Our April CMJ Retailer of the Year – L Guess Jewellers – was selected for its promotion of fellow local independent businesses, as well as for exhibiting at a wedding fayre to attract new potential bridal customers. It has stores in Littlehampton and Rustington, West Sussex. We speak to director Sophie Guess about how they maximise their promotion on the high street.
Tell us about your business and what you specialise in.
We are a third generation, independent, family retail jewellery business with two stores based in West Sussex. We have an onsite jewellery repair and manufacturing workshop with two full-time goldsmiths and we are also an Omega accredited service centre. We specialise in diamond and bridal jewellery and have a small but professional and knowledgeable team that offer their expertise to guide customers on purchases, repairs and handmade commissions.
How would you like to see L Guess Jewellers grow in the next 12 months and beyond?
We are always striving to keep moving forward, follow market trends, increase turnover and be innovative. The main objective is of course to increase turnover but for me personally I also like to try and invest and grow my people too, which I believe all works hand in hand. We are very lucky to have a great team, many of whom are long standing and some who are still fairly new to the industry – we like to continually invest in those people and support and encourage them to learn and expand their professional knowledge. This year we have already had one of our newer team members win the NAJ Jet Star award this month and another of our team was invited to Goldsmiths’ Hall in March as she was shortlisted for the Greenough Trophy – such an achievement for both of them and a real testament to their hard work. We are very proud!
One of the reasons you were selected as CMJ Retailer of the Month in April was your work promoting other independent businesses, including a local breakfast club. Why do you do this and what benefit does it have for you?
We are very passionate about keeping our high streets alive and supporting other independent retailers around us where we can, we are also part of our local town centre action group and the chamber of commerce. If we were to lose the businesses around us that would most definitely have a negative impact. It is imperative we all support each other and we are very lucky that one of our stores is in a thriving village full of independent businesses.
Do you work strategically with certain local businesses or is it more organic?
We don’t work specifically with any one particular local business but we do try and promote each other where we can, which can be as simple as grabbing a coffee or taking the team out for breakfast – taking a great photo and sharing it!
You also exhibited at a local wedding fayre in April. Is that something you have done before and what is the thinking behind this?
We are part of a group of local independent wedding suppliers who attend wedding fayres and work together on professional photo shoots during the year, which helps all of us generate high-quality content that we can all share and use for our marketing in store and online throughout the year.
What’s the best advice you’ve ever been given?
You are only as good as the people around you.
What do you think is the secret to running a successful independent jewellery retail business
Keep your eye on the ball, never sit still and be passionate about your business and the products you sell. Customer service is paramount and if you have an enthusiastic and educated team then excellent customer service comes naturally – we are in a luxury industry and a diamond is not necessarily something people are keen to purchase online. If we can offer customers a friendly and welcoming environment coupled with professional knowledge we stand a very good chance of closing a sale, even if they have initially just come in to try and pick our brains. We are also fortunate enough to have many regular customers and those customers have recommended the next generation to shop with us.
We are also very proactive in getting out of the stores to not only get inspiration but also to see what is new and what others are doing. We take the team to trade fairs in the UK and Europe and are always keen to be involved in networking opportunities and anything to do with jewellery, diamonds and gemstones!
What do you think are the biggest opportunities and challenges currently facing independent retail, and specifically the jewellery trade?
Laboratory-grown diamonds and the price of gold are the two hot topics at the moment.
The price of gold is a double-edged sword situation as there is currently a huge opportunity to make a lot of money on the scrap gold side of our business and replenishment of pre-owned stock is very good. But on the flip side the cost of replacing brand new stock can be quite eye watering. I suppose it will just become the norm but with the big price spikes we have seen in the last six months it is just taking a while for the brain to adjust to the higher pricing and it has also presented challenges with our repair charges and existing stock, both of which have been recently reviewed. Laboratory-grown diamonds have nose dived in price and this has definitely generated fresh interest from customers and we are selling more than we ever have previously and still with decent margins. It was interesting at Inhorgenta this spring as laboratory-grown diamonds featured more than I had ever noticed previously.
What do you enjoy most about being part of the CMJ?
Being part of something in our industry and having the opportunity to network and openly and confidentially share knowledge with others is invaluable. Plus streamlining our admin has definitely pleased our accounts department.
