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Murphy Jewelers’ Big Expansion: Four Years Later | March 25, 2015 (0 comments)
Saucon Valley, PA—In September 2012, The Centurion ran a story about the expansion of three jewelry retailers. Today, The Centurion follows up with one of those jewelers, Patrick Murphy of Pottsville, PA-based Murphy Jewelers, about his then-new third location (left) in Saucon Valley, PA, about 50 miles from his main store and home in Pottsville. He admits that the entire expansion process is demanding.
"Opening our second location was our first challenge. That was ten years ago," says Murphy. "We branched out and opened a second store, free standing, next to famed sporting goods store Cabela’s [in Hamburg, PA, approximately 20 miles from Pottsville]. Then came the third location in the Promenade Shops at Saucon Valley."
"It's been over four years since we opened, and from the beginning it’s been a unique opportunity. We’ve now had a chance to really analyze the success of the location,” says Murphy of the third location in a lifestyle complex (below). "It's more like California or Florida. It reminds me of Disney World. It's a happy, dog-friendly place with gazebos, music and carriage rides. Like a Norman Rockwell painting."
And in the winter, there's snow. Lots of snow. Murphy now also realizes the value of looking at all the different situations that can arise and being prepared for them all. Recently, due to this year’s harsh winter, he's been spending a lot of money on snow removal and rock salt. Those are two expenses that you don’t always anticipate when expanding.
The best advice Murphy says he has to give anyone is, "Location, location, location. We have the best spot in the entire complex.”
Murphy's has had two challenges since opening the new store: designer merchandise and staffing. "We have been very aggressive going after top designers as we expanded into different demographic areas. It was a challenge to keep our store merchandise consistent in all locations. We have been successful at getting the brands to expand with us and proving that we can do the business." With 30+ designer lines listed on the Murphy Jewelers website today, that problem seems to be well under control.
Inside Murphy's Saucon Valley store.
Staffing is another issue. “I can't be in all three stores at one time. We rely on our staff and managers to deliver the customer service we’ve been known for. We're very family oriented, very hands on. We want to keep the family name in front of people as much as possible," says Murphy. His recruiting challenge has continued. His vision is to put together a team that understands the family's values and culture. "If we're not training our staff on a daily basis, things are slipping through the cracks. We need to get the staffing nucleus just right; and we're working at it."
Murphy tackled this critical issue by recruiting someone to be his right hand person. He wanted someone who could help and assist him in creating a strong team; someone who would be in operations and who could help train and motivate. He recently found the right person and just hired him: Leon Benzrihem, formerly of Congress Jewelers in Sanibel Island, Florida. "I'm so excited to announce this," said Murphy. "Now we're one step closer to bringing our dream team together."
Family plays a large role in Murphy Jewelers. Murphy's daughter, Mallory, joined full-time five years ago after college and handles the marketing and analytics for all three stores. "Mallory sets up goals for each associate and vendor, and tracks where we are in reaching them. It helps the associates understand what they are striving for and gives them a more defined path. She also looks at the performance of our vendors to keep us up-to-date”, says Murphy.
Murphy's son, Sean, is currently redesigning their website to become an online store, which will launch within the next two months. He designs iPhone applications as well, such as Harvest, a guide to selecting and storing produce that was featured in Better Home and Gardens magazine and on Food Network. "We're really blessed to have a great family and kids that really help out. Sean is developing what we’re calling our fourth store location, our online store. Kim [Murphy's wife] does all the buying and is ultimately responsible for new vendors and keeping the inventory fresh. It's a group effort."
Murphy Jewelers tagline is "Four Generations, Over 100 Years, Three Stores, One Family.” It's easy to see how that evolved.
So what's the best thing about a new location? "Pride," says Murphy simply. "It feels like a dream come true. The new store is like a new baby. It's a breath of fresh air. It's so rewarding to see our name on the store. It's all hard work and dedication, but at the end of the day, it's worth it!"