When Jorge Adeler found out that his Great Falls, Virginia-based
store, Adeler Jewelers, had won a 2004 Washingtonian magazine award for “Top
Choice for Pearl Jewelry,” he was pleasantly surprised—but not at all shocked.
After all, pearls are a tenderly tended-to category at this high-end retailer
specializing in custom design, which regularly welcomes well-known shoppers from
all points on Washington D.C.’s political and social spectrum. Three of 11 cases
in his store are devoted to pearls, which include a dizzying array of white and
golden South Seas, black Tahitians, Japanese akoyas, Chinese akoyas, keshis,
kasumigas (a rare Japanese freshwater variety), biwas, mabes, and creative
freshwater shapes such as petals, butterflies, and crosses.
The reason for his success, says Adeler, is no hush-hush secret. It is his love
and commitment to these lustrous, organic, beautiful gems that makes his sales
soar. In fact, he is so devoted, that a member of his staff travels every three
months to top pearl farming centers such as Tahiti and Malaysia to purchase
pearls on site. “I really love pearls. They are seductive, elegant jewels that
are very versatile,” he says. “Wherever a diamond goes, a pearl can go, and
people can switch to pearl jewelry for a fraction of the cost but the same
elegant presentation.”
Of course, you needn’t hop on a plane and set foot on a pearl farm to show your
commitment to pearls. But if you’re looking to take your pearl sales to the next
level, retailers and manufacturers say you need to take the category
seriously—both in terms of your monetary investment as well as your attention to
education and presentation. Once you do, you’ll see sales increase. “Pearls are
actually pretty easy to sell because most women like pearls, as long as you are
consistent with the quality you offer, have a variety of pieces, and can explain
to customers the difference between your product and a lesser item,” says Greg
Knox of Knox Jewelers in Atlanta, who estimates that 20 percent of his inventory
is pearls, retailing anywhere from $105 to $51,000.
And there are two great reasons to go full-throttle into the pearl game. One is
to differentiate yourself from your competition. “Not everyone in town sells a
lot of pearls, and since pearls are organic they’re not identical to anything
else on the market,” says Elizabeth Parker of Curt Parker Jewelers, St. Louis,
Missouri. You’ll also find good profitability in the pearl category. “If you’re
looking at the return on your investment, you can assuredly get the traditional
full markup with pearls, unlike other products,” says Kathy Grenier, marketing
and public relations manager for the Cultured Pearl Association of America. Knox
agrees: “Our profit margins are strong with pearls unless it’s a super-expensive
piece. That’s because it’s not anything that someone can just go and shop for,
such as on-line, because you’d have to have the pearls side by side.”
But many jewelers persist in a narrow perception of pearls, which translates
into a minimal presentation in a small department, says Grenier. That does their
business a disservice, she insists: “When many retailers think about pearls they
just consider the basics, a department consisting of studs, bracelets, and a few
strands. You need to open your eyes a little wider and consider the wide variety
of new pearl jewelry, everything from Tahitian pearls combined with
platinum-wrapped sterling to baroque pearls and high-end fashion pieces.”
For Parker, pearls have long served as a way to differentiate her store from the
competition. “About 20 years ago, when we moved from being a trade jeweler to a
retail situation, we looked around and said where is the niche that we can
fill?” she recalls. “Nobody in our area had more than five strands of pearls.
Everyone loves to sell diamonds and their custom designs. Since I’ve always
loved pearls, we decided to invest to fill that niche.” Today, Curt Parker
Jewelers boasts a million-dollar (at retail) inventory and the store is
well-known for its pearl selection.
Many retailers find selling pearls to be challenging because of stereotypical
perceptions (pearls as “grandma’s jewelry”) as well as a general lack of
knowledge of pearls versus diamonds. “The challenge about pearls is that people
have always known them to be so formal, so I needed to broaden that horizon for
my customers with a great representation of other kinds of pearls,” says Amy
Dudzik, assistant jewelry buyer at Borsheim’s, Omaha, Nebraska. “Pearls were
also originally my biggest struggle as a buyer because at first I wasn’t
educated enough in everything there was to understand about them.”
PEARL PERCEPTIONS
Renee Sethi Moondra, vice president of marketing for Tara & Sons, New York,
believes retailers need to overcome the average consumer’s lack of understanding
about the value of pearls. “The diamond Rap list is accessible, but there is no
such list for pearls,” she says. “Pearls, though a valuable commodity, are not
perceived to be high-end unless you have the knowledge.”
However, if you pass on that knowledge and change those perceptions, any
retailer can take their pearl sales from passable to phenomenal. Here are eight
ways to do just that:
1. Stock up. “You can’t sell pearls if you don’t have pearls,” says Parker. “The
idea of ‘I’ll get it for you’ doesn’t work with pearls. Customers need to see
product to get a sense of the price point and the difference between items.”
Make sure you have enough space to show off your prized inventory, says Grenier.
“Creating excitement in the pearl department starts with devoting an appropriate
amount of case real estate. You need to make a statement so you’ll be able to
talk it up out front.”
2. Learn to love pearls (if you don’t already). “If you don’t like pearls, it’ll
be hard to sell them,” says Parker. Eve Alfillé of Eve J. Alfillé Gallery &
Studio, Evanston, Illinois, agrees: “While they are also knowledge-based, pearls
are really an emotional sell. You have to fight the perception of pearls as an
obligatory purchase for a college graduation, but something you can love as a
self-purchase for any occasion. Showing customers your own feelings of
excitement about pearls can help.”
3. Show them off. For Adeler, the way you handle and present pearls is key: “If
a customer of mine comes in, I’ll say, ‘do I have something fantastic to show
you.’ I’ll take two large baroque 15.5mm freshwaters out of my safe. Their
luster is out of this world. Then I’ll say, ‘open your hands,’ and I’ll
carefully drop them in. Then I’ll say, ‘feel them.’” When you treat pearls with
that kind of awe and respect, he continues, “it leaves them with a feeling of
wow.” With that kind of introduction, a sale is not that far off.
4. Explain the value of pearls, especially to men. “The biggest problem I have
is that men don’t understand pearls,” says Parker. “It’s a total mystery to them
because they have no experience with it.” That’s where education comes in, where
you can explain why the price tag is what it is, including the differences in
luster, shape, and size. Keep a guide to cultured pearl quality nearby (such as
one provided by the CPAA) to show as you present the difference between pearls
side by side.
5. Let customers touch, and really see, pearls. “Looking through a case at
pearls is one thing, but when they touch it and try them on, it wows them,” says
Dudzik. Pearls also are best seen on a person, not just in the case. “If the
woman is in the store, you have to come around from behind the counter and put
them on her,” says Alfillé. “Or, get the youngest, prettiest member of your
female staff and have her model them.”
6. Wear pearls in your store. “I wear pearls almost every day. I really pile
them on,” says Candy Udell of London Jewelers, Long Island, New York. “I have
black, yellow, white, you can wear them long, you can wear them short. It helps
to show your customer what you can do with them, because they are so beautiful.”
Grenier agrees, adding that she wears her Tahitians all the time with jeans,
shorts, dresses, and suits. “I get such an interesting reaction, like, ‘Oh,
that’s different.’ Whether it’s a classic or edgy look, it’s always unique.”
7. Let women know what pearls can do. “When a woman puts on pearls, she glows,
even if she wakes up tired,” says Alfillé. “That’s important to women.” And
luckily, there are pearl colors to match every woman’s complexion. “There are so
many vast varieties out there, and there’s something for everyone,” Dudzik
explains. “Some people look best in bright white while others will look best in
cream, or almost the yellows, depending on their skin tone.”
8. Target your customers. “My customer doesn’t walk through the door and say ‘Oh
my gosh, I think I want some pearls,’” says Parker. “Instead, choose those
people who you think should be wearing pearls.” Perhaps it’s a missing area in
their wardrobe, she suggests, or that they have coloring that would be flattered
by pearls. You can also open the conversation by asking who the item is for,
since which pearl is best depends on the customer. “Ask whether the gift is for
the nanny, the receptionist, or his wife,” says Dudzik. “Find out how old the
recipient is, and what her wardrobe style is like.”