through data and inventory levels. Retailer data is aggregated anonymously, and vendors must have a retailer’s approval to see sell-through data on specific products.
“Our comparative analysis feature allows vendors to measure their performance against industry performance,” said Smith. Vendors participating in the program include DeBeers, NPD, Hearts of Fire, Pandora, and David Yurman, among others.
“The Vendor Services program has been a great way for us to see how we are performing at retail. This gives us the opportunity to engage our retail-partners in ways that helps our business and theirs, based on real-time data and a mutual desire to drive turn and inventory efficiency,” said Peter Smith, president of Mémoire, a division of Chow Tai Fook, which also owns Hearts On Fire.
Edge Retail Academy also has an exclusive integration with The Edge, the leading POS provider in the retail jewelry industry.
More information about the Edge Pulse program for retailers, or to sign up for its monthly newsletter, The Vibe, which offers insights from the sales data, can be found at https://www.edgeretailacademy.com/edge-pulse-program-details.