In The Loupe, September 2014

THE RJOSUCCESSIONEXPERIENCEOctober 19-21Hyatt Lodge in Oak Brook, IL

SEE PAGE 2

FROM THE RJO CHAT CHANNELHow do you findemployees? SEE PAGE 3

JEWELER PROFILEBurkes Fine Jewelers: It’s aNorthern Neck Tradition

SEE PAGE 5

VENDOR PROFILEJewelConnect Committed to"Shop Online, Buy In-Store"

SEE PAGES 6-7

RJO BUYING SHOWAWARD AND PRIZEWINNERS

SEE PAGES 10-11

I N T H ELOUPE

September 2014 � Issue 57

FAMILY. DIVIDEND. SUPPORT. BUYING POWER.

The Ultimate Jeweler Resource

More Than Ten Million Reasons Why RJO’sMinneapolis Buying Show Was Record-SettingMINNESOTA MAY BE KNOWN as “The Land of 10,000 Lakes,” but this pastAugust 16-18, it became known as “The Land of $10 Million in Sales.”Spurred by the attendance of more than 300 stores and a record number ofvendors, this Fall’s Buying Show was a hit in many, many ways.

Themed “There’s No Business Like Show Business,” this Show offered atried-and-true schedule of educational seminars, giveaways, new andexciting vendor lines, along with Show-specific deals. A popular newfeature— the RJO Idea Center—was accompanied by the even newer RJOIdea Share meetings.

And, of course, there was the record-setting buying by attendees. RJO CEOMary Peterson says she is pleased, but not surprised by the new record. “I’veseen this coming for a few years,” she said. “Each show gets more and morevaluable for our members, and our vendors don’t hold back in offering RJOtheir best lines with their best prices.”

Be sure to mark your calendars for the next Buying Show: RJO Round-Up, January 24-26, 2015, in

San Antonio, TX.


Goals:

- Create an impactful curriculum of hands-onlearning and interactive dialogue to aid memberstores in preparing for the future of their business,as well as their own personal future.

- Aid participants in the development of a viablesuccession plan.

- Engage participants to ensure continued learningoccurs after the initial gathering.

- Create a network of fellow jewelers for mutualsupport.

Curriculum:

- Assessing your current situation

- Identifying your personal goals

- Identifying the needs and goals of otherstakeholders

- Management succession

- Defining your current income and the dependenceon the business for future income

- Valuation: How much is my company worth andexploring options for selling/transfer of assets

- Exit strategies

- Writing your plan

- Next steps: Meetings to be held and with whom

Participants:

- The program will be specifically directed to memberstores who will be completing a succession planwithin three to eight years.

- Participants need to be prepared to do pre-workprior to attending.

- Participants will write their plan during theexperience, based on information shared.

Logistics:

- Two-day event: From 3 p.m. on Sunday, October 19to noon on Tuesday, October 21.

- Host hotel: Hyatt Lodge in Oak Brook, IL.

- Participants will pay for their hotel room at a rate of$149/night.

- RJO and sponsoring vendors will host receptions,meals and breaks.

Registration:

- Registration fee: $375/person.

- Space is limited. Registrations accepted on a first-come basis.

- To register, contact Mary Peterson [email protected] or call (800) 247-1774 andask to speak with Mary Peterson.

The RJO Succession Experience: October 19-21

From the RJO Chat Channel THE CHAT CHANNEL ON THE RJO WEBSITE (www.rjomembers.com) hosts avariety of interesting discussions each month. Here’s an edited post—andresponses to it—that can be found in the RJO Jeweler Business area, underthe heading “Finding employees ...”

Post: How do you find employees? I’m looking for sales associates. I offer astarting pay of $9 an hour, depending on experience. To advertise for my smalltown on Monster Jobs is $300 for 30 days. Craigslist is another option. Facebookseems to bring in the most worthless people (i.e., people who are content withminimum wage and would prefer to just sit on their butts). I really have to siftthrough them. Feels like I go through 100 people to find the one good person. Justcurious if anyone has found a better way?

Response One: All of our employees have been customers in the past whom weget to know, and it has worked well for us. When we look for new employees, wework with our current employees, try to come up with some names, and thencontact them. This is how we have come up with our last four.

Response Two: We find that some of our best come from middle-aged folks whohave just become Empty Nesters with the last of their children off to school. Wealso find that persons with a farm upbringing are better workers.

Response Three: We post on the local college employment website. I’m having aheck of a time finding my latest replacement. I’ve been searching since April. Wegot as far as the background check on my last attempt; I’m still looking.

Response Four: Two good hunting grounds are better restaurants and retailers.I’ve had two former wait-staff folks that were great. My wife knew a saleswoman atNordstrom who was amazing. I asked her if she’s ever thought about working in ajewelry store, and she looked me in the eye and said she had, but said she couldn’tmake the 60K in commissions that she was earning in her current job. Which leadsto Part B: if you want real employees, pay real money, or least have a systemwhere they can earn real money. A full-time employee in my town earningminimum wage (or close) would have trouble making the rent.


S E R V I C E S

CENTRALIZED BILLING

PATRONAGE DIVIDEND

RJO WEBSITE (RJOMEMBERS.COM)

BUYING SHOWS (FALL/SPRING)

RJO CHAT CHANNEL

IN THE LOUPE – RJO’S NEWSLETTER

FREE PRINT AND RADIO AD LIBRARY (ONTHE RJO WEBSITE)

EDUCATIONAL SEMINARS(AT THE BUYING SHOWS)

MEMBER-TO-MEMBER INCENTIVE PROGRAM(RECRUITMENT PROGRAM)

ORGANIZED BUYING TRIPS TOANTWERP AND IDAR-OBERSTEIN, AND ISRAEL

RJO DIRECTORY

TRAVEL VOUCHERS AT SHOWS(OFFERED AT VARYING TIMES)

FREE HOTEL ROOM INCENTIVE(AT THE BUYING SHOWS)

RJO INFORMATIONAL E-MAIL BLASTS

PURCHASE VOUCHERS(AT THE BUYING SHOWS)

RJO MEMBERSHIP CERTIFICATE

EDUCATION ON THE GO PODCASTS ANDWEBINARS

PRIVATE LABEL CREDIT CARD SERVICE

JEWELCONNECT


RJO-Sponsored Trips 2014

Coming in October: RJO Goes to Europe and IsraelRJO AND PARTICIPATINGRETAILERS have experienced on-going success buying diamondsdirectly from the source, beginningin Antwerp more than a quarter-century ago. In 2006 RJO extendedthese trips to include Idar-Oberstein, Germany, the coloredgemstone capital of the world.Last year RJO initiated acompletely new trip to Israel.

More and updated information onall of these trips can be found ontrip-dedicated web pages on theRJO website, here’s a rundown ofthe trips for this fall.

First Europe TripHosted by Liz Schlauch and Jeff HorlacherAntwerp: October 4-9Idar-Oberstein: October 9-13

Second Europe TripHosted by Connie & Steve MatsenAntwerp: October 11-16Idar-Oberstein: October 16-20

Joining the buying trips to Antwerpand Idar-Oberstein allows you tofocus on your diamond businesswhile RJO takes care of the rest.

When you take advantage of thisoutstanding opportunity, you’ll

qualify for theseincentives:

• First-time travelersreceive $500 towardtravel expense

• Free 19-inchTV/DVD player, withAntwerp AdvantageDVD

• Personalized DVDfilming at FallBuying Show

• Overseas hosted dinners• “How To” marketing guide• Entry into a drawing for 1ct tw.

diamond studs

Israel TripHosted by Randy & Rozan PedersenOctober 17–25

RJO takes you along some of themost exotic backdrops of Israel,while touring three RJO vendors inone of the largest and mostimportant diamond centersworldwide —an excursion that willgive you a heady mix of businessand pleasure.

RJO and sponsoring vendors willprovide the following incentives:

• Three vendor-hosted dinnerswhile overseas

• Hosted excursions

• Personalized DVD filming atsummer shows

• Direct mail postcards

• Duratrans poster

• In-store poster


KILMARNOCK IS A TRADITIONALeast coast small town, but isdistinctive in that it sits near theshores of Chesapeake Bay. It’s fromhere that Dorothy and Fred Burkefounded their Virgina jewelrystore—Burkes Fine Jewelers—in1969. Their son, Fred, Jr., and hiswife Karen, became owners twodecades later and remain so today.

“We are a fine jewelry store,” saysBurkes’ Whitney Lang, “and wespecialize in nautical jewelry. Localsand visitors love our bay- and river-inspired pieces. In fact, RiverCollection is the name of ournautical collection.”

The store currently employs fourfull-time and two part-timeemployees, where they are joinedby Fred, Jr. and Karen.

“Our service is what truly sets usapart from other jewelers,” saysLang. “Burkes Fine Jewelers is theepitome of customer service andsatisfaction. We create friendshipswith our customers. We know themall by name and we know exactlywhat they’re looking for. When youstep into Burkes for the first time,you’ll feel like you’ve known usforever. We greet everyone with abig ol’ smile and serve everyone aNorthern Neck Ginger Ale, a favorite

local drink. Asmentioned earlier, ourspecialties are our RiverCollection and also ourcustom work. If wedon’t have exactly whatour customer is lookingfor, we create it.”

Burkes is celebrating its45th anniversary thisyear, and as part of thecelebration, the storefeatured a flash sale.

It ran for 45 minutes only, with 45percent off storewide.

“It was crazy and awesome!” saysLang. “We also held a customerappreciation day and served hotdogs and the ginger ale in specialanniversary koozies. We also wereable to share our story via multiplelocal magazines and newspapers.”

The original Burkes knew absolutelynothing about the jewelry businesswhen they opened Burkes FineJewelers in 1969. Fred was a meat-cutter at the local Safeway store for25 years, and Dorothy was asecretary at the local insurancecompany for more than 20 years.They made the decision to buyFinney’s Quality Jewelers, andBurkes Jewelers was born.

They had no idea that 45 yearslater, Burkes Fine Jewelers would bethree generations deep andgrowing faster than ever.

Burkes Fine Jewelers is located at 86South Main Street in Kilmarnock, VA.www.burkesjewelers.com Phone: (804) 435-1302 E-mail: [email protected]

Burkes: It’s a Northern Neck Tradition


MANY MEMBERS FIND RJO to be an inspiration tothem. For JewelConnect, RJO was so inspiring, theybuilt an entire business around it. What started out asa proof of concept for combining the needs of retailjewelers with data-driven technology, JewelConnecthas now grown to serve more than 600 RJO members.

The system was designed by Andrew Boundy andThomas Roethling based on data-driven technologythey were developing.

“The JewelConnect system was written as a proof ofconcept in group co-operative marketing,” says

Andrew Boundy, JewelConnect’s lead designer. “Weoffered our concept to RJO for review, and the leadersat RJO were quick to notice the advantages for boththe group and the individual RJO retailer and vendormembers. This discussion happened in early 2010,and the system was launched in the winter of thatyear. The original system was working well, but leftseveral opportunities open for further development,as most early version systems do. It was decided toreview the performance and see where to go fromthere.”

Within a year, the system was redesigned to feature amuch more modern and fluid design. Also, several

other features, such as mobileoptimization, were added to accessthose opportunities on the web. Atthat time, a series of upgradepackages were offered to RJO’s retailmembers. The initial interest inupgraded offerings was very strong,and many stores needing a betterwebsite took advantage of earlypricing incentives.

The entire system was re-written in2012 and launched asJewelConnect.com 2.0 at thePhoenix Buying Show in 2013. Thisre-write not only added many morefeatures, but resulted in a 400percent increase in overall system

JewelConnect: Committed to "Shop Online, B


traffic, which is now more than 1.5 million pages per year. Thisbrought RJO-JewelConnect to thelevel of a multi-purpose, cross-platform marketing suite of tools,which is still being developed andexpanded today.

“In 2013, JewelConnect 2.1 waslaunched,” says Boundy, “featuringthe Diamond Retailer Platform. Thisplatform allowed for a simple displayand online commerce of loosediamonds on member sites. In 2014,‘Custom’ was released, which offersall the features of JewelConnect, butmakes them available to each store’sown custom design andrequirements.”

“2015 will be exciting,” says Boundy.“We will launch version 2.2, withmany enhancements and features,leveraging the latest tech—which iswhat we do—it’s always cutting-edge,as we review it constantly.”

Boundy and Roethling take theircommitment to RJO very seriously,explaining their philosophy this way:“JewelConnect leverages cutting-edgetechnology to take maximum

advantage of new marketingopportunities for RJO members, thusproviding competitive advantage forboth the group and its members".

He continued, “RJO-JewelConnect isdesigned and executed solely for thebenefit of RJO members. It’s ultimatemission is simply to make retailersand vendors more money by usingthe Internet.”already do, or can beimplemented.”

Boundy understands that such apowerful system can be difficult forusers to fully appreciate.

“There is almost too much to knowabout the system,” he says. “Thefunctions outweigh even the mostardent of users, and to-date, nobodyhas used 100 percent of the availablefunctions. There is almost nothingthe system cannot do that othersystems—costing many, many timesmore—can.”

JewelConnect is located virtually at:www.JewelConnect.com Phone: (641) 954-5051 E-mail: [email protected]

PLAN NOW FOROUR NEXT

BUYING SHOW! RJO Round-Up

January 24-26, 2015San Antonio, TX

Future Show LocationsAugust 2015: St. Louis, MO

January 2016: Phoenix, AZ

July 2016: Indianapolis, IN

February 2017: Tampa, FL

August 2017: Denver, CO

Buy In-Store" Since 2010


Does RJO Have YourMost Up-to-Date

E-mail Addresses?To make our contacts with you more

efficient and timely, RJO is increasing theuse of e-mail as a contact medium.

From regular electronic newsletters tobuying show announcements, our

e-mail notifications are getting morecommon and more important.

If you’ve changed your e-mail address latelyor would prefer to receive RJO

communications at a different address,please let us know.

Address updates and changes can bedirected to Mary Harger in the RJO office at:

[email protected] call the RJO office at: (800)-247-1774.

THE TECH WORLD is slowly casting a shadow in two retail areasimportant to many RJO members: Watches and POS systems. Anumber of large tech companies have entered the “smartwatch”field during the past few years, and Google, among others, havebeen pushing the use of digital payment systems amongretailers.

These areas got much more attention this past month whenApple released plans for both a smartwatch and a new digital

payment system. Apple’sannouncement seems tohave increased the potentialmomentum in both areas,with the watch positionedas a fashion watch (availablein an 18-karat gold versionthat could sell forthousands of dollars), whilethe payment system isbeing supported by majorcredit card companies andmore than 220,000merchant locations.

As an RJO member who may sell watches and likely has a POSsystem, do you have any observations about the future of techcompanies in your retail world? This topic may be covered in afuture issue. Send your comments to Christopher Green, In TheLoupe editor: [email protected]

When the Tech World andRetail Jewelers Collide


Allain's Jewelry &Trophy ShopR.S. Allain Sr. & Emma HanksNew Iberia, LA

Bechdel JewelersDave Ettinger & Lori EttingerInwood, WV

Cottage Hill DiamondsKurt Hill & Andrew HillElmhurst, ILReferred by Ben Behnam, B & B Mfg., Los Angeles, CA

Henderson & Co.JewelersAnne HendersonMechanicsburg, PA

Huntington FineJewelersLantz & Lisa SmithOklahoma City, OK

J L Winters JewelersJodi WintersMuncy, PAReferred by George Prout, Gems One, New York, NY

Jamestown JewelryJames & Laura OviattAmerican Fork, UTReferred by Shawn Clark, HeavyStone Rings, Orem, UT

Janes Jewelers Inc.James & Kathy RobbinsBakersfield, CA

Ryan's Jewelry, Inc.Erika HaapalaSault Sainte Marie, MI

Wilmette Jewelers, Inc.Gayle InbinderWilmette, ILReferred by Sherry Frantz, Frantz Diamonds & Jewelry,Roanoke, VA & David Huston,Gems One, New York, NY

NEW MEMBERS

Thank you to the jewelersreferring new members to ourgroup. These jewelers willreceive a $1,000 finder’s fee fortheir referral, payable after anew member has been in goodstanding for at least sixmonths.

Chee Kong Chook, husband of Joyce Ng ofLivingstone Jewelry in Los Angeles, CA, died July 24in California. He was 48.

David Lynch, owner of Lynch Jewelry in CouncilBluffs, IA, died August 10, 2014. He was 66.

MILESTONES

Our thoughts go out to the families.

CLASSIFIEDSWANTED: Bench Jeweler. Full- or part-time in Poteau, OK. Contact Jack’s Jewelers at: (918) 647-2701.

FOR SALE: Jewelry Store. Located in southwest Iowa. Mom and Pop are retiring! Includes building (newroof), fixtures, 2 new Hermes engravers, and inventory. Contact Connie Berggren at: (712) 623-5000.


VENDORS OF THE YEARLoose Goods:RDI Diamonds

Finished Goods: Ostbye

Finished Goods: Allison-Kaufman

Clock/Watch:Citizen Watch Co.

Service/Specialty Products: EDGE by Abbott &Shapiro

RJO Award WinnersBOARD OF DIRECTORS AWARDPrashant MehtaDiamond Expressions

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARDMartin JacobsonMartin E. Jacobson Ltd.

2013 RJO SALES REPRESENTATIVES OF THE YEAR (tie)

Tim Marr Mark OlsenOstbye Schurhammer Mfg.

DIAMOND IMPORTER OF THE YEARSponsored by Schurhammer Mfg. Inc.

Barb & Rob HaysVictor Settle Jewelry


Three (3) pairs of Nano Collection EarringsDonated by Aladdin Gold- Dean & Linda Benter, Van Denover Jewelry- Deb Brushert, JR Brushert- Bower Jewelers

14K Rose Gold Cylinder PendantDonated by Kinsley & Sons- McArthur Jewelers

$100 American Express Gift CardDonated by Jewelers Mutual- Glen Hoover, Hoover Jewelers

.51ct Round, Brilliant Floating Diamond PendantDonated by Paul Reiser & Assoc.- Jay Flaming, Jay Flaming Jewelers

Personal Ultrasonic CleanerDonated by Gesswein- Dean Benter, Van Denover Jewelry

Four (4) Glimmer Diamond PendantsDonated by Landstrom’s – Mt. Rushmore Jewelry- Kent Jewelry- JB Kaiser Jewelers- Nummi Jewelers- Dave’s Jewelry

Thee-night Stay at K-Bars Resort, Factory Tour, LimoRide to Mt. RushmoreDonated by Landstrom’s – Mt. Rushmore Jewelry- Rich & Jean McIntosh, McIntosh Jewelry

Five Cuff Collection from PAOLODonated by Charles Garnier- Bob Heiser, Crescent Jewelry

CASH GIVEAWAY WINNERS — JEWELERS:$100 – Cathy Ishii, Van Drake Jewelers; Craig Ishii, VanDrake Jewelers$200 – Terry Dickens, Herteen & Stocker Jewelers; RandyArnett Jewelers; Dean Benter, Van Denover Jewelry;Theresa Swank, Swank’s JewelryGrand Prize $500 – Sari Reynolds, Kuhn’s Jewelers

CASH GIVEAWAY WINNERS — VENDORS:$50 – Jiggs Jorgensen, Box Brokers; Tim Reidl, JewelersMutual; Stick Lorenzo, United Precious Metals; PraveenTiwari, Diamour

MEET-A-VENDOR CHALLENGE: $250 – Signature Jewelers$500 – Gem DenGrand Prize $750 – MKS Jewelers

CHARITY DONATIONRJO was proud to donate $1,230 to the

ALS Ice Bucket Challenge Fund.

MinneapolisBuying Show

SponsorsRJO thanks the vendors below for their generous

sponsorships of the RJO Minneapolis Buying Show. Their support is greatly appreciated andprovides the retail membership with wonderful perks

throughout the show.

A & D GEM CORPORATIONAGEM

ALLISON-KAUFMANBENY SOFER, INC.

COLOR MERCHANTSCONCEPT MARKETING

DARLING IMPORTSDEBBIE BROOKS

DIAMOND EXPRESSIONSDIZEO

EDGE BY ABBOTT & SHAPIRO FRANK REUBEL DESIGNS

GAGE & GAGEGEMS ONEINTERINGS

JEWELERS MUTUAL INSURANCEJEWELEX

K. GIRDHARLALNORTH AMERICAN JEWELERS

OFER MIZRAHI DIAMONDS, INC.OSTBYTE

QUALITY GOLDRDI DIAMONDS

SCHURHAMMER MFG. INC.STULLER, INC.

TD RETAIL CARD SERVICESYCH, INC.

RJO Prize Winners


OCTOBER 2014

10All payments must be received inRJO Office

16National Boss Day

22Vendor Show Registration opens

23All invoices must be received inRJO Office

31Halloween

The Ultimate Jeweler Resource

NOVEMBER 2014

Retail Member Show Registrationopens

10All payments must be received inRJO Office

21- All invoices must be received in

RJO Office

- Vendor Show Registration closes

27-28Thanksgiving - RJO Office closed

PRST STD US POSTAGE

PAIDBRAINERD MNPERMIT NO 472

SAVE THE DATESJAN 24-26, 2015

CALENDAR

Documents

In The Loupe, September 2014