Articles and News
SARAH LEONARD JEWELERS PROVES YOU CAN BE ALL THINGS TO ALL PEOPLE October 10, 2012 (1 comment)
Westwood Village, CA--Sarah Leonard Fine Jewelers is all over the map in its inventory selection, but in a good way. Over the years, when people ask its president, David Friedman, “Are you low, middle or high end,” his quick response is simply “Yes.” While that philosophy runs counter to today's conventional business wisdom of not trying to be all things to all people, it's made this store a continued success.
The store is located in Westwood Village, California, in a town where the main campus of the University of California Los Angeles is right up the street. Also nearby are Beverly Hills and Bel Air, whose shoppers generally spend a bit more than a UCLA student. To keep both customer levels happy, Friedman stocks a wide range of merchandise.
“We have silver jewelry starting at $10 and quarter million dollar pieces in the safe. We call our merchandise mix ‘eclectic,’” says Friedman with a smile.
His eclectic merchandise mix relies on “tons of bridal” along with a heavy mix of estate piece and a splash of designer lines and watches. “We carry ten major bridal brands and they are very well stocked. We have tons of other fashion pieces as well. We do lots of custom work. A huge part of our business is estate, about a third.”
Friedman spends a lot of time – and money – buying jewelry off the street. “We buy lots of privately owned pieces. So much every day. Lots of one-of-a-kind items.” Along with individuals off the street, Friedman has regular sources that come to him, offering yet more merchandise for sale. “We do advertise that we buy,” says Friedman. “We have probate attorneys that come to us. In this economy, people want to sell. Old dental work, big diamonds, everything. Sometimes the sellers are getting rid of bad memories. We end up buying lots of bridal and diamonds.”
He says that writing checks every day makes him very popular and admits he’ll keep buying until he runs out of money. “We’re buying at lower prices today than we can when the economy is better,” says Friedman. “We turn it quicker and sell it faster because of the better values the clients receive.”
Customers of Sarah Leonard Fine Jewelers know to look for the one-of-a-kind pieces that they can always find in stock. In fact, Friedman tells of a repeat customer, originally a local, who now flies in from Texas twice a year, generally spending six figures.
When asked how much of the ‘new’ stock gets melted, the surprising answer is very little – at least initially. “If it’s in good condition, we let it “cook” in the showcases for up to 12 months,” says Friedman. “After a year in the case, 90% of our customers have seen it and then we decide. We try to resell it if it has the slightest jewelry value to it.”
The ongoing fresh inventory has created a bit of a space problem. “Our cases are overflowing,” says Friedman. “We even had to buy a new vault because we were out of room.” Even now, some stock stays in the safe waiting for room in the showcases.
A rare quiet moment at Sarah Leonard Fine Jewelers.
Along with jewelry, Friedman stocks some fashion watches: Seiko, Philip Stein, Fossil, Maui Beach and Kenneth Cole. “Students like fashion watches,” says Friedman. He also carries a number of estate and antique watches from the 1800’s forward.
Sarah Leonard Fine Jewelers reaches their diverse customer base through various media, efforts led by Friedman’s wife, Gail. “Gail is very heavily into all the different types of media: email blasts, direct mail, radio, TV spots, Google and social media including Facebook and Twitter,” says Friedman. They also do a lot of special events (Henderson Designs this month, Tacori next month, annual Holiday parties, regular trunk shows, some by-invitation-only events) and appear regularly in the midst of UCLA men’s and women’s basketball games. “The announcer comes on and asks the audience, ‘Does anyone know what time it is?’” says Friedman. “The camera man then pans the student section, finally setting on one face that will be the winner of the UCLA watch. At that point, everyone knows ‘It’s Sarah Leonard watch giveaway time.”
Friedman says that the biggest social media response that the store gets is from Yelp. “People are coming in all the time; if we don’t know them, we try to ask how they heard of us. At least once a day, someone mentions Yelp.”
Friedman credits his staff with handling the busy pace at the store, depending on his mostly long time employees. “We don’t like to have high staff turnover. We’re more friends than bosses to our associates, although of course we are their bosses. We have staff meetings every two weeks to keep everyone updated.” Sarah Leonard Fine Jewelers staff of ten boasts eight graduate gemologists, two certified gemologists and one certified gemologist appraiser.
The Family at Sarah Leonard: Lenny (Leonard) and Sunny (Sarah) Friedman, front center. Back row: David and Gail Friedman, Jeff, Linda and Dean Abell.
Those around the industry may best remember Sarah Leonard Fine Jewelry by its former name, Crescent Westwood, along with the contest surrounding its name change and rebranding, allowing a lucky winner to receive a $5,000 shopping spree. “It’s been 14 years,” said Friedman. “The name change has worked out very nicely for us. At the time, we received thousands of phone calls, most with people making sure we were not selling the business or changing owners. We’ll be starting our 66th year next month. When we initially talked about changing the name to Sarah Leonard (Friedman’s parents' first names), they felt it was too self servicing. After much discussion, we talked them into it and it was a winner.”
And on the subject of his parents, Friedman shared a gem of wisdom he received from his father, one that likely puts all that new jewelry in the showcases, rather than the scrap pile. “My daddy always told me that if I only put jewelry in the case that I like, I’ll lose business. My taste isn’t better or worse than anyone else’s taste, it’s just mine.”
A history of Sarah Leonard Jewelers, as written by David Friedman for a recent Rotary speech: "I'm going to tell you a fairy tale about our illustrious Sunny & Lenny and Sarah Leonard Jewelers. Once upon a time, in 1946, Lenny & Sunny opened a tiny 'mom & pop' jewelry store in Westwood Village. Even THEY wouldn't have believed then that SLJ would grow and prosper to become the oldest merchant in Westwood, recognized in many newspaper and magazine articles as the largest, friendliest and most respected jeweler in Westwood.
Our staff of ten includes eight graduate gemolgists, a title conferred only after extensive education and examination by the Gemological Institute of America. The store is also a member of the nation's highly respected American Gem Society.
As years passed, daughter Linda, son David, daughter-in-law Gail and grandson Dean all followed Lenny's example and became graduate gemologists. Along with son-in-law Jeff, they are all UCLA alumni, and they are all part of the SLJ family. And so, it was no longer just 'mom & pop.' It became 'mom and pop, the kids and grandkids!'
Visiting SLJ is like visiting family, or old friends. The warm, friendly atmosphere has engendered tremendous client loyalty and trust. The family works tirelessly for both the community and the industry that they love so much! Lenny's wholehearted devotion to them led to his installation as president of the local chamber of commerce, the Westwood Kiwanis Club, the Jewelers 24K Club and the California Jewelers Association. He is also, of course, a devoted member of the Rotary Club. And the list goes on and on--no wonder they call him Mr. Westwood!
Son David also served as president of Westwood's Kiwanis Club, and of the American Gem Society Guild, and as a director of the American Red Cross, and the Jeweler's 24K Club, serves on the board of directors of the Westwood Business Improvement District and of course, Rotary!
Sunny, daughter Linda, and daughter-in-law Gail, have become highly sought-after speakers, having addressed industry groups across the nation and abroad, because of their knowledge and enthusiasm for the industry they love. Son-in-law Jeff was a director of the Jewelers Education Foundation of the American Gem Society. Gail currently serves on the board of directors of the California Jewelers Association, the Westwood Community Council, the Friends of Westwood Library and the Jewelers for Children charities, which has raised over $40,000,000 since 1999.
Lenny and Sunny are members of the National Jewelers Hall of Fame!
The first California Jewelers Trade Tour was Lenny and Sunny's excuse to take their first vacation in 22 years! And it became the first of numerous worldwide buying trips! As chairmen of the Trade Tours, they visited diamond mines, opal mines, sapphire mines, gem cutting centers and jewelry manufacturers all over the world. More recently those duties became Gail and David's! They met with heads of state, business and industry leaders in over 32 countries around the globe.
And so this little 'mom & pop shop' grew up to be internationally known and respected. Now, as their fame spread, from Westwood Village across the nation and around the world, the story of Sunny and Lenny's unique success and joy, living and working side by side, was broadcast on TV for all to see.
NBC-TV ran a 10 part series on romance. To their surprise and delight, Sunny and Lenny were selected as the 'Ideal Couple' that has it all: life's work together, children and still a 'good old fashioned romance.' Sometime later, CBS-TV filmed them with their children and their spouses, as a family who share a great love for life, and for each other. CBS said, 'Some people may call it traditional, old fashioned, or even corny, but whatever it is, it's worked!'
AND THEY LIVED HAPPILY EVER AFTER!!"