Most retailers agree great customer service sets brick and mortar stores apart from their on-line competitors, not to mention being able to touch, feel and try on products. But how do you become the store where local families shop generation after generation? It all boils down to inventory, customer relations and staffing. These areas are essential to success and one without the other produces poor results.
That’s why THE EDGE and THE EDGE Retail Academy have teamed up to present The “Forum of Jewelry Retail Excellence” on August 24th and 25th at Miami’s Turnberry Isle Resort. The seminar is scheduled in advance of the Prime Show, which starts August 26th, allowing Forum attendee’s special rates at the legendary resort, which Conde Naste voted the 6th best hotel in Florida. The seminar fee is $495 and participants receive a discounted room rate of $125.
Everyone who attends the Forum of Jewelry Retail Excellence is invited to the 2012 Prime Show as guests. In addition, Prime attendees who commit to a $30,000 minimum enjoy a complementary cocktail party, dinner party, luncheons, two nights stay and airfare, courtesy of the Prime vendors.
Dick Abbott, president of THE EDGE as well as an independent jewelry store owner, learned the hard way how aging inventory ended up costing him money. He knew there must be a better way to manage inventory, and analytics became his friend.
“I know firsthand how difficult it is to manage jewelry inventory,” states Dick. “When I started digging into my inventory numbers I saw that $105,000 of my total $275,000 only produced 3% of the profit. I knew I had to do something different so I found where my profits were coming from and started redirecting money from unprofitable segments into the well performing segments. The results were dramatic.”
Dick teamed up with Joe Shapiro, an experienced software professional, to form Abbott & Shapiro, LLC. Together they created THE EDGE; a POS system with analytical capabilities designed to make jewelers efficient and profitable. THE EDGE helps retailers assess their procurement habits and make buying adjustments when necessary. It helps jewelers understand their customers’ buying habits, restock the right items, and maintain the right price points.
“We help retailers look at their inventory and get out of their buying rut. THE EDGE eliminates the risk that comes with branching out because it’s based on analytics. Retailers have solid data behind the recommendations that come from reliable facts,” says Dick.
Today, THE EDGE software is an industry leader in the point of sale arena, with more than 2500 stores using it world-wide. The company continues to prosper, currently employing 25 people, mostly in software development and technical support.
“This workshop is all about how to implement the money making features contained within THE EDGE. To not use these features is like owning a Ferrari and only driving it to the grocery store.”
THE EDGE Retail Academy, started in 2008 by Abbott, Shapiro and David Brown, provides retailers with metrics, data analysis, consulting and mentoring, all based on information collected by THE EDGE software. Says Brown, “THE EDGE is the car; we are the driving instructors.”
Brown, co-founder and president of THE EDGE Retail Academy, is the keynote speaker at The Forum where he’ll discuss pertinent issues to retailers including jewelry trade organizations. He is a business performance coach for several international clients and a regular columnist in international trade publications.
In 2010, THE EDGE Retail Academy added Janice Mack Talcott as a consulting member. Janice is an industry educator at GIA, AGS, DCA, Performance Concepts and Hearts on Fire. She is a world-renowned gemologist, industry consultant, public speaker, and writer. Recently Janice has concentrated on staff development and customer relationship management.
“There are definitely front-of-house and back-of-house sorts of people,” remarks Janice. “People have different communication and work styles. We help jewelers determine who best fits where. Too many jewelers have round pegs in square holes and that severely limits their success.”
Janice will speak on recognizing personality traits and using them to recruit, hire, manage and motivate. She will also discuss ‘Clienteling,’ a term she made famous that guides retailers on when and how to reach out to customers and what to say to drive business.
“Retail executives from around the nation will gather to learn easier, more efficient ways to utilize many of the key components of THE EDGE system,” states Abbott. “Attending this workshop will help you see exactly what you need to do to improve your business and enjoy life more.”
Contact Dick Abbott for more information about this workshop by calling 855-TRY-EDGE or 203-567-1900.
