Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays!
Two Weeks!
We have two weeks until Christmas day…two whole weeks! I know this holiday selling season has been “hurry up and wait”, with five weeks from Thanksgiving to Christmas, but it’s beginning to feel a lot like Christmas in jewelers across the country. It’s going to get busier every day from here. It’s hard to believe it’s been three weeks since Thanksgiving! That is why many days have seemed like November, not December on your sales floor. But put on you Santa Cap and straighten your Christmas tie, cause the holidays are finally HERE!
I am always amazed at how often I get calls on black Friday and Saturday from frustrated jewelers…”where are the customers”. Every year I say the same thing…”Black Weekend” is for bargain shoppers and families… men watch football or drive the family ” truckster ” around from mall to mall. They don’t shop for jewelry.
Front Loading
Our holiday season really begins the Monday after Thanksgiving when we can start building our holiday business. Remember, that’s why I preach “front loading” December with trunk shows, sales, and events…anything to drive traffic and interest early in the month. This year, the ever audacious Alan Perry, of Perry’s Emporium in Wilmington, NC, blew us all away when he announced to his marketing team…”this Christmas, I’m going to give away a Camaro!” His idea was bold and simple. Have two Ladies Nights on back to back Thursday Nights and invite every woman in Wilmington. The hook? Fill out a Perry’s Wish List card with at least three items and you are entered to win a new 2012 Camaro. They will hold the drawing Sunday December 23rd at the store! As usual, Alan and marketing director Vonda Lessard blanketed the airwaves with Radio, TV and every other medium. The result…a line around the block to get in the store! Over 350 came for the first Ladies Night and almost 500 the second evening as word spread.
Ladies lining up for Perry’s Emporiums first ” Win a Camaro Ladies Night”. Note the Red Camaro down the sidewalk.
Ladies even brought husbands while Perry’s toughest challenge was waiting on the clients!
Be Bold or Get Old
What Alan proves, once again, is that bold results require us to take bold chances. Between this event and his now famous “Let It Snow” promotion, do you think there is anyone talking about any other jeweler in his market? Not a chance. These events take planning, capital and lots of advertising, but the results speak for themselves. Alan front loaded his month, attracted hundreds of new prospects and won the battle for the “mind” of the marketplace. Vonda reports Perry’s Emporiums holiday sales are way ahead of last year…and we still have two weeks to go.
Your Final Stretch
Ok, so while you may not be giving away a Camaro this year, you have two whole weeks ahead to make your season bright. Pull out the stops! Turn up the Christmas music, charge up your team every morning and get in that holiday spirit. This is the happiest time of year in every jewelry store, when all your best friends and clients make the pilgrimage to your store for that taste of the Holiday tradition that only you can provide. Whether your store is 10 years old or 100, you are the place with the “good stuff”. Your’s is the store that matters. Yours is the store for that last, special gift….THE GIFT. The gift they actually put a little aside for. This is the gift they are going to hide way back under the Christmas tree until the very last moment. The gift given in love and cherished for a lifetime. You’ve worked hard for this moment, and I assure you they are coming. They always come…every year…in the last two weeks.
Eat right, stay healthy and get your sleep. You’re going to need it!
Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays!