Articles and News
Liquor And Lizards: Experience-Driven Events Draw Customers To Borsheims August 09, 2017 (0 comments)
Omaha, NE—Whether offering the opportunity to taste a $5,000 cognac or the chance to pet an endangered animal, Borsheims’ in-store events are designed to tap into customers’ desires to be part of something rare.
In late June, the retailer invited a few dozen of its best watch customers to join Maurice Hennessy, namesake of the upscale Hennessy cognac brand (the H in luxury conglomerate LVMH), for an exclusive private tasting event at the store. The tasting featured Hennessy’s Paradis Imperial Cognac (left), which retails for more than $3,000 a bottle, and the brand’s Richard Hennessy label, which retails for nearly $5,000 a bottle.
The event was held after the jeweler closed for the evening, making for an intimate and educational experience. The select guests also enjoyed an immersive tasting ritual of the rarest eaux de vies selected for blending into the exceptional Cognac.
The event was a way to showcase Borsheims’ many lines of fine timepieces, appealing to both the casual watch enthusiasts and experienced collectors. Customers loved the opportunity to learn about Hennessy cognac and to talk with Maurice Hennessy, the eighth generation of the Hennessy family to work in the family business.
Tasting cognac with Maurice Hennessy at Borsheims.
A more family-friendly event, meanwhile, was held last Thursday in the store, with visitors of all shapes, sizes, and species on hand for a fundraising event to benefit Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium. Dubbed Zoofari, the fundraising program is raising money for the zoo’s new Asian Highlands exhibit.
Zoo handlers introduce a lizard, above, and an opossum, below, to Borsheims associates and guests.
A new kind of theft deterrent? One of the zoo visitors gets up close and personal with a diamond necklace.
At the Borsheims’ event, animal ambassadors and their handlers mingled with Borsheims customers and zoo supporters. Guests learned about and interacted with snakes, birds, lizards, a tortoise, and an opossum, and snacked on drinks and hors d’oeuvres while shopping. Of course, the showcases included some animal-theme jewelry (below bottom), and Borsheims CEO Karen Goracke (below left) sported a serpent-theme ring in honor of the occasion.
A portion of all sales of Borsheims exclusive Kalahari Dream Diamond collection, Signature Diamond collection and lab-grown diamond collection from August 3 were donated to the zoo for the Asian Highlands exhibit.