The
Client
Founded during the Great Depression, Gleim the Jeweler was opened in 1931, in
Palo Alto, CA. Three generations later, the prestigious jewelry company is still
operated as a family business under the leadership of Georgie Gleim. In addition
to her leadership as president of Gleim the Jeweler, Georgie Gleim became president
of the American Gem Society, and received the coveted Robert M. Shipley Award.
In the interim years, the company gained a national reputation,
holding the distinguished honor of being the only jeweler
where the founder served as President of the American Gem
Society (AGS), President of the Jewelers of America (JA),
and Chairman of the Board of the Gemological Institute
of America (GIA).
Today, the company continues to operate as an AGS jeweler,
selling fine diamonds, distinguished Swiss watch brands
like Rolex® and Breitling® as well as estate jewelry. Additionally,
Gleim the Jeweler offers gemological technical services
through the company’s accredited AGS gem laboratory.
In 2009, the company decided to close the founder’s original
store located on University Avenue in Palo Alto, CA because
of declining downtown traffic due to changing demographics
and the 2008 recession.
The Gordon Company Assignment
To assist Georgie Gleim and the company’s management team
to:
- Close the downtown University Street store
- Liquidate excess, duplicated, and slow selling fine
jewelry, watches, and gold jewelry inventory from the
company’s three stores
- Maximize the recovery value of the inventory sold during
the sale
- Minimize the impact of the store closing and liquidation
sale on the brand image and values of Gleim the Jeweler
The scope of The Gordon Company’s assignment included,
- Providing a sales management and supervisory team
- Designing and developing a one of a kind marketing
and advertising, strategy for the Store Closing Event
- Collaborating with the Gleim management to identify
slow moving, duplicated, and toxic inventory in the company’s
three stores
- Establishing a pricing strategy to optimize the sale
and return on the sales of the company’s slow moving
and toxic inventory
- Developing financial statements such as program income
statement specifying the store closing events projected
sales, volume estimates, average discounts, margin rates,
expenses, and income
- Designing, producing, and delivering in-store communications
collateral, print, and where appropriate, other creative
for local use in the Stanford and Palo Alto markets
- Preparing sales, media and staffing budgets along
with the requisite daily, weekly, and monthly financial
controls and objectives
- Managing and controlling the sale in order to react
to changes in local market conditions during the sales
to optimize results
Considerations
- Jewelry sales were in decline in the older, University
Street location
- The company targeted high-end consumers, stressing
the value of artisanship, quality, and service as a part
of a premium priced product offer
- Preservation of family image and values were essential
to the future continuity of Gleim the Jeweler
The Gordon Company Solution and Accomplishments:
| |
1. |
Developed a
store closing plan tied to rigorous projected sales,
volume estimates, average discounts, margin rates,
expenses, and income statements |
| |
2. |
Designed, developed, and
implemented a one of a kind marketing, and advertising,
program to implement the store closing sale |
| |
3. |
Planned supervisory and
sales personnel support for the store closing sale |
| |
4. |
Managed sales performance,
increasing advertising to maximize local store sales
due to real time sales performance |
| |
5. |
Short-term, the store closing
sale’s plan exceeded original sales projections by
about 200% or 96.6% higher than the projected sales
for the event |
| |
6. |
Net sales for the store-closing
event were 170% of the volume for the previous year |
| |
7. |
Long-term, the marketing
program created an expanded customer base for the flagship
store |
| |
According to Georgie Gleim…
“ The Gordon Company started with a sales plan
that was many times higher than our store had ever
done before. When the closing sale was over, we
had nearly doubled that significant goal. We made
the right decision in choosing The Gordon Company
to manage our store closing for us. I definitely
would use them again.” |
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