Retail Rap: Getting Your Store Ready for the Holidays

Brian Smith 

General manager
B. Jewelers, New Jersey 

It all starts over the summer. We run reports and see in our computer system what did really well last year and what’s doing really well this year. We have to make sure we’re stocked up on our core items: tennis bracelets, earrings and studs. We reorder the giftables that we get only around the holiday season, such as seasonal earrings that are holiday-themed, or Christmas ornaments, things like that.

We have windows, and we’ll hang garlands. All our marketing inside the store – all the posters and everything that’s hung up – has a holiday theme to it. We usually do a customer appreciation dinner, so we’ll invite some of our top customers and rent out a space, like a restaurant, and it’ll just be a thank-you for being our customer.

[We start our marketing to clients in] December; after Thanksgiving, it starts getting on people’s minds, so they start thinking about Christmas and Hanukkah and start coming in.

Bill O’Brien 

Watch department manager and buyer 
Moyer Fine Jewelers, Indiana 

In my department, I look at key sellers, some of the top movers, and make sure we have enough of those in stock. We also look at the previous year’s trends and buyers. A lot of times, we’ll reach out to them, especially if they came to an event; we’ll reinvite them to the same event the next year, or maybe a different event, depending on what we think their buying habits may be. But we’re constantly looking at data and marketing. We market like crazy to our clients.

We do decorate for the season, and on top of that, we have several events. We are an event-driven store, so we’ll start in October with a large three-day watch event, and we’ll have everything from food to alcohol and sodas, and we’ll bring in special pieces. We bring in some of the vendors as well so they can explain some of their products and their companies. Of course, we have Black Friday in November. We’ll probably do a David Yurman event at some point in November or December. We do men’s night and ladies’ night, so we’ll have five or six events to prime for the season. The events are very, very well attended. So we’re very fortunate.

Leslie Gordon 

Third-generation co-owner 
Orr’s Jewelers, Pennsylvania 

We use our week in Las Vegas for Luxury, JCK and Couture to look for trends, shop our current designers’ new collections, and find new manufacturers and designers to fill gaps in our inventory. Buying for the holiday season usually begins [in New York during the spring] and ramps up at the Las Vegas shows. We use the summer to work with our white-label and memo vendors to fill in and stock up on the ABC goods.

We add holiday décor to our exterior-facing windows and sparingly throughout our stores, usually enough to make it feel festive without being overly cluttered. We want the jewelry to speak for itself! Holiday plants like poinsettias or florals add some extra texture without being distracting. Our clientele is multicultural, so we don’t want our decorations to feel overly religious one way or another.

We focus on one flagship holiday event for our top clients. The event is over two nights – one at each of our locations – with catering, valet parking and live music. Our top designers send extended, high-end trunks and a representative, many of whom have been visiting our stores for multiple years and are familiar with our clients. During the prior weeks, [our sales associates check] with their clients if there are particular items on their wish lists for us to request. Our holiday event is usually the week following Thanksgiving. We also print and design a holiday magazine, which hits homes around the first week of November.

Natasha Henderson 

Owner 
Saxon’s Fine Jewelers, Oregon 

Many of us just went to the JCK show, so I definitely start as early as June looking at [the big] sellers and trends and what we’re going to reorder. Typically, I start looking at where my inventory level is and then assess how many [additional products] I might bring in that I know are going to sell [well] for the season – for instance, diamond studs. I think it’s really important for our salespeople to know what the go-tos are…because it helps them be efficient and quick, and [they] know they’re going to hit a home run with those pieces because they’re well-liked.

[For décor,] we have a couple of gals [on staff] who put a plan together, and usually as they’re decorating for Christmas, they’re putting a new plan together for the following year. So they research trends and pick out colors, and then they look at the aesthetic as well as the product that we’ve been selling. We try to make it a whole experience when you walk in the store – that it looks different and feels special and luxurious and puts people in the mood for the holiday spirit. We’re constantly doing events. We live in a town where there’s a lot going on every day, but people want to be out and about; they want to be seen and to see what’s new and exciting and fresh. So usually for Christmas time, we’re more in a clienteling mode; we try to make every day seem special, serving champagne and bringing in special whiskey and [spending time with clients] one-on-one.

Salvo Vergadavola 

Director of sales 
O.C. Tanner Jewelers, Utah 

We begin preparing for the holiday season in early fall, when our team starts reaching out to vendors to request especially unique, exclusive and gift-worthy pieces that will make the season feel truly memorable for our customers.

As the holidays approach, the entire store is transformed with a carefully curated decorative theme. Whether the inspiration is an elegant Art Deco Christmas, a warm traditional holiday look, or another festive concept, all three levels of the store are thoughtfully redecorated to create a magical and immersive experience. We also begin connecting with customers in November, sharing holiday updates, invitations and gift inspirations so they can enjoy the excitement, beauty and sparkle of the season with us. Our celebrations officially begin with our biggest event of the year: our holiday party during the first week of December. The chosen theme carries through every detail of the evening, from the music and drinks to the catering and overall atmosphere. Invites are highly coveted, and many of our clients consider it the unofficial kickoff of the holiday season. 

Main image, from left: Brian Smith, Bill O’Brien, Salvo Vergadavola, Leslie Gordon (top) and Natasha Henderson. (Craig Smith; Moyer Fine Jewelers; O.C. Tanner Jewelers; Orr’s Jewelers; Saxon’s Fine Jewelers)