For the “Final Thoughts” feature in the 2023 Retailer Hall of Fame issue, National Jeweler polled past inductees to find out what about the jewellery business is keeping them awake at 3 a.m. these days.
Here’s what they had to say.
“The alarming increase in attacks on shoppers in the mall, inside or outside, and being followed and then attacked as they drive home. It’s happening more and more [and it’s] very worrying that shoppers are stopping to shop because of fear”.
“There’s been a trend towards higher price points, which of course sounds like a big problem; the concern is that it’s been coupled with lower unit sales and fewer transactions overall. Thinking about how this will play out in the future if the higher-priced sales start to slip is something I think about quite a lot”.- Christina Gandia Gambale, Greenwich St. Jewellers
“The access to see things online, yes, it’s wonderful, it’s great for learning and inspiration and for people who don’t have great places to see things. But it takes away the ‘Oh my God, I’ve never seen anything like this before’ [reaction] in person when you go to see it. – Lauren Kulchinsky Levison, Mayfair Rocks
“Highly desirable, premium product remains [hard to come by] and the shortage of experienced goldsmiths is being felt throughout the industry. We’re not losing any sleep over it … [but] we may be tossing and turning a bit trying to figure out how to be first in line when new items become available.” – Larry Pelzel, Neiman Marcus
