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26 www.thejewelrybook.com H O W T O B E A G R E A T R E T A I L E R I N D U S T RY N E W S I am delighted to join The Jewelry Book team. I am particularly enthused to meet Nicole Bromstad, whom I am calling my new soul mate considering our shared concern with the rapidly changing retail dynamic. We are both also passionately committed to helping merchants and to challenging retail stereotypes. For example, retail is not shrinking, bricks and mortar is not dying, millennials do value jewelry, and the future is only bleak for jewelers who keep doing business the same way they have always done. Retail is evolving and the best advice I can offer is that if you want to be a great retailer, stop thinking like a jeweler. The old paradigm is dead and clinging to it will perpetuate the number of store closings. While there is much to discuss about why stores are closing, I'll address one of the main culprits here and we can further explore other reasons in future issues. Jewelers can't continue to try to be all things to all people. Customers want speed and convenience (that's not just 'millennial-speak') as we are less willing to wade through endless choices. Online shopping has re-calibrated expecta- tions and the online paradigm impacts visits to retail stores. Some believe the Internet actually increases our retail choices, but I have one word for you that defi es that belief: algorithms. When visiting Amazon, we are not invited to peruse 4 million options, we are offered a small number that are carefully and algorithmically selected for each user. Too many choices can be paralyzing as we are not geneti- cally conditioned to want an endless array. Perhaps the single most important move a retailer can make is to clarify his or her story or point of view to stand out better in the minds of consumers and in online search algorithms. Crafting a compelling perspective is not easy—it requires a great deal of thought, discussion and debate—but if you don't defi ne your story then the market will do it for you. And considering that the latter option comes with an unhealthy dose of indifference, it's a surfi re death knell for store owners. Once you've decided on a unique voice—like private label fashion forward gold and diamond designs- implement it in two parallel moves. The fi rst is to ruthlessly edit your story in as clear a manner as is possible for immediate understanding. The second step is to mercilessly rid your- self of inventory that does not fi t your story. Hold your nose and slash and burn that old stock. Attempting to liquidate it in a sale case or with incentives for salespeople is an exercise in chasing shadows. I look forward to sharing more retail insights and tips to succeed with readers in future issues. And if you have an opinion on one of columns, please do reach out to discuss at dublinsmith@yahoo.com. Until then, I wish everyone a successful Las Vegas show season. Peter Smith Peter Smith is an industry veteran with more than thirty years in both retail and wholesale. The Irish native is the author of two books, Hiring Squirrels, 12-Essential Interview Questions To Uncover Great Retail Sales Talent and Sell Something, Principles and Perspectives for Engaged Retail Salespeople. Smith is a columnist for National Jeweler, where he writes on the retail experience, and a contributing columnist for Centurion Sales Newsletter and World Diamond Magazine. His column on the Future of Retail Stores was named by National Jeweler and JCK Online as one of the best articles of 2016. Smith is president of VIBHOR, a US. manufacturer of high-quality private-label core diamond essentials. He previously spent 11 years as executive vice president of Hearts On Fire and 8 years in sales and operations management with Tiffany & Co. He has a BA from Boston College and he is a graduate of the Key Executives Program at the Harvard Business School. If You Want To Be A Great Retailer, Stop Thinking Like A Jeweler. BY PETER SMITH

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